After a stint in the hospital for a not-so-serious illness, my friend Judy went home and promptly developed a blood clot in her leg — a very serious turn of events that landed her right back in the hospital!
It’s called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a clot that develops in a deep vein, usually a leg. It’s not uncommon after being confined to a hospital bed. It can also occur on flights and long car trips, and it can be deadly if part of the clot breaks off and travels downstream to the lung or the heart.
At the hospital, they inserted an inferior vena cava filter to prevent disastrous results should she have another clot. Some people are given aspirin, which is a blood thinner, for clot prevention, but it can cause ulcers, so they put Judy on warfarin (Coumadin), an anticoagulant.
Warfarin left her with severe headaches and covered her hands and arms with huge, purple bruises. She also had to make the 30-mile trip frequently to have her blood tested.
I wish I could have talked to her at the time, because there are better ways to help thin your blood.

A 1,000-year-old remedy

People over 40, like Judy, have higher levels of fibrinogen, which promotes blood clot formation. At the same time, they’re less able to produce plasmin — the single enzyme that can dissolve blood clots. These two facts elevate the risk of a dangerous heart event.
For these people, nattokinase can be life-saving. In addition to warding off blood clots, it has been shown effective in preventing heart disease, osteoporosis and much more.
Nattokinase is extracted from an ancient fermented, stinky, cheese-like Japanese food called natto. For over a thousand years, it’s not only been part of the Japanese diet, but it has also been a staple of traditional medicine for heart and vascular diseases.
It’s been scientifically proven to break up and dissolve blood clots. In fact, it has four times more anti-clotting activity than plasmin.

Natto — the natural blood thinner

The great advantage of nattokinase is that it’s natural — not a synthetic medication — and it’s free of side effects. It doesn’t require self-injection or inconvenient blood monitoring.
It’s also longer lasting than typical clot-dissolving drugs — 8–12 hours, compared to a maximum of half an hour. Plus, it’s far less expensive.
Research shows nattokinase can:
• Support healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels
• Prevent formation of dangerous blood clots
• Dissolve excessive fibrin and existing blood clots
• Help your body produce plasmin and other clot-dissolving substances, such as urokinase
In one study, it lowered the time to dissolve a clot by 48 percent within only two hours! And after two weeks, blood pressure decreased by an average of 11 percent. As an added bonus, nattokinase helped cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
Nattokinase also contains vitamin K2, which we normally produce in our intestines. Since we produce less of it as we age, it helps keep K2 at a healthy level. This is important because it not only aids in proper blood clotting but provides insurance against atherosclerosis by ensuring distribution of calcium to bone rather than arteries.
In addition, Nattokinase has been shown to lower inflammation, relieve gastrointestinal and urinary tract problems, and provides benefits for cellular health.

Sources:
Dissolve Blood Clots with Nattokinase. Underground Health Reporter. undergroundheathreporter. com/dissolve-clot-with-nattokinase/. June 8, 2011.
Nattokinase ? A Potent Fibrinolytic (anti-clotting) Enzyme. Life Extension. lifeextension vitamins.com/natoprheatan.html