Flaxseed to thin blood

Has anyone here successfully used Ground Flaxseed to thin blood as a replacement for Warfarin?

NickC,

Please don't dare try that if you, or a loved one you are inquiring about, truly meets the criteria for needing a true blood thinner! Replacing Warfarin or a NOAC with Flax Seed Oil is really rolling the dice ... and we cannot at all advise such a choice!

Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2017 01:03AM by Shannon.

Can anyone else recommend other supplements that might help stabilize the volatility of symptoms? I've been researching more natural ways of improving my condition as I'm growing tired of the "traditional" way of doing things. Thank you!

minimi - If you haven't yet discovered the box at the top of the page titled Afib Resources, there are many excellent reports there to address various nutritional supplements that help in various ways with afib. I had intended to direct you to that link and the report titled "The Strategy" so that you could review some of the suggestions that are useful... but had a log-in glitch that didn't allow me to post until just now. Soon, I'll add more detail and can answer questions but in the meantime, you can become familiar with those reports and see what sounds applicable to your situation.

Sorry for the delay.

Jackie

Well we have been trying 1tsp / day Gound Flaxseed (needed to buy an appropriate grinder) for half a week and so far daily morning blood pressure tests are showing quite a regular substantial reduction.

Hi Nick - back again -- just briefly. While flax seed can have some benefits, a concern often emphasized by the experts is that many benefits come from Omega 3 essential fatty acids; whereas, with the Flax seeds which are Omega 6 EFA... the benefit is not as significant for reducing the effects of free radical damage. Barry Sears, PhD is one of many well-known experts in the field of EFA's and he emphasizes the need for abundant Omega 3's and lower 6's. Ratios are important. The main focus is to lower silent inflammation and Omega 3's do that very well.

That doesn't mean you can't benefit from some flax seed oil but take some time to research the various positions on this topic.

I have a report on Silent Inflammation by Dr. Sears if you would like to read, I can send to you. Just send me a PM.

The Weston Price Foundation has many excellent reports - start with this classic with researcher Mary Enig.
The Skinny on Fats
January 1, 2000 By Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD
[www.westonaprice.org]


Jackie

Jackie,

Just when I thought we had found something natural that actually worked to lower blood pressure it seems maybe not all good then.

I am confused, I thought Flaxseeds contained Omega-3 which is what we want, better than Omega-6 or is the equation not that simple.

Nick

Nick:

I would say if Flaxseed oil is benefiting you then use it.

laxseed is the seed from the plant Linum usitatissimum. Oil from the seed is used to make medicine.

People try flaxseed oil for many different conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and high cholesterol. It is also tried for treating osteoarthritis, anxiety, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), vaginal infections, dry eyes, “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis), high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Some people use flaxseed oil as a laxative for constipation, for weight loss, and to prevent breast cancer and prostate cancer.

Flaxseed oil is also applied to the skin to sooth irritations or soften roughness.

In foods, flaxseed oil is used as cooking oil and in margarines.

In manufacturing, flaxseed oil is used as an ingredient in paints, varnishes, linoleum, and soap; and as a waterproofing agent.

How does it work?

Flaxseed oil is a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as alpha-linolenic acid. The alpha-linolenic acid and related chemicals in flaxseed oil seem to decrease inflammation. That is why flaxseed oil is thought to be useful for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory (swelling) diseases.


I saw a documentary last night on Vit. D, the final thoughts were to eat fish and not to take all of these supplements which are not exactly what the label says.

Liz

There are many authorities who warn against the use of Flaxseed oil especially for men. These include The Mayo Clinic, Dr Al Sears and Dr Weil.

I'm a fan of supplements but before I take any I always Google 'Dangers of' or 'Is it safe to take' so that I get both sides views.

I sent Nick some reliable, factual reports on Flax seed oil and Omega 3's with the focus on how Omega 3's help reduce inflammation and are beneficial to afibbers via the effect of lowering inflammation in heart tissue.

Here's one clip from Barry Sears, PhD.

Dr. Barry Sears
Flaxseed oil contains short-chain Omega-3 fatty acids and the human body can convert these short-chain Omega-3 fatty acids with great difficulty into much lower levels of longer-chain Omega-3 fatty acids. The conversion rate is between one and five percent. It is only the long-chain Omega-3 fats that have the health benefits.

This is not to say that flaxseed oil is bad. It is just not very good compared to fish oil because of the very inefficient conversion of the fats found in flaxseed oil to the long-chain Omega-3 fats
found in fish oil.

Read more in Dr. Sears' classic report on Silent Inflammation found at this link:

[www.elitefitness.com]

I'm sure the same report plus more is at Dr. Sears' website but I was short on time, so this one was convenient. I'm not touting the website as a source of info... merely convenience for reading the SI report.

If you have afib, then it's important to focus on reducing silent inflammation for vascular tissues...and of course, overall health as well.

