Garlic is a Natural Blood Thinner and Helps in Preventing Blood Clots

Blood clots are body’s defense mechanism to protect us from excessive bleeding caused due to an injury.

Normally when blood clot's job is done, it dissolves away, thus most of them are harmless.

However, harmful blood clots (often mobile ones) can also form due to some underlying health conditions or family history or both. 

It is important to get immediate medical attention if you have blood clots in your system.

But if you are looking for a natural solution, you can focus on natural foods like garlic.

Blood clotting system has two major parts, Platelet and Fibrin, garlic positively impacts both of them.

Cooked or raw, garlic retains its clot buster benefits.

So, how does garlic work as a natural blood thinner?

Researchers in India studied people from Jain religious sect. Some of the Jain community members abstain completely from eating onions and garlic.

However, some other groups of the same community do eat onions and garlic in large or moderate amounts.

After clinical-trials it was shown that the group that eat garlic even in moderate dietary quantities, had this blood thinning effect.

Patients with a condition called as intermittent claudication (it is a condition where pain is caused due to too little blood flow into the muscles or limbs, especially while walking or exercising), reported improvement in their condition.

Consuming garlic significantly improved the walking distance in patients with claudification.

It does not matter whether you consume garlic in its cooked or raw form, the blood thinning benefits have been observed in both cases.

The fibrinolytic activity (a measure of the tendency of blood to form clots), increased (meaning less tendency to form blood clots) in subjects consuming garlic.

Ajoene – One of the constituents of garlic, has capabilities similar to aspirin, and can be the chemical responsible for its blood thinning property.

However, research shows that ajoene is not present in significant quantities in many of the garlic preparations, and yet garlic delivers its blood thinning benefits.

So, many believe that allicin (with very similar chemical composition to ajoene and an important constituent responsible for many medicinal benefits of garlic) is responsible for its blood thinning benefits.

Read: Proven Benefits of Eating Raw Garlic on Empty Stomach

As discovered by a study made in 1975 by Bordia (R): 

Garlic oil or raw garlic can increase the fibrinolytic activity and can prevent blood clotting.

In fact, the garlic oil will increase fibrinolytic activity only after three hours of administration. The long-term use of the garlic oil can be very helpful as it will increase fibrinolytic activity significantly.

It can increase fibrinolytic activity from 36% to 130% both in the healthy and acute myocardial infarction patients. This report is also backed by other studies.

Also Read: Garlic and Cardiovascular Disease: Prevent and Cure Heart Related Ailments with Garlic

You can also take dried garlic powder to get the same benefits. Dried garlic powder will cause increased fibrinolytic activity and will also promote plasminogen activator activity.

You can get the same benefits from fried or raw garlic powder. If you do not like the smell of garlic, you can consider frying it, as that will remove its strong smell while preserving useful effects of fibrinolytic activity.

Raw garlic will serve the same purpose. You can consume garlic oil, fried or raw garlic powder, or even raw garlic to enjoy its blood thinning benefits.

Are there any side effects?

Garlic is considered safe. For 5000 years Garlic has been used around the World as Food and Medicine.

However, as we always want you to be healthy and happy, please consider taking advice from a registered medical practitioner before making any major changes to your diet / lifestyle.

Excessive use of garlic might be harmful. Use it in moderation.

Be healthy and keep rocking! 

References:

1. Effect of garlic on cardiovascular disorders: a review

Also Read: Garlic Helps in Reducing for High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol