Take heart that many people live with thick blood and can manage it with blood thinners. Having thick blood puts you at increased risk for blood clots, so managing your condition is important. Remember, thick blood on its own doesn't usually produce symptoms, but blood clots often do.
Thick blood is caused by heavy proteins, or by too much blood in the circulation. Too many red cells, white cells, and platelets will result in blood thickening. Another cause is an imbalance in the blood clotting system.
Water helps to thin the blood, which in turn makes it less likely to form clots, explains Jackie Chan, Dr. P.H., the lead study author. But don't chug your extra H2O all at once. "You need to drink water throughout the day to keep your blood thin, starting with a glass or two in the morning," adds Dr.
Thick blood can lead to strokes or tissue and organ damage. Symptoms include lack of energy (fatigue) or weakness, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, visual disturbances, nose bleeds, bleeding gums, heavy menstrual periods, and bruising.
Hyperviscosity syndrome occurs when blood thickens and doesn't flow freely through blood vessels. Without treatment, this condition could lead to severe complications, including reduced blood flow to your vital organs. With timely treatment, many people recover fully from the syndrome.
Exercise builds plasma. Just one vigorous workout expands plasma 10 percent by the next day. This thins blood in a healthy way. Exercise daily and the plasma pool stays high, giving you the fluid blood of an athlete.
Polycythemia vera (pol-e-sy-THEE-me-uh VEER-uh) is a type of blood cancer. It causes your bone marrow to make too many red blood cells. These excess cells thicken your blood, slowing its flow, which may cause serious problems, such as blood clots.
All the fruits in the berry-family, including strawberries, cranberries, and blueberries are significant blood thinners. Oranges, tangerines, cherries, raisins, prunes, pineapples, and tomatoes work in the same manner.
Abstract—Blood coagulation capacity increases with age in healthy individuals, apparently because of increases in the plasma concentration of most procoagulant factors. This phenomenon may play an important role in the advancing age–associated increase of cardiovascular diseases and thrombosis.
Having thick blood (hypercoagulability) means that you are prone to excessive clotting or clotting when you are not bleeding. It can lead to dangerous blood clots that can result in a heart attack, stroke, or other life-threatening problems.
There are some foods that cause the blood to thicken. These include kale, spinach, collard greens, parsley, cauliflower, asparagus, leeks, and celery. You shouldn't eat these foods if you want to have thin blood.
Vitamin D has been shown to have an anticoagulant effect.
When you're dehydrated, you lose blood volume, which causes your blood to get thicker. That makes it harder for your heart to supply that blood to your muscles. As your heart works harder to pump that blood, your heart rate increases.
Now studies show that because aspirin thins the blood, it can also help to lower the chances of a heart attack or a stroke caused by a blood clot in the brain.
As it turns out, the answer is yes. Bananas are rich in potassium which keeps the heart-healthy. They lower blood pressure which helps improve blood flow. Pectin, which is also found in bananas, has blood-thinning effects and makes the bloodless susceptible to forming clots.
The likes of coffee and other caffeine favourites can dehydrate the body, making the blood become a thicker consistency - leading to slower blood flow.
In conclusion, blood pressure and blood viscosity are not related in healthy individuals, an effect probably due to shear stress regulation of blood flow.
Dense with nutrients, broccoli is a healthy addition to any balanced diet. However, if you have a condition that requires you to take blood-thinning medication, you might want to be cautious. Broccoli doesn't thin your blood, but the vitamin K in broccoli can inhibit your anticoagulant medication.