My brother has a factor 5 mutation that causes thick blood. He has had blood clots in his legs. His feet and legs are swelling and currently he wraps them with ace bandages. He is not very open about changing his diet, but he did reach out to me. Let's just say that he is very carnivorous. He is on coumadin.


So, I'm looking for some ideas to slowly get him on a path to a healthier diet. If I told him he has to be a raw vegan or sproutarian, things would not go well. However, he does like fruits and vegetables, but his mainstay is meat. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

david

"So, I'm looking for some ideas to slowly get him on a path to a healthier diet. If I told him he has to be a raw vegan or sproutarian, things would not go well. However, he does like fruits and vegetables, but his mainstay is meat. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!"

Well, he has to make a decision, does he want healthy blood flow or blocked arteries (which meat promotes)? Has this only recently started to become a problem for him? Remedies like cayenne, curcumin, astaxanthin, gingko biloba, omega-3's, ginger, camu camu, vitamin E, and eating berries should help.

jtprindl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
cayenne,
> curcumin, astaxanthin, gingko biloba, omega-3's,
> ginger, camu camu, vitamin E, and eating berries
> should help.

These mostly are, as are many other herbs, counter indicated while taking Coumadin.
This is no area to be messing around in without constant monitoring. I doubt there are any MD's who would cooperate and it would be very expensive.

There are new blood thinning drugs where the lab test monitoring is not needed and people on those can consume whatever they want. They cost almost $300 a month though.

dvdai Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
Any
> suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


Being hydrated makes a vast difference in blood thickness. If he does just one thing it should be to drink at least a gallon of water a day.

SueZ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jtprindl Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> cayenne,
> > curcumin, astaxanthin, gingko biloba,
> omega-3's,
> > ginger, camu camu, vitamin E, and eating
> berries
> > should help.
>
> These mostly are, as are many other herbs,
> counter indicated while taking Coumadin.
> This is no area to be messing around in without
> constant monitoring. I doubt there are any MD's
> who would cooperate and it would be very
> expensive.
>
> There are new blood thinning drugs where the lab
> test monitoring is not needed and people on those
> can consume whatever they want. They cost almost
> $300 a month though.


Cooperate with what? I know many of these naturopathic remedies interfere with Warfarin but he didn't mention anything about medications. They are, however, less expensive than medical bills.

but he didn't mention anything about medications

"He is on coumadin. "

fresh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> but he didn't mention anything about medications
>
> "He is on coumadin. "

Oops. In that case, it'd be best to research each of the aforementioned items individually to see if they interfere with it.

He could also gradually wean himself off Coumadin and start to slowly implement some of these remedies. You can add bromelain to the list as well.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2014 12:52AM by jtprindl.

dvdai

that's rough
sorry to hear that

also sorry i don't have any answers
jtprindl's suggestions were good

but he is on meds
that complicates things

SueZ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jtprindl Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> cayenne,
> > curcumin, astaxanthin, gingko biloba,
> omega-3's,
> > ginger, camu camu, vitamin E, and eating
> berries
> > should help.
>
> These mostly are, as are many other herbs,
> counter indicated while taking Coumadin.
> This is no area to be messing around in without
> constant monitoring. I doubt there are any MD's
> who would cooperate and it would be very
> expensive.
>
> There are new blood thinning drugs where the lab
> test monitoring is not needed and people on those
> can consume whatever they want. They cost almost
> $300 a month though.


One of the big problems with upping real food intake while on blood thinning drugs is that some difference in routine eating - even so little as adding a large salad can make a big difference in prothrombin time. Unless a person is willing to robotize their eating habits things can get dangerous and their PT testing will be all over the map if they eat a lot of greens, for instance, one day, and almost none the next. Most people do not have this kind of self discipline, IMO

Xarelto is the replacement drug I was referring to and am familiar with. It works well, in my experience, using it for upping someone's real food intake while on blood thinners. That person even lacked the self discipline to drink more nutritious fluids much less stick to a less spontaneous diet.

[www.webmd.com]

Here's an interesting article that may give you and your brother some more insight, and it kind of goes along with the treatments I've been suggesting.

