A new study from the American College of Surgeons 95th Clinical Congress (Oct 2009) shows what I have long suspected: Coumadin is bad news.


Coumadin is the most common brand name for a drug called warfarin, which to this day is still used for its original purpose-- rat poison. (It causes the poor rodents to bleed to death, an effective way to get rid of them, I guess.)


According to the research, warfarin (Coumadin) was associated with a 30 percent increased risk of death among trauma patients and a 20 percent increased risk in those 65 and older. More than 31 million prescriptions a year are written for Warfarin according to the Food and Drug Administration.


Coumadin is an anticoagulant (a blood thinner). It's given to people who are considered at risk for blood clots, which could conceivably lead to stroke or heart attack. The down side is that if it thins the blood too much, the patient is at risk for hemorrhage. If you couldn't clot at all, you'd bleed to death from a minor scrape; if you clot too much, you can get a stroke. Much like with many things in the body, there needs to be balance, and Coumadin shifts the balance in favor of thinning. But is it the only way to keep the blood thin? Hardly.


My mother was on Coumadin for years. She'd go to the doctor regularly to have her clotting factors measured and her dose adjusted. Why? Because doctors wanted to check her "Pro Time" (PT) a measure of your tendency to clot as well as her "INR" which basically tells you the speed of clotting. Anyone on Coumadin has these tests done regularly.


Warfarin slows down the production of clotting factors in the liver by inhibiting the action of Vitamin K which promotes the formation of clotting proteins. My mother's doctors told her to avoid foods with vitamin K. Since foods high in vitamin K include kale, spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and green tea, and since vitamin K is now recognized as playing an important part in bone health, you can see why I might have been concerned.


Though I couldn't convince my mother's hapless doctors of this, there are much better ways to thin the blood, starting with fish oil. A tablespoon or two a day (or a few high-potency capsules like these should do the trick. And fish oil comes with an awful lot of "side benefits" like heart health, improved mood and lowered triglycerides. Not to mention it's probably the most anti-inflammatory natural substance on earth. Other nice blood thinners include gingko and vitamin E. If these natural substances weren't so effective at thinning the blood, doctors wouldn't tell you to avoid them before surgery!


Speaking of supplements- the vitamin store is getting a whole new look! We think you'll love it, and the shopping experience will be a lot more fun. Also, we're going to be adding many new products. One of those products will be Nattokinase, another terrific natural product that's getting a ton of attention as an anti-clotting compound that's good for heart health. Nattokinase is found primarily in foods that almost no one likes, primarily the smelly fermented sticky soybean dish known as Natto. Natto is eaten in Japan, but even the Japanese think it's an acquired taste!





More...