Cardiovascular-Protective Natural Foods
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Cardiovascular-Protective Natural Foods
Platelets are the smallest component of our blood. Colorless and shaped like plates, they are made in the bone marrow like red and white blood cells. The lightest of the three, platelets are pushed with the flow of blood to the sides of the vessels where, as needed, they get to an injured part of the body quickly. At the site of an injury, the platelets cluster together and form clots that slow or stop the bleeding. The clots act as a bandage, sealing broken blood vessels. Platelets are semi-sticky coagulants. When they are clotting, they become stickier. Adhering to blood vessel tissue, the platelets prevent the invasion of pathogenic microbes and facilitate healing.
Iron, folate, and vitamin K are key nutrients that the bone marrow uses to produce platelets. Green leafy vegetables (pictured above) are rich in these nutrients. Consuming leafy greens may aid in increasing the number of platelets, thickening the blood to enable coagulation (clotting). This is particularly important if the blood becomes thin, resulting in too much bleeding. On the other hand, if the blood becomes too thick and there is excessive coagulation (clotting), the result could be a stroke or heart attack. Foods that have anti-coagulant (anti-clotting) compounds may help reduce the number of platelets and make the blood thinner; examples of these foods are pictured, below, from Dreamstime.com: turmeric (curcumin), cayenne pepper (salicylate), and cinnamon (coumarin).
Platelets are the smallest component of our blood. Colorless and shaped like plates, they are made in the bone marrow like red and white blood cells. The lightest of the three, platelets are pushed with the flow of blood to the sides of the vessels where, as needed, they get to an injured part of the body quickly. At the site of an injury, the platelets cluster together and form clots that slow or stop the bleeding. The clots act as a bandage, sealing broken blood vessels. Platelets are semi-sticky coagulants. When they are clotting, they become stickier. Adhering to blood vessel tissue, the platelets prevent the invasion of pathogenic microbes and facilitate healing.
Iron, folate, and vitamin K are key nutrients that the bone marrow uses to produce platelets. Green leafy vegetables (pictured above) are rich in these nutrients. Consuming leafy greens may aid in increasing the number of platelets, thickening the blood to enable coagulation (clotting). This is particularly important if the blood becomes thin, resulting in too much bleeding. On the other hand, if the blood becomes too thick and there is excessive coagulation (clotting), the result could be a stroke or heart attack. Foods that have anti-coagulant (anti-clotting) compounds may help reduce the number of platelets and make the blood thinner; examples of these foods are pictured, below, from Dreamstime.com: turmeric (curcumin), cayenne pepper (salicylate), and cinnamon (coumarin).
Tumeric
Illustration by © Olena Troshchak
Cayenne Pepper
Illustration by © Aviag7
Cinnamon
Illustration by © Dracozlat
Amy Wing, Holistic Health Educator,
Nature’s Hearth
Website: www.naturesheart.net
Email: ajw.habitat@gmail.com
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