What Are Blood Thinners?
Blood thinners are substances that reduce the rate at which the blood clots. They are compounds that can either be contained in drugs or foods. The most common types of blood thinners are drugs and supplements.
However, this article has a list of carefully selected natural blood thinners. They are natural in that they are packed in foods, fruits, herbs, spices, and vegetables.
Although, blood clotting is a normal and natural process that helps prevent bleeding during an injury. Healthy blood can clot upon any slight trauma or injury caused to the skin. However, as normal as it may be, excess blood clotting can be dangerous. This is why many health practitioners refer to the process as a complicated one.
What Happens During Blood Clot?
When blood begins to clot in vital organs like the brain, the lungs, or the heart, it can be a risk factor for severe life-threatening conditions like stroke and heart attack.
In addition, there is a range of reasons why blood can begin to clot within different vital parts of the body. Some of these reasons are not limited to health conditions like congenital heart defects and irregular heart rhythms.
These conditions are characterized by gross blood clotting in several vital organs in the body. Thus, blood thinners are administered to people diagnosed with these health conditions. Without blood thinners, be it drugs or foods, people with these conditions may experience life-threatening complications like stroke and heart attack.
Coupled with their medications, some people go ahead to consume natural blood thinners to further improve the condition of their blood.
If you wish to combine blood-thinning medications with natural blood thinners, you should speak with your doctor first. However, unless your doctor says so, do not replace blood-thinning drugs with natural blood thinners if your condition is severe.
This article is packed with natural blood thinners that effectively prevent blood clots in the body. However, it is important to take them with caution as too many of these natural blood thinners over a long period can have adverse effects on your health.
7 Natural Blood Thinners
The following are natural blood thinners that have been tested and scientifically proven to be effective in preventing blood clots in body organs.
According to studies, consuming them in moderate amounts can help reduce cases of blood clots by up to 89%, thereby reducing your risk of developing health conditions like stroke and heart attack.
Turmeric
Turmeric can be used for both culinary and medicinal purposes. Apart from adding flavor to foods, it is also a healthy and natural remedy for different health conditions. According to research, Turmeric has the highest anticoagulant tendency compared to other natural blood thinners.
In addition, Turmeric is packed with anti-inflammatory properties. Due to its high ability to prevent blood clotting, medical experts have advised that it should be taken with caution and must not be combined with any blood-thinning medication, except if a doctor specifically permits it. Using Turmeric for this purpose is quite simple. You can start by adding the powder to your foods, hot water, and teas.
Ginger
Ginger, just like Turmeric, is another effective remedy for excessive blood clotting. Compared to Turmeric, it is more available. But on the flip side, Turmeric has more blood-clotting properties compared to ginger.
Studies have shown that apart from preventing blood clots, taking natural ginger tea regularly or adding ginger to your foods can help reduce to the barest minimum your chances of developing severe health conditions like stroke and heart attack, both of which are complications of an excess blood clot in the body.
What is more? Ginger is packed with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that are also effective in the protection of the internal organs of the body as well as the preservation of the body cells. They prevent oxidative damage that may cause cell death.
Fish Oil
Although fish oil is not outrightly a blood thinner, however, it contributes largely to the process that leads to the regulation of blood and the prevention of blood from excessive thickening and clumping together.
Fish oil has a wealth of omega-3 fatty acids, which are effective in regulating and reducing the number of platelets in the blood. When platelets become excessive in the blood, they can clump together and cause the blood to clot.
Meanwhile, consuming fish oil regularly can help reduce to a healthy level the number of platelets in the blood, thereby preventing blood clots in the process. Coupled with this, the omega-3 content of fish oil also plays an important role in the protection of heart health.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is packed with compounds that effectively prevent the coagulation of blood and blood components. One of such anti-coagulating compounds is coumarin. It is safe to use small quantities of cinnamon in your teas or foods for blood thinning.
Apart from preventing blood clots, cinnamon is also a rich source of anti-inflammatory properties that help in the treatment of different health conditions like arthritis, liver conditions, kidney conditions, lung conditions, and heart conditions.
However, medical experts have advised that cinnamon should be consumed in small quantities, as taking large amounts of the spice over a long period of time can cause severe damage to the liver.
Garlic
Garlic is from the family of Turmeric and ginger and thus has the same effects on the blood as ginger and Turmeric. One interesting fact about garlic in preventing blood clots is that the anticoagulant properties are not present in a whole garlic clove. Rather, it forms when several garlic cloves are crushed.
In other words, the reaction from the chemicals In different garlic cloves produces the anticoagulant that prevents the blood from clotting. The anticoagulant compound produced during this process is known as allicin, which is another effective antibiotic. Just like Turmeric and ginger, you can add crushed garlic to your foods or steam it in hot water and drink it twice daily.
Almonds
Almonds are rich sources of vitamin E, an effective anticoagulant. Apart from being tasty, crunchy, and amazing to snack on, especially on the go, it is also an effective blood thinner.
Thus, as much as they serve as nice desserts, they also help you prevent severe health conditions like stroke and heart attack.
In addition, studies have found that almonds may have almost the same blood thinning effects as aspirin has, and in most severe blood clotting cases, they are advised to be taken alongside blood-thinning medications.
However, it is best to ask your doctor if it is healthy enough for you to eat, even if you are on a blood-thinning medication.
Cayenne Pepper
Apart from being an effective natural blood thinner, it can also be easily incorporated into diets. It is packed with effective blood-thinning properties like salicylate, which makes it one of the best and most readily available natural blood thinners.
What is more? The other properties in cayenne can help improve blood flow and regulate blood pressure. Adding cayenne pepper to your diet is quite simple. All you need to do is grind it and add it to your soups, stews, porridges, and other foods that require pepper.
Most times, cayenne pepper comes in the form of capsules. However, in whichever form they come, they are effective in thinning the blood or preventing blood clots in the body.
Conclusion
Blood clotting is good, but this is only when there is an injury. When a mild or severe trauma or injury is inflicted on the skin, blood clotting is essential in preventing excessive bleeding and loss of blood. However, as good as it may be when it happens within the body without any form of injury, there may be implications.
When the vital organs of the body are filled with blood clots, there may be a higher risk of stroke or a severe heart attack. Thus, as much as a blood clot is needed and important, it can also be dangerous when it appears in the wrong place and at the wrong time. Both drugs and foods are effective in preventing blood clots within the body.
However, it is important to consume these drugs and foods in the right amounts as their excessive consumption, especially over a long period of time, can lead to other severe and life-threatening health risks.
