Increased fatigue, drowsiness, irritability, hypertension, varicose veins and thrombosis can be a consequence not only of too high a pace of life or neglected health in general.
Very often, these pathological conditions are associated with the fact that the blood in the body is too thick. Because of this, it flows more slowly through the bloodstream, deposits build-ups of waste and cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels, and supplies the organs with oxygen and nutrients less well.
To prevent this thickening from happening, most often it is enough to reconsider your lifestyle, eliminate dehydration and use some folk remedies to thin the blood.
One such remedy is lemon. In this article we will talk about whether it is capable of thinning the blood or vice versa? We will also discuss other beneficial properties of this citrus for the blood, heart and blood vessels.
Contraindications
There are few cases of bans or at least restrictions on the use of lemon. Yes, and they are mainly regarded as preventive.
- Children under 3 years of age. In infancy, the child’s digestive system is only in its infancy, so it is advisable to abstain from this valuable product until the age of 3.
- Individual intolerance. It is considered to be the most hypoallergenic of citrus fruits. But cases of allergies can never be completely ruled out.
- Acute pancreatitis, gastritis and other diseases of the digestive tract, especially during exacerbation. With a gentle diet, it is better not to use lemon juice.
- Weak tooth enamel. Even with good teeth, it is advisable to rinse your mouth after contact with citric acid. If eating the fruit causes discomfort in the mouth, then you need to contact your dentist with a complaint about weak tooth enamel.
Raw or boiled?
It is healthier for the body to drink raw water, as it contains important microelements: magnesium, calcium, sodium, etc. After boiling, these components settle on the heating elements, and the water loses its beneficial properties. In addition, heat treatment pushes out an equally important element from the water - oxygen, and therefore water loses its properties as a transport fluid and can form edema.
“Raw” is considered to be bottled still water, spring water, and tap water. The best choice would be bottled water, as its safety is guaranteed by the manufacturer. To drink water from a tap or a natural source with health benefits, you need to make sure it is safe - conduct a chemical analysis that will show whether there are harmful impurities or dangerous bacteria in the water. Also a good solution would be to use a special filter.
Speaking about the advantages of boiled water, it is worth noting that this method of processing removes harmful bacteria from the liquid and makes the water safer. If you prefer to drink boiled water, then try to adhere to the following rules:
- Before boiling, let the water sit for 2-3 hours;
- Turn off the kettle when the water begins to boil;
- Do not store boiled water, drink it fresh.
7 more healthy foods in your diet
In addition to citrus, you can reduce blood viscosity by regularly consuming a number of other products.
- Apple vinegar. It is a derivative product of the natural fermentation of apple juice. Its slightly acidic environment is as useful for normalizing blood consistency as lemon. Read more about the benefits of vinegar for blood vessels here.
- Linseed oil. It contains polyunsaturated fatty acids and normalizes lipid metabolism, which has a positive effect on normalizing blood thickness and clotting. Flaxseed oil also cleans blood vessels. But you need to use it daily, in courses, a tablespoon in the morning, preferably on an empty stomach.
- Cranberry. Cranberries also cleanse blood vessels and make the blood more fluid. It can be consumed in any form, without heat treatment: fresh, frozen, dried.
- Garlic. Garlic is extremely beneficial for blood vessels and blood. It is used fresh. You can add seasoning to any prepared dishes or make healing mixtures with lemon and honey.
- Honey. The sweet apiproduct is known for its properties beneficial to the circulatory system. The main thing in consuming honey is not to heat it above 60 degrees. A teaspoon on an empty stomach or a mixture of honey with lemon, garlic or horseradish will prevent thrombosis, varicose veins and stroke.
- Carrot-beet juice. It not only supplies the body with a large amount of minerals and vitamins, but also makes the blood vessels more flexible and the blood cleaner and more fluid.
- Figs Contains a concentrate of substances that improve the composition of the blood by saturating it with useful microelements, removing excess cholesterol and reducing its viscosity.
Check out the other products in the infographic:
How to make blood more fluid and reduce the risk of blood clots - Om Activ
- The main cause of almost 90% of heart attacks and strokes are blood clots formed in the vessels due to increased blood viscosity.