Other reliable sources for confirmation include:

The Weston Price Foundation has many excellent reports - start with this classic with researcher Mary Enig.
The Skinny on Fats
January 1, 2000 By Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD
[www.westonaprice.org]

And the book by Udo Erasmus, PhD, Fats that Heal Fats that Kill

Jackie

Been looking into Fish Oil as a better alternative but have come across one major issue:

Most come in 'Softgel' capsules which contain animal based gelatine. I know from previous research that gelatine is high in certain dangerous and unwanted pesticides.

So it is possible that many of these fish oil capsules might be doing more harm than good. Will keep searching for clean fish oil products.

Nick

Nick - Among the top brands for high quality, Nordic Naturals and Carlson's Omega 3 liquid Fish oils are available in bottles. As with capsules, this needs to be refrigerated, but the liquid form eliminates the concern about the composition of gel caps. Some brands add a faint lemon flavor but I've found even the plain is very palatable.

You can check out the details online at Nordic Natural or Carlson's plus Natural Factors has pharmaceutical grade liquid Omega 3 fish oil.

[naturalfactors.com]

[www.nordicnaturals.com]

[www.carlsonlabs.com]


Jackie

Thanks Jackie but having looked at those all of them have some additional chemical ingredients or antioxidents:

Nordic Naturals Arctic Cod Liver Oil - Orange, d-alpha tocopherol, Rosemary extract
naturalfactors.com - Orange, Vitamin-E
carlsonlabs.com - Lemon, Tocopherols

It is getting very difficult finding pure natural unadulterated products anymore.

Nick

Quote
Jackie
Nick - Among the top brands for high quality, Nordic Naturals and Carlson's Omega 3 liquid Fish oils are available in bottles. As with capsules, this needs to be refrigerated, but the liquid form eliminates the concern about the composition of gel caps. Some brands add a faint lemon flavor but I've found even the plain is very palatable.

You can check out the details online at Nordic Natural or Carlson's plus Natural Factors has pharmaceutical grade liquid Omega 3 fish oil.

[naturalfactors.com]

[www.nordicnaturals.com]

[www.carlsonlabs.com]


Jackie

Hi Nick - Your best chance is the higher quality producers and also those that are professional grade products such as Designs for Health or Metagenics, as an example... and even then, they also add natural flavor and the tocopherols - probably as antioxidants to help keep fresh. The real challenge is to find fish that are not contaminated with mercury and other heavy metals plus other undesirable components. Even if you ate just the fresh anchovies or sardines, you'd still have to contend with pollutants such as pesticides, solvents, PCBs and such. That's where the molecular distilling and filtering comes in with the higher quality products.

Jackie

Flaxseed is beginning to sound a better alternative by the day...

Quote
Jackie
Hi Nick - Your best chance is the higher quality producers and also those that are professional grade products such as Designs for Health or Metagenics, as an example... and even then, they also add natural flavor and the tocopherols - probably as antioxidants to help keep fresh. The real challenge is to find fish that are not contaminated with mercury and other heavy metals plus other undesirable components. Even if you ate just the fresh anchovies or sardines, you'd still have to contend with pollutants such as pesticides, solvents, PCBs and such. That's where the molecular distilling and filtering comes in with the higher quality products.

Jackie

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/2017 03:57PM by NickC.

Hi Nick - sorry for the late response. In the book I mentioned by Udo Erasmus, PhD, Fats that Heal _ Fats that Kill... he has a chapter on the benefits of flax seed both from the fiber standpoint but also the essential fatty acids. He mentions that references to flax healing properties are "found in Greek and Roman writings dating around 650 BC. He says Hippocrates, in the 5th century BC, mentioned using flax to relieve inflamed mucous membranes and for relieving abdominal pains and diarrhea and goes into other cultures using flax to treat human and livestock ailments.... emphasizing it has a very long history in Europe. He says " Flax oil has been used both clinically and in self-responsible health care for hundreds of years in Europe and for about 10 years in North America." (The first issue/publication of his book was in 1986 so add on another 31 years.)

He makes a point of commenting about the preference of people wanting to buy fresh flax oil and who go to great lengths to have it air-shipped because fresh flax oil spoils quickly if special handling and storage care is not taken to prevent it from becoming rancid. I'm sure if you grind your own from strictly fresh seeds, you can be sure to prevent the rancidity issue.

Just remember that the focus of using healthy oils for the EPA/DHA benefits is to learn what your baseline markers of inflammation are by testing as mentioned here in this post from several years ago about:
Sticky, thick blood and risk of stroke or MI [www.afibbers.org].

At the very least, know your High Sensitivity or Cardiac C-reactive protein (HS-CRP) number so you can make improvements if needed to help reduce the risk of forming clots when not on formal blood thinners and with prolonged afib events.

Jackie