Reduce Your Risk Of Blood Clots Without A Prescription

Integrative Oncology Essentials

Blood clots and cancer

One of the the facts I emphasize during my integrative oncology talks is that the majority of patients with cancer do not die from their cancer, but instead from a side effect or complication related to their cancer or the cancer treatment.

This blood clot is called a DVT (deep vein thrombosis.) Typically, they develop in the veins of the arm, leg or pelvis, and they can present with swelling, pain, redness, warmth, or heaviness in the affected area.

If they dislodge and travel to the lung, heart or brain, they can become deadly. A VTE (venous thromboembolism) is the term used for any DVT that ends up in another part of the body.

  • The most well known VTE is a PE (pulmonary embolism), a DVT that gets stuck in the veins of the lung and blocks critical blood flow to lung. This can present with shortness of breath, cough or chest pain. Without rapid diagnosis and treatment it can be fatal.

The increased risk of blood clots and cancer is not recent news…it’s been known since 1865!

It’s hard for me to imagine, but one study reported that more than one-quarter of oncologists believe cancer patients are not at increased risk for blood clots.

WHO IS AT GREATEST RISK OF DEVELOPING A BLOOD CLOT?

DVTDVT’s occur much more commonly among those with certain risk factors:

deep-vein-thrombosis

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the leg on the left.

HOW DOES CANCER INCREASE THE RISK OF BLOOD CLOTS?

HERE ARE MY RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP REDUCE THE RISK OF BLOOD CLOTS:

  • Increase physical activity:Maintain a healthy weight
    • Exercise your legs frequently while you’re sitting
    • Exercise regularly (goal: at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, 5-days per week)
    • Get up and walk around every 2 to 3 hours
  • Stop smoking! (and avoid second-hand exposure)
  • Reduce stress (read how stress increases inflammation on our prior blog post)
  • Limit alcohol consumption to 1 serving per day (preferably red wine)
  • Consume an anti-cancer/anti-inflammatory diet
  • Consider taking a daily, low-dose (“baby aspirin”):
  • The active ingredient in aspirin is a plant-derived compound called a “salicylate.” Instead of taking a baby aspirin, you could simply consume foods that have high salicylate content (as well as many anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients):
    • Fruits: apricots, oranges, blackberries, pineapple, blackcurrant, plums, blueberries, prunes, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, cranberries, tangerines, tomatoes
    • Spices, herbs and others: curry, cayenne, paprika, thyme, turmeric, ginger, dandelion, gingko, licorice and peppermint, wine, vinegar, honey, cider
  • fish_oil_pillsConsume foods that are rich in vitamin E or omega-3 fatty acids (both of which have blood thinning properties and may reduce the risk of blood clots):
    • Sources of omega-3 fatty acids include:
      • Fatty fish (i.e.  anchovies, salmon, lake trout, herring, mackerel) and fish oil
      • Plant sources (i.e. flaxseed, sunflower seeds, canola oil, corn oil, safflower oil, soy)
    • Vitamin E rich foods include:
      • Nuts (i.e. walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)
      • Vegetable oils (i.e. canola oil, sunflower oil, palm oil)
      • Lentils (i.e. chickpeas)
      • Oats and wheat
  • garlicOther foods and supplements that reduce blood clotting:

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