How to Dissolve Blood Clots and Thin the Blood Naturally

Most chronic diseases we cope with today are (in)directly caused by bad blood flow which is at least partially caused by hypercoagulation! Another factor in restricted blood flow is Autonomic Nervous System and adrenaline which constricts the blood vessels. Adrenaline also stimulates the platelet activation and aggregation.

Thick blood is a well known factor in psoriasis among many other chronic diseases! Sadly, doctors consider thick blood caused by hypercoagulation as problem usually only in health crises which present with immediate life-threatening symptoms like it is in case of pulmonary embolism.

You could read about the causes of hypercoagulation in my previous posts on this blog. Actually, the most common cause of vascular inflammation and hypercoagulation is dental infection or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth including the yeast overgrowth. As you may know psoriasis as chronic inflammatory condition is strongly associated with vascular inflammation and hypercoagulation.[2]

Endotoxins leak from root canal tooth or small intestine and activate the inflammatory pathways which ultimately lead to increased blood coagulation and thus thick blood which is hard to pump through the micro-vessels.[3]

Supplements to dissolve blood clots

Keep in mind that most herbs have blood thinning properties and therefore should not be combined with any blood thinning drugs (like Warfarin or Heparin). The same goes about the proteolytic enzymes so always consult your doctor about the supplements you would want to take!

Do NOT combine too many and DO NOT take too high doses of supplements which thin the blood significantly.

Nattokinase

nattokinase_psoriasis

Nattokinase is purified from Japanese fermented soy food – Natto.

Nattokinase possesses strong fibrinolytic properties which is a well known fact for decades. Scientific papers concluded that Nattokinase is safe and might be used for treatment as well as prevention of embolism.[1]

Nattokinase may also positively affect the Alzheimer’s disease.[4]

Since psoriasis is usually accompanied by hypercoagulation taking Nattokinase might be helpful for the body.

Serrapeptase

Serrapeptase is produced by bacteria originally found in digestive tract of silkworm.

Serrapeptase is produced by bacteria originally found in digestive tract of silkworm.

Serrapeptase is another proteolytic enzyme which helps to attenuate the inflammation in the body and possesses also significant fibrinolytic activity.

Serrapeptase just like Nattokinase seems to have similarly positive effects on Alzheimer’s disease.[4]

There are also some testimonials on the internet from people who claim to significantly improve their psoriasis by taking Serrapeptase.

Lumbrokinase

Lumbrokinase is produced by earthworm species.

Lumbrokinase is produced by earthworm species.

This proteolytic enzyme is less known but science says it has potential fibrinolytic effects.[5]

Lumbrokinase is purified from different earthworm species like Lumbricus rubellus.

The earthworms have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.


Bromelain

Bromelain is useful not just for psoriasis but also for joint pains.

Bromelain is useful for not just psoriasis but also for joint pains.

This enzyme extracted from pineapples is a popular anti-inflammatory supplement usually used for attenuating the pain of joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Many people take bromelain for arthritis, osteoarthritis and asthma.

However, the blood thinning and blood clots dissolving effects of bromelain are great.[15]

Bromelain helps also with digestive issues and it is often added to other supplements like protein shake powders in order to help digest the protein.

Food industry uses bromelain as meat tenderizer.

Bromelain is a great supplement for a lot of health problems.

Considering that inflammation is at the root of most chronic diseases we can just praise the effects of natural and strong proteolytic enzymes like bromelain.

You can feel the effects of bromelain in about 20-30 minutes after the ingestion on an empty stomach. If you had stiff spine or other joints due to chronic inflammation and thick blood in the body you would experience possibly very profound alleviation of the symptoms in just about 30 minutes.

The only sad part of bromelain is that these strong (muscle relaxing) effects are usually present for only about 1 or 2 hours after the ingestion of supplement. A lot of depends on the dosage and the way of intake.

It is convenient to open the bromelain capsule and put it in with a little bit of water in the shaker (like those the bodybuilders use). This way the bromelain has a better chance to be absorbed into the bloodstream at a higher rate and ratio than when taken in capsules.

Science on bromelain

Bromelain belongs to a group of proteins called proteases. There are some differences in bromelain obtained from fruit and from pineapple stem but both have the strong proteolytic effects. The bromelain you can buy as the supplement is usually extracted from the stems of the pineapple.