[emediahealth.com]

"Recently I reviewed some blood test results going back a few years for a person who has a blood clotting disorder. Because of a past history of multiple abnormal blood clots throughout the body even while taking the dangerous anticoagulant drug warfarin prescribed by multiple doctors he’s seen, he began to doubt the doctors’ knowledge as their treatments were not working well. A comprehensive supplementation program including among other things omega 3 fish oils, anti-inflammatories such as curcumin, and proteolytics such as nattokinase, bromelain, and serrapeptase have enabled him to discontinue warfarin and avoid the clots that the warfarin treatment was not successfully stopping."

dvdai Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My brother has a factor 5 mutation that causes
> thick blood. He has had blood clots in his legs.
> His feet and legs are swelling and currently he
> wraps them with ace bandages. He is not very open
> about changing his diet, but he did reach out to
> me. Let's just say that he is very carnivorous.
> He is on coumadin.
>
>
> So, I'm looking for some ideas to slowly get him
> on a path to a healthier diet. If I told him he
> has to be a raw vegan or sproutarian, things would
> not go well. However, he does like fruits and
> vegetables, but his mainstay is meat. Any
> suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


<<<Epidemiological evidence suggests that a diet with ample fruits and vegetables and little meat may substantially reduce the risk of VTE; vegetarian, vegan, or Mediterranean diets favorably affect serum markers of hemostasis and inflammation. The valve cusp hypoxia hypothesis of DVT/VTE etiology is consistent with the development of VTE being affected directly or indirectly by diet. However, it is less consistent with the rationale of using anticoagulants as VTE prophylaxis. For both prophylaxis and treatment of VTE, we propose RCTs comparing standard anticoagulation with low VTE risk diets, and we discuss the statistical considerations for an example of such a trial.>>>

I am highly skeptical of "inherited" conditions. Even if there is a family link, it does not suggest that there is no remedy for the situation. Someone with viscous blood who is told that eating meat increases viscosity and persists in doing so should not be worried about.

Here is the link where I found that excerpt: [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

jtprindl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's an interesting article that may give you
> and your brother some more insight, and it kind of
> goes along with the treatments I've been
> suggesting.
>
> [emediahealth.com]
> enol-may-powerfully-lower-dangerous-c-reactive-pro
> tein-and-fibrinogen-levels/
>
> "Recently I reviewed some blood test results going
> back a few years for a person who has a blood
> clotting disorder. Because of a past history of
> multiple abnormal blood clots throughout the body
> even while taking the dangerous anticoagulant drug
> warfarin prescribed by multiple doctors he’s
> seen, he began to doubt the doctors’ knowledge
> as their treatments were not working well. A
> comprehensive supplementation program including
> among other things omega 3 fish oils,
> anti-inflammatories such as curcumin, and
> proteolytics such as nattokinase, bromelain, and
> serrapeptase have enabled him to discontinue
> warfarin and avoid the clots that the warfarin
> treatment was not successfully stopping."

This is good info for highly motivated self disciplined people. Most people really don't want the insight - it just makes them feel worse about themselves. Then they drowned their sorrows in even worse dietary habits than what got them to the state they are in.

Thanks for the information. He tells me now he is ready to change things but I am worried about the effectiveness of the coumadin with a diet change. That is interesting information about Xarelto and I will mention it to him, but his funds are very limited at this time.

All those supplements listed in previous posts can be found with a simple google search, but like Suez says, he would have to be very disciplined about it. At this time, I feel like all I can say is "these options CAN help, but talk with your doctor about it and drink lots of water."

david

hi dvdai

good luck with your brother
its really tough seeing another that is close to you suffer

wishing him much success

la_veronique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hi dvdai
>
> good luck with your brother
> its really tough seeing another that is close to
> you suffer
>
> wishing him much success


Thanks, I wish I was less ignorant. I would have the words to convince him that changing his diet isn't a restriction but a deliverance.

Just imagine

david

Dave, everything you have, give him some. Enjoy raw food with him. Little bits at a time, its ok if he is a jerk at first and spits it out.

Raw food pies are always winners!! Cooked people love them, here is a raw apple pie.