blood clots

18 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.

All Videos for Blood Clots

Are Avocados Good for You?

The nutritional benefits of guacamole extend beyond just the nutrients avocados themselves contain.

Soy Phytoestrogens for Menopause Hot Flashes

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

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?

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?

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

Who Shouldn’t Eat Soy?

How can soy foods have it both ways—pro-estrogenic effects in some organs (protecting bones and reducing hot flash symptoms), but anti-estrogenic effects in others (protecting against breast and endometrial cancer)?

Inhibiting Platelet Activation with Garlic and Onions

Inhibiting Platelet Activation with Garlic & 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?

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?

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

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?

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