“Bromelain is a mixture of different thiol endopeptidases and other components like phosphatase, glucosidase, peroxidase, cellulase, escharase, and several protease inhibitors.

Bromelain is considerably absorbable in the body without losing its proteolytic activity and without producing any major side effects. Bromelain accounts for many therapeutic benefits like the treatment of angina pectoris, bronchitis, sinusitis, surgical trauma, and thrombophlebitis, debridement of wounds, and enhanced absorption of drugs, particularly antibiotics. It also relieves osteoarthritis, diarrhea, and various cardiovascular disorders. Bromelain also possesses some anticancerous activities and promotes apoptotic cell death.”[18]

Acceleration of wound healing is another great effect of bromelain.

Bromelain absorption

The animal studies showed that bromelain is absorbed at about 40% from the intestine. Its effects proved to be mostly anti-edema, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant. Fibrinolysis (blood clots dissolving), fibrin synthesis inhibition, fibrin, fibrinogen degradation inhibitory and inflammatory mediators degrading properties are mostly responsible for bromelain’s positive effects.

Bromelain also proved to lower the kininogen (precursor to chemicals involved in inflammation and coagulation) and bradykinin (inflammation mediating vasodilator) levels in serum and the tissues. This pineapple enzyme reduces also the prostaglandin synthesis which leads to inflammation. There are even the studies which proved bromelain to be able to inhibit the tumours. Its effects seem to be dose-dependent.[17]

The study performed on healthy men proved bromelain to be absorbed into the blood and the half-life of bromelain was estimated to be 6-9 hours. When 3 grams/day were administered the plasma levels reached 5,000 pg/ml by 48 hours. Absorbed bromelain was found to be associated with alpha 2-macroglobulin and alpha 1-antichymotrypsin levels – the two plasma proteins which degrade the protein breaking enzymes (proteases) like bromelain.[16]

Plasmin is one of those proteases; it is produced in the body to help in fibrinolysis.

Bromelain breaks down the TNF-alpha

Bromelain inhibits the lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) induced cytokine production as well as directly degrades the TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta molecules. Both the TNF-alpha as well as IL-1 beta are inflammatory mediators involved in many chronic diseases including the psoriasis. Bromelain also dose dependently inhibits endotoxin-induced prostaglandin E2, thromboxane B2 and COX-2 mRNA expression.[22,23]

The study in 2004 proved that alpha 2-macroglobulin which is a strong anti-fibrinolytic protein expresses significantly stronger effects in critically ill and septic patients.

The researchers studied its protease inhibitory effects against the bromelain in the plasma of critically ill or septic patients whose health conditions are accompanied by massive production of inflammatory mediators.

The results proved that alpha 2-macroglobulin/bromelain inhibition ratios in those two groups of people were significantly increased (1:6 and 1:8) when compared to control group of healthy people (1:4). The purified alpha 2-macroglobulin/bromelain inhibition ratio was 1:2.[19]

Bromelain as a platelet aggregation inhibitor

Bromelain was found to be stronger in preventing the human platelet aggregation than papain (enzyme found in Papaya). In rat study the orally administered bromelain at 60mg/kg of body weight inhibited the thrombus (blood clot) formation in a time dependent manner, the effect peaked after 2 hours.[20]

The strong inhibitory effects of bromelain on platelet aggregation were confirmed also in the study “The influence of bromelain on platelet count and platelet activity in vitro” from 2006. The researchers there tested the blood samples of 10 male non-smokers.

The platelet aggregation was induced by ADP (adenosine diphosphate) or TRAP-6 and the bromelain effects against the platelet aggregation were researched at concentrations of 2.5mg and 5.0mg of bromelain per ml.

“Platelet count decreased after incubation with 2.5 and 5 mg bromelain/ml from 277 +/- 17 platelets/nl before to 256 +/- 21 and 247 +/- 19 platelets/nl after the treatment. The ADP and TRAP-6 induced platelet aggregation led to a significant decrease after the incubation with 2.5 mg (ADP: 48.6 +/- 25.7%; TRAP-6: 49.6 +/- 28.9%) or 5 mg (ADP: 5.0 +/- 4.6%; TRAP-6: 9.0 +/- 4.9%) bromelain/ml in comparison to control (ADP: 81.4 +/- 5.0%; TRAP-6: 77.4 +/- 10.4%). The percentage of unstimulated CD62P positive platelets which were investigated by flow cytometry was minimally higher after incubation with 5 mg bromelain/ml (0.57 +/- 0.48% PC) in comparison to control (0.22 +/- 0.11% PC), but after TRAP-6 stimulation the incubation with 5 mg bromelain/ml led to a remarkable decrease in comparison to the untreated control (50.4 +/- 20.2 to 0.9 +/- 0.8% PC).”[21]

Fibrinolytic activity of bromelain

23.fibrin400x

The highlighted area shows the fibrin strands. The fibrin entraps the red blood cells which restricts the proper blood flow.

