Water is the enemy of blood clots, caffeine is their ally

To prevent the risk of blood clotting and blood clots, you need to adjust your diet, recommends Natalia Denisova, candidate of medical sciences, nutritionist, senior researcher at the Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Biotechnology.
She noted that thick blood in a healthy person is a sign of dehydration. In the absence of fluid, the platelets begin to stick together, deposit in the vessels and form blood clots, the doctor explained. To prevent this condition and reduce the risk of blood clotting, Denisova advised drinking 1.5-2 liters of liquid per day, including weak tea. "But coffee and alcohol don't count because, on the contrary, they remove fluid from the body.
One of the risks of blood thickening and blood clots is high caffeine consumption. And it doesn't matter what - tea, coffee, energy drinks," said the nutritionist. She specified that those who drink a lot of coffee should also increase the amount of water they drink.
In addition, a proper diet, which should contain enough vitamins and minerals, but without excess, will help reduce the risk. "For example, blood clotting is affected by the content of vitamins C (vegetables, fruits) and K (cabbage, cottage cheese, milk), macro- and microelements such as calcium (dairy products, nuts, beef, legumes), phosphorus (fish, meat , poultry, milk, cereals), magnesium (fish, cereals, eggs, bread, bananas, dried apricots, nuts). Therefore, there should be neither an excess nor a deficit of them in the food", she explained.
Denisova called for limiting overly fatty and salty foods. High levels of fat (especially animal) in the diet are also a risk factor for blood thickening and clots, and salt attracts water and causes swelling, she said. "With an excess of salt in the diet, a redistribution of fluid in the body is possible: edema means that there is a lot of water in the intercellular space and little in the intracellular space. This may also be one of the factors in the formation of thrombi," she concluded.
Previously, neurologist Igor Matsokin urged people not to eat chocolate, citrus fruits and fatty foods if they have a headache. He also advises against taking pain relievers for more than 10 days to avoid the risk of developing a medication headache. /BGNES