Let's say right away: if you have cardiovascular disease or a predisposition to blood thickening, be sure to consult a doctor.
And if you get sick with something we don’t talk about, consult a doctor too. In both cases, adjusting the diet will not be enough (but you still need to do it to alleviate the condition). Conditions in which it is necessary to adjust the diet:
- all forms of coronary heart disease;
- thrombosis, accompanied by inflammation of the venous wall and the formation of a blood clot;
- postthrombotic disease;
- phlebothrombosis (formation of blood clots in the veins of the legs);
- phlebeurysm;
- acute and chronic venous insufficiency;
- PE (blockage of the pulmonary artery or its branches by blood clots);
- atherosclerosis (formation of atherosclerotic deposits in the lumen of the vessel, leading to the development of coronary heart disease);
- previous stroke and micro-stroke;
- transient ischemic attack;
- circulatory disorders;
- excess weight, especially against the background of diabetes;
- taking hormonal contraceptives for a long time;
- the presence of erythrocytosis and thrombocytosis.
- If you want to know the state of blood viscosity and identify a tendency to form blood clots, take a D-dimer test.
But in the fall and winter, everyone needs to adjust their diet.
How to do it.
- 1 Make sure you drink enough water.
Often the blood becomes viscous due to insufficient water intake. WHO recommends drinking at least 1.5–2 liters per day. If blood clotting is high, it is recommended to increase the rate to 2.5 liters.
- Formula for calculating daily water consumption
- 2 Limit your intake of foods that make your blood more viscous.
What makes blood more viscous are frankly harmful foods, which many have already excluded: alcohol, margarine, baked goods, refined sugar and processed foods.
- The exception is red wine. The therapeutic norm is not a bottle, but only 150 ml.
But there are also plant foods that thicken the blood: legumes, parsley, nettle, buckwheat, potatoes, chokeberry and white cabbage. There is no need to give them up, but partially replacing them with other products in the fall and winter will be useful.
- 3 Make sure you eat enough protein and fat.
You may now think that we are again not telling anything new. But this is precisely the idea we are trying to convey: all processes in the body take place with the participation of proteins and fats, therefore, to solve any problem, it is first necessary to provide the body with basic substances.
- Formula for calculating daily protein intake
The amino acids arginine and taurine are involved in hematopoiesis - they thin the blood and dilate blood vessels. There are a lot of them in seafood, so add them to your diet if possible - once or twice a week will be enough.
- Formula for calculating daily fat intake
Omega-3 fatty acids also take an active part in hematopoiesis - they are found in fish oil and some vegetable oils (linseed and sesame).
- 4 Eat blood thinning foods daily.
Among them are products containing vitamins C, E, P, group B (strengthen the walls of blood vessels), and minerals: iron, iodine, magnesium, potassium, manganese, calcium (reduce platelet aggregation).
Berries
Berries contain a lot of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and natural acids that thin the blood.
The most useful berries for reducing blood density: red currants, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, strawberries. Raspberry leaf tea is also beneficial. It is only necessary to exclude chokeberry from the diet, since its fruits, on the contrary, thicken the blood.
We recommend consuming fresh berries without heat treatment.
Tomatoes
But tomatoes can be consumed in any form - fresh, canned, or heat-treated. This is the most useful vegetable for thinning the blood - in terms of its effect on the circulatory system, tomato juice is comparable to aspirin.
Therapeutic dose is 4 tomatoes per day.
Cabbage
Peking, Brussels sprouts and red cabbage thin the blood. And the white cabbage thickens. Sauerkraut along with cranberries is especially useful for these purposes.
Onion
Onions contain quercetin and adenosine, natural anticoagulants that dissolve blood clots and reduce platelet aggregation. The most beneficial substances for thinning the blood are found in red and yellow onions.
Garlic
Garlic can be consumed in any form: fresh, dried, in the form of garlic oil, and so on. It contains allicin, a substance that the body converts to achoene, a powerful anticoagulant.
Spices
Cayenne pepper contains salicylates, which improve blood circulation.
