blood clots | Health Topics | NutritionFacts.org

17 videos

Topic summary contributed by volunteer(s): Emily and Linda

Blood clotting is healthy and necessary when it stops unwanted bleeding, but blood clots can form inside arteries, blood vessels, or the heart. If a clot travels to the heart or lungs, it could become dangerous.

Blood Platelets and Inflammation

Platelets play an important role in the clotting of our blood as well as the inflammatory process that brings additional aid to an injury site. But it is important to suppress the over-activity of platelets to avoid internal blood clots and the type of unwanted inflammation that can support heart disease, cancer, and other inflammatory diseases.

Foods that May Help Reduce Blood Clot Risk

To reduce risk of blood clots, it is important to consume foods that suppress platelet activation. Garlic, tomatoes and berries may help with anti-platelet activation.

The information on this page has been compiled from the research presented in the videos listed. Sources for each video can be found by going to the video’s page and clicking on the Sources Cited tab.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons. This image has been modified.

All Videos for Blood Clots

Are Avocados Good for You?

Are Avocados Good for You?

The nutritional benefits of guacamole extend beyond the nutrients in avocados.

Soy Phytoestrogens for Menopause Hot Flashes

Soy Phytoestrogens for Menopause Hot Flashes

Does soy food consumption explain why Japanese women appear to be so protected from hot flash symptoms?

Is It Worth Getting Annual Health Check-Ups?

Is it Worth Getting Annual Health Check-Ups?

What are the risks and benefits of getting an annual check-up from your doctor?

Should We All Take Aspirin to Prevent Cancer?

Should We All Take Aspirin to Prevent Cancer?

The aspirin compounds naturally found in plant foods may help explain the lower cancer rates among those eating plant-based diets.

Should We All Take Aspirin to Prevent Heart Disease?

Should We All Take Aspirin to Prevent Heart Disease?

The benefits of taking a daily aspirin must be weighed against the risk of internal bleeding.

Who Shouldn't Eat Soy

Who Shouldn’t Eat Soy?

How can soy foods have it both ways with pro-estrogenic effects in some organs that can protect bones and reduce hot flash symptoms, yet also anti-estrogenic effects in others that protect against breast and endometrial cancer?

Inhibiting Platelet Activation with Garlic and Onions

Inhibiting Platelet Activation with Garlic and Onions

Why should we wait ten minutes after chopping or crushing garlic before we cook it unless we’re going in for elective surgery within the next week?

Are Calcium Supplements Effective?

Are Calcium Supplements Effective?

What is the optimal daily dietary calcium intake and might benefits for your bones outweigh the risks to your heart from taking calcium supplements?

Are Calcium Supplements Safe?

Are Calcium Supplements Safe?

The unnaturally large, rapid, and sustained calcium levels in the blood caused by calcium supplements may explain why calcium from supplements, but not from food, appears to increase the risk of heart attacks.

Fatty Meals May Impair Artery Function

We finally discovered why a single high-fat meal can cause angina chest pain.

Inhibiting Platelet Activation with Tomato Seeds

Inhibiting Platelet Activation with Tomato Seeds

The yellow fluid around tomato seeds appears to suppress platelet activation without affecting blood clotting. This anti-inflammatory effect may explain why eating tomato products is associated with lower cardiac mortality.

Can Flax Seeds Help Prevent Breast Cancer?

Can Flaxseeds Help Prevent Breast Cancer?

Flax seed consumption may play a role in preventing and treating breast cancer by blocking the inflammatory effects of interleukin-1.

Inhibiting Platelet Aggregation with Berries

Inhibiting Platelet Aggregation with Berries

The number one killer of Americans may be not eating enough fruit. Even if we just met the recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake we could save more than 100,000 people a year. One of the mechanisms by which plant foods protect us is by keeping our platelets from becoming activated.

Tell Your Doctor If You Eat Grapefruit

Tell Your Doctor if You Eat Grapefruit

The role white and pink (red) grapefruit may play in weight loss and cholesterol control, as well as the suppression of drug-clearance enzymes within the body.

Blocking the First Step of Heart Disease

By preventing the buildup of cholesterol in our bloodstream, we can prevent atherosclerosis in our coronary arteries—the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. This involves increasing our intake of fiber-containing plant foods, and decreasing our intake of trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol found in junk food and animal products.

Arterial Acne

Atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries may be more aptly described as pimples, initiated by the infiltration of cholesterol into the lining of our arteries. The ending—should blood flow to our heart muscle be cut off by a clot formed by the rupture of one of these inflamed pockets of pus in our arterial lining—is a heart attack.

Vegetables versus breast cancer

Vegetables vs. Breast Cancer

Mushrooms may help prevent breast cancer by acting as an aromatase inhibitor to block breast tumor estrogen production.

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