As I have mentioned above the fibrinolytic activity of bromelain is a major way how this enzyme helps so many people with their health problems.

Proper blood flow and oxygenation of the tissues is essential and I mean essential for health.

Without the presence of enough oxygen the cells can not generate enough ATP which means overall low energy in the body including the brain. Without the energy the organs can not function properly so various symptoms appear. We need to supply our cells with enough oxygen in order to allow the mitochondria create enough energy to power the cells.

This is one vicious circle when endotoxins leaking into the blood from the small intestine induce the inflammation which ultimately leads to hypercoagulation. Thick blood does not allow the nutrients and oxygen flow into the tissues and the toxins to flow out of the tissues into the organs like liver and kidneys for elimination.

Psoriasis is also accompanied by hypercoagulation, low oxygenation and mitochondrial dysfunction so it may be very convenient to carry this fibrinolytic enzyme on your way of healing.

Eating pineapple or taking supplement?

  • pineappleIf you don’t want to eat a lot of sugar present in the pineapple then supplement is the way to go. It is also more convenient to take a capsule than peeling and chewing a pineapple.
  • Another advantage is price, if you are not living in the country where the pineapples are growing then the price of one pineapple in a grocery store may be too high.
  • The third advantage is that you avoid ingesting as much pesticides as you would be eating in the pineapples which are chemically heavily treated.
  • Everybody who ever ate pineapple probably felt the effects of bromelain. The tongue or the corners of the mouth usually start to hurt, it is like the feeling of being cut. That is the result of bromelain’s proteolytic capabilities which start degrading the protein (tongue, mouth,…). It is common that the tongue starts bleeding if one eats a lot of pineapple at once. And that was another reason why you may want to take the bromelain supplement instead of eating the pineapple twice a day everyday.

Heparin

Injectable heparin is used in hospitals but in Europe heparin creams and gels are sold as over-the-counter products.

Injectable heparin is used in hospitals but in Europe heparin creams and gels are sold as over-the-counter products.

Creams and gels containing heparin as active ingredient are popular in many countries around the world – mostly in Europe; where you can buy the products as over-the-counter cream or gel.

Heparin is an anticoagulant and is very often used in hospitals in form of injections for prevention of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. However, as topical over-the-counter treatment it is also used for blunt trauma (which often leaves bruises).

Supplements to decrease blood coagulation and increase thrombolysis

Not just herbs can decrease the blood coagulation. Supplements like glucosamine or omega 3 fatty acids may significantly affect the blood viscosity, too.

Ginger

Turmeric and Ginger for blood flow and decrease of inflammation.

Turmeric and Ginger for blood flow and decrease of inflammation.

Just 5 grams of dried ginger daily for 7 days significantly inhibited the platelet aggregation induced by adrenaline.[13]

Considering how many people are stressed out and produce too much adrenaline it may be possible that ginger could significantly help with this form of hypercoagulation.

Turmeric + Black Pepper

Turmeric in combination with black pepper is a powerful anti-inflammatory and blood thinning supplement.

Black pepper powder or extract known as Piperine increases the blood levels of active ingredients found in the turmeric.

After a few hours or a day after taking turmeric with black pepper you can bet that the blood is being significantly thinner. Especially if you scratch the psoriasis plaque it will bleed much more easily than if you would not take turmeric with black pepper.

Turmeric (curcumin) is anti-inflammatory which means also less blood coagulation.

Turmeric has also thrombolytic properties so it improves the lysis of existing blood clots.[14]

Neem

Neem thins the blood and thus helps the lymph flow.

Neem thins the blood and thus helps the lymph flow.

