In order to avoid thrombosis and for good heart health, what supplements should vegans take?
Would taking white egg or yolk or milk cure thrombosis disease?
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3Hello. Welcome to Vegetarianism SE. I think your question is a bit unclear at the moment, partly because of the wording and formatting but also because of the nature that you are asking. If I understand it correctly, you ask what supplements vegans must take to get B12 which is kind of self-answering question: they need to take B12 supplements. There are vegan ones around and I believe we do have a question at this site for this already. It is also a good practice to ask just one question per question so you should probably move your second question into a separate post.– Alexander RossaOct 1, 2018 at 8:28
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2 Answers
In order to prevent thrombosis, what supplements should vegans take?
Thrombosis is defined as: The formation or presence of a blood clot in a blood vessel.
If you are worried that you may be at risk of thrombosis you should see your doctor straight away. What's listed below is for information purposes only and any supplements should only be taken after checking with your doctor that they're safe for you.
If you're buying supplements in capsule form look out for the ones made of plant fibres.
The items listed should all be able to be sourced ethically:
Turmeric
The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin which has anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning or anticoagulant properties.
A study published in 2012 suggests that taking a daily dose of turmeric spice may help people maintain the anticoagulant status of their blood.
People can add turmeric to curries and soups or mix it with hot water to make a comforting tea.
Ginger
Ginger is another anti-inflammatory spice that may stop blood clotting. It contains a natural acid called salicylate. Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is a synthetic derivative of salicylate and a potent blood thinner.
A 2015 analysis of 10 studies suggests that ginger's effects on blood clotting are unclear. It indicates that more research is needed to understand the potential blood-thinning properties of ginger fully.
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne peppers are also high in salicylates and can act as powerful blood-thinning agents.
Health stores carry it in capsule form if you don't like the taste.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E reduces blood clotting in a few different ways.
Overdosing on vitamin E is dangerous and all too easy if you take supplements unwisely. I'd recommend foods that contain it instead:
- almonds
- safflower oil
- sunflower oil
- sunflower seeds
- wheat germ oil
- whole grains
Garlic
Some research reports that odorless garlic powder demonstrates antithrombotic activities. An antithrombotic agent is a substance that reduces blood clot formation.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon contains coumarin, a powerful blood-thinning agent. Warfarin, the most commonly used blood-thinning drug, is derived from coumarin.
Gingko (AKA. Gingko Biloba)
Gingko thins the blood and has fibrinolytic (clot preventing) effects, according to some sources. This means it may dissolve blood clots. One study reports that ginkgo extract has similar effects to streptokinase, a drug used to treat blood clots.
Grape Seed Extract
Grape seed extract may also act as a natural blood thinner. Because of these effects, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health suggest that people with blood disorders, those taking blood-thinning medications, and people about to have an operation should not take grape seed extract.
Dong Quai
Dong quai, also known as female ginseng, is another traditional Chinese herb that may reduce blood clotting. Studies on animals report that dong quai significantly increases the length of time it takes blood to clot
Feverfew (medicinal herb)
Feverfew may also act as a blood thinner by inhibiting the activity of platelets and preventing blood clotting.
Health stores stock it as capsules or liquid.
Pineapple Extract
Research suggests that bromelain (an enzyme extracted from pineapple) can thin the blood, break down blood clots, and reduce clot formation. The enzyme also has anti-inflammatory properties. Supplements are available.
Vitamin B12, and Omega 3 fatty acid.
It seems that a set of deficiencies that vegans are at risk of getting increase risks of thrombosis:
It concludes that there is a strong scientific basis for vegetarians and vegans to increase their dietary omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12 to help contend with those risks.
The question of eggs and milk
I can find no evidence whatever that eggs (either white or yolk) or milk bear any direct relation to thrombosis. That being said you could read this study on the National Institute of Health's website for the link between those ingredients and vascular disease.
The quotes are taken from
Heart attacks and strokes are caused by eating too much oil. The link between high cholesterol and heart disease was made clear in this study done in the 1950s. Note that this was long before the time statins were invented. Two populations living in Uganda were compared, the indigenous Africans had a low cholesterol while the Asians had a high cholesterol. The difference was caused by the amount of fat in the diet. The Africans kept the calories from fat below 20%, while the Asians were getting about 40% of their calories from fat.
In the subsequent decades such studies were difficult to replicate, as hardly no one eats like the indigenous Africans were eating. The few populations left who still do eat this way live in remote areas where there are no hospitals, therefore there are no hospital records that can be used to do research on heart attack and stroke risks of these populations. This lack of data allowed the mistaken idea to prevail that cardiovascular disease is a normal part of the aging process. According to this idea, we can lower the risk to a limited degree by adopting a healthy lifestyle, e.g. by sticking to the Mediterranean diet, but we can forget about drastically reducing the risk to close to zero.
That this idea is wrong was recently shown by scientists who found a way to test indigenous populations for cardiovascular risk factors. Using mobile CT-scanners they measured calcified plaque in the coronary arteries of the Tsimane Indians in Bolivia. The results were published here, the main finding:
...the Tsimane, a forager-horticulturalist population of the Bolivian Amazon with few coronary artery disease risk factors, have the lowest reported levels of coronary artery disease of any population recorded to date.
Here we note that the reported levels refer to measured calcified plaque levels, the fraction of the population that has high levels is 5 times lower than what is seen in Western populations. The actual heart attack and stroke risk could not be measured (due to an absence of hospital records), but this rate can be much lower than the factor 5 suggested by the calcified plaque levels, as calcified plaque is not the single determinant of heart attack risk.
The diet of the Tsimane is remarkable similar to that of the Africans in Uganda. We can read here about the Tsimane diet:
A high carbohydrate diet of rice, plantain, manioc and corn, with a small amount of wild game and fish – plus around six hours’ exercise every day – has given the Tsimané people of the Bolivian Amazon the healthiest hearts in the world.
Their diet is high in unrefined carbohydrates (72%) with about 14% protein and it is very low in sugar and in fat – also 14%, which amounts to about 38g of fat a day including 11g of saturated fat.
And we can read here about the diet the Africans in Uganda were eating:
The dietary background of most of the African subjects was made up predominantly of staple foods—green plantain and sweet potatoes, cassava, yams and maize with pumpkins, tomatoes and green leafy vegetables. Pulses and groundnuts were used in the sauces, and meat and fish were eaten in small amounts. Daily fat intakes were small, probably 10–20% of total calorie intake.