Turmeric regulates the content of leukocytes and red blood cells in the blood. According to the American Journal of Cardiology, regular consumption of turmeric reduces the risk of ischemic heart attack by 56% due to increased blood clotting.
Ginger contains gingerol, the chemical composition of which is similar to aspirin.
Cinnamon is also a powerful anticoagulant. The daily norm is up to 6 grams; in larger quantities it can harm the liver.
- Let us repeat: a diet to improve blood viscosity does not replace the treatment prescribed by a doctor. You've probably heard that one of the causes of complications with a virus, which we don't talk about, is the formation of blood clots in the pulmonary system or in the body as a whole. Such a diet really reduces risks, but does not guarantee anything - wash your hands, keep your distance and take care of your loved ones.
Thin the blood
Thick blood is a very dangerous phenomenon. The risk of thrombosis increases, and the likelihood of varicose veins is high. The work of blood vessels is difficult; blood clots can block small vessels, slow down the supply of oxygen to various organs, and increase the risk of stroke. Therefore, if you suspect or know that you have viscous blood, you should first consult a doctor. And after that, reconsider your diet. And include in it products that help thin the blood.
Water. We consist of 90% water, and blood simply needs a normal water balance in our body. Therefore, at the first signs of varicose veins and other blood problems, you need to think about whether you are drinking enough water. 2-2.5 liters per day is the average norm; if your weight is high enough, you may need 3 liters. In any case, the body needs a lot of fluid, and the doctor will more accurately determine the individual norm.
Raspberries. Raspberries contain the same substance as aspirin, which is often taken to lower blood viscosity. But only aspirin has side effects; it negatively affects the stomach and mucous membranes, but raspberries do not. So eat fresh raspberries, raspberry jam. Traditional medicine also recommends a decoction of raspberry and black currant leaves.
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Linseed oil. It contains many polyunsaturated fatty acids needed by blood vessels, as well as vitamin E. It has the ability to restore the elasticity of blood vessels.
Fatty fish. A source of healthy fats and a fighter against atherosclerotic plaques.
Garlic. A powerful antioxidant, has an anti-inflammatory effect, promotes the resorption of blood clots. It is recommended to consume it fresh, slightly dried in the fresh air.
Sea kale. Products containing iodine are very beneficial for the blood. They reduce blood viscosity and increase vascular tone. So all seafood is the first candidate for the table.
Tomatoes. The lycopene they contain helps normalize cholesterol levels. And rutin strengthens the walls of blood vessels.
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Persimmon. It contains many antioxidants, and thanks to the presence of flavonoids, persimmon thins the blood, prevents the formation of blood clots, strengthens blood vessels and normalizes cholesterol levels in the blood.
Red cabbage. In principle, any cabbage is useful, including sauerkraut, but red cabbage contains a lot of potassium, which is very beneficial for blood vessels, vitamins C and group B. Therefore, cabbage stimulates metabolism, improves blood quality, and prevents the formation of blood clots.
Citrus. They contain vitamin C and a lot of liquid. Lemon is especially good at thinning the blood. So tea with lemon and a spoon of honey is a great idea.
Honey. It has a very good effect on the blood, including thinning it. Prevents thrombus formation.
Sprouted wheat . Excellent blood thinner if you eat at least 1 tbsp. in a day. It’s a good idea to add it to salads and sprinkle them with flaxseed oil.
Ginger, cinnamon, turmeric. The bark and roots contain coumarins. These compounds thin the blood and prevent the formation of clots. They are also contained in plants from our region: horseradish root, alfalfa, angelica, celery.
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Warm or cold?
It is believed that it is most beneficial to drink water at room temperature or heated. This water is better absorbed and cleanses the body. Hot water is useful in the morning on an empty stomach; it can “wake up” the body, free it from toxins and speed up metabolism.
In turn, cold water is absorbed worse. It lingers in the stomach until it warms up and therefore cannot effectively fulfill its main mission - hydration. Additionally, drinking cold water on an empty stomach can stress the body, which can cause weakness and even decreased immunity.
How to find out your water norm, read this article: https://stolichki.ru/stati/arifmetika-zdorovya-skolko-vodyi-pit-v-den/
You can purchase high-quality bottled water at Stolichki Pharmacies.