Azadirachta Indica (Neem) in laboratory proved to have thrombolytic properties.[14]

Similarly like turmeric Neem makes the blood thinner which means better blood flow, improved oxygenation of the tissues, more nutrients in the tissues and better detoxification also due to improved lymph flow.

Moving the lymph is not possible if you have thick blood.

Cayenne Pepper

The main active ingredient in Cayenne pepper is Capsaicin.

The main active ingredient in Cayenne pepper is Capsaicin.

Capsaicin which is a main active ingredient in Cayenne Pepper and other hot peppers have major anti-platelet effect.[7]

Platelet activation plays a major role in coagulation and blood viscosity (thickness of blood).

Psoriatics have increased levels of platelet activation which is more pronounced in those with extensive psoriasis.[8]

Omega 3 fatty acids

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for optimal performance of the whole body.

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for optimal performance of the whole body.

Omega 3 fatty acids posses hypocoagulant effects (decrease the formation of blood clots) via decreasing the levels of fibrinogen and generation of thrombin.[6]

The levels of triglycerides positively correlate with blood viscosity and omega 3 in higher doses significantly lower the triglycerides.[9, 10]

Glucosamine and N-AcetylGlucosamine

Glucosamine is usually produced from shells of crabs and lobsters.

Glucosamine is usually produced from shells of crabs and lobsters.

Glucosamine in one scientific study proved to suppress the platelet activation in humans.[11]

Even though the same study stated that N-AcetylGlucosamine does not suppress the platelet activation via the same mechanism psoriatics on the internet reported that their psoriasis improved and started clearing up from the middle of the plaques thanks to N-AcetylGlucosamine supplement.

Glucosamine is also a building block of heparine so we may suspect that glucosamine may affect the blood coagulation also via the increased production of heparine. However, there is also a possibility that glucosamine itself may have the effect similar to heparine.

The published data about the effect of glucosamine on inflammatory markers support the evidence of anti-inflammatory properties of glucosamine.[12]

Water

water_clots_psoriasis

Drinking enough water is essential for proper blood volume and thus concentration of solid particles and cells in it.

Dehydration makes our blood thicker so drinking enough water thins the blood naturally and fast. Supply your body with electrolytes like sodium and potassium because general dehydration makes your blood thicker and therefore more prone to formation of blood clots.

Conclusion

Actually, every supplement which helps to decrease the inflammation should significantly help with excessive blood coagulation. Hypercoagulation is usually caused by inflammation as a reaction to infection and endotoxins from dental infection or small intestine.

However, excessive inflammatory response is often caused by deficiencies of magnesium, B6 or amino acids.

Eating omega 6 fatty acids surely won’t help but it is nowhere near as bad as infection and endotoxin induced inflammation which leads to hypercoagulation.

References:

