Coumadin

[deepdiver]

Dear Reader,

Dr. W. refers to Coumadin as one of the all-time worst "hangovers" from the "heyday" of patent medications: No matter how many alternatives there are for it, it just won't go away. Don't get me wrong: It certainly does its job, which is to thin the blood. But it creates quite a bit of collateral damage in the process. Including a serious problem discovered recently in a study published in the September issue of the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Researchers recruited 258 people who'd experienced a brain hemorrhage. Those people who were taking warfarin (the generic name for Coumadin) experienced twice as much bleeding during their hemorrhage as patients who weren't on the medication. As you might imagine, this increased bleeding means increased risk of death.

And, unfortunately, the threat of increased hemorrhage is just the latest addition to the list of warfarin's risks. It also poisons and kills off the vitamin K in your body. Over time, the near-total lack of vitamin K will (not "could," will) cause osteoporosis, arterial calcification, cognitive malfunction, and many, many other problems.

When we were talking about the recent American Academy of Neurology study, Dr. W. reminded me that there's a very good alternative to Coumadin—one he's been using in his practice for over 30 years with great success: fish oil. Fish oil works by making platelets so slippery that they can't stick together easily to form a clot.

Granted, it is possible to use so much fish oil that it could cause the same increased risk of brain hemorrhage that warfarin did in the study mentioned above. But you'd have to take 5 to 6 tablespoons daily for this to be a significant risk—and I don't know anyone who can swallow that much (it's not the tastiest stuff, so if you have trouble getting it down, you can blend it with rice or almond milk). For blood-thinning purposes, Dr. W. recommends 2 to 3 tablespoons of cod liver oil each day along with 800-1,000 IU of vitamin E.

Of course, it's never a good idea to switch from Coumadin to cod liver oil without the advice of a physician skilled and knowledgeable in nutritional and natural medicine. To find one near you, contact the American College for Advancement in Medicine
You can also get lemon flavored fish oil with E. I use it and it's just a lemon flavor!

[deepdiver]

Thanks for the web address

[siamacupuncture]

Chinese herbal medicine can also be effective at helping to circulate the blood.

Have you read any of the research on Dan Shen or Shan Zha?

Here's an article on using Traditional Chinese Medicine for Coronary Artery Disease that discusses these two herbs, as well as other aspects of treatment:
http://www.altmd.com/Articles/TCM-for-Coronary-Artery-Disease