1) Sumi H, Hamada H, Nakanishi K, Hiratani H. Enhancement of the fibrinolytic activity in plasma by oral administration of nattokinase. Acta Haematol. 1990;84(3):139-43.
2) Karabudak O, Ulusoy RE, Erikci AA, Solmazgul E, Dogan B, Harmanyeri Y. Inflammation and hypercoagulable state in adult psoriatic men. Acta Derm Venereol. 2008;88(4):337-40.
3) Pernerstorfer T, Stohlawetz P, Hollenstein U, Dzirlo L, Eichler HG, Kapiotis S, Jilma B, Speiser W. Endotoxin-induced activation of the coagulation cascade in humans: effect of acetylsalicylic acid and acetaminophen. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1999 Oct;19(10):2517-23.
4) Fadl NN, Ahmed HH, Booles HF, Sayed AH. Serrapeptase and nattokinase intervention for relieving Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology in rat model. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2013 Jul;32(7):721-35.
5) Hwang CM, Kim DI, Huh SH, Min BG, Park JH, Han JS, Lee BB, Kim YI, Ryu ES, Kim JW. In vivo evaluation of lumbrokinase, a fibrinolytic enzyme extracted from Lumbricus rubellus, in a prosthetic vascular graft. J Cardiovasc Surg (Torino). 2002 Dec;43(6):891-4.
6) Vanschoonbeek K, Feijge MA, Paquay M, Rosing J, Saris W, Kluft C, Giesen PL, de Maat MP, Heemskerk JW. Variable hypocoagulant effect of fish oil intake in humans: modulation of fibrinogen level and thrombin generation. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2004 Sep;24(9):1734-40. Epub 2004 Jun 24.
7) Wang JP, Hsu MF, Hsu TP, Teng CM. Antihemostatic and antithrombotic effects of capsaicin in comparison with aspirin and indomethacin. Thromb Res. 1985 Mar 15;37(6):669-79.
8) Tamagawa-Mineoka R, Katoh N, Kishimoto S. Platelet activation in patients with psoriasis: increased plasma levels of platelet-derived microparticles and soluble P-selectin. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2010 Apr;62(4):621-6.
9) Rosenson RS, Shott S, Tangney CC. Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with an elevated blood viscosity Rosenson: triglycerides and blood viscosity. Atherosclerosis. 2002 Apr;161(2):433-9.
10) Ann C Skulas-Ray, Penny M Kris-Etherton, William S Harris, John P Vanden Heuvel, Paul R Wagner, and Sheila G West. Dose-response effects of omega-3 fatty acids on triglycerides, inflammation, and endothelial function in healthy persons with moderate hypertriglyceridemia. Am J Clin Nutr February 2011 vol. 93 no. 2 243-252
11) Hua J, Suguro S, Iwabuchi K, Tsutsumi-Ishii Y, Sakamoto K, Nagaoka I. Glucosamine, a naturally occurring amino monosaccharide, suppresses the ADP-mediated platelet activation in humans. Inflamm Res. 2004 Dec;53(12):680-8.
12) Kantor ED, Lampe JW, Navarro SL, Song X, Milne GL, White E. Associations between glucosamine and chondroitin supplement use and biomarkers of systemic inflammation. J Altern Complement Med. 2014 Jun;20(6):479-85. doi: 10.1089/acm.2013.0323. Epub 2014 Apr 16.
13) Verma SK, Singh J, Khamesra R, Bordia A. Effect of ginger on platelet aggregation in man. Indian J Med Res. 1993 Oct;98:240-2.
14) Khan IN, Habib MR, Rahman MM, Mannan A, Sarker MM, Hawlader S. Thrombolytic potential of Ocimum sanctum L., Curcuma longa L., Azadirachta indica L. and Anacardium occidentale L. J Basic Clin Pharm. 2011 Jun;2(3):125-7.
15) Felton GE. Fibrinolytic and antithrombotic action of bromelain may eliminate thrombosis in heart patients. Med Hypotheses. 1980 Nov;6(11):1123-33.

16) Castell JV, Friedrich G, Kuhn CS, Poppe GE. Intestinal absorption of undegraded proteins in men: presence of bromelain in plasma after oral intake. Am J Physiol. 1997 Jul;273(1 Pt 1):G139-46.
17) Lotz-Winter H. On the pharmacology of bromelain: an update with special regard to animal studies on dose-dependent effects. Planta Med. 1990 Jun;56(3):249-53.
18) Rajendra Pavan, Sapna Jain, Shraddha, and Ajay Kumar. Properties and Therapeutic Application of Bromelain: A Review. Biotechnol Res Int. 2012; 2012: 976203.
19) Schaefer U, Brücker B, Elbers A, Neugebauer E. The capacity of alpha2-macroglobulin to inhibit an exogenous protease is significantly increased in critically ill and septic patients. Shock. 2004 Jul;22(1):16-22.
20) Metzig C, Grabowska E, Eckert K, Rehse K, Maurer HR. Bromelain proteases reduce human platelet aggregation in vitro, adhesion to bovine endothelial cells and thrombus formation in rat vessels in vivo. In Vivo. 1999 Jan-Feb;13(1):7-12.
21) Gläser D, Hilberg T. The influence of bromelain on platelet count and platelet activity in vitro. Platelets. 2006 Feb;17(1):37-41.
22) Huang JR, Wu CC, Hou RC, Jeng KC. Bromelain inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced cytokine production in human THP-1 monocytes via the removal of CD14. Immunol Invest. 2008;37(4):263-77.
23) Schön M, Behmenburg C, Denzer D, Schön MP. Pathogenic function of IL-1 beta in psoriasiform skin lesions of flaky skin (fsn/fsn) mice. Clin Exp Immunol. 2001 Mar;123(3):505-10.

1 Response

  1. james hawkins says:

    nattokwinase does not possess factors which make it ”quit” it’s function…it keeps on going when it shouldn’t…serratia peptidase a stronger and MUCH safer alternative!!

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