Which one is considered better for thinning the blood, baby aspirin or vitamin E? I know they're both blood thinners but does anyone know which one is better? You hear so much about baby aspirin being good for your heart and keeping the blood flowing, but I've also read how a daily aspirin can cause gastritis and other stomach problems that vitamin E does not. Does anyone know if one has more advantages than the other, and if vitamin E is recommended, how do you know how much to take to thin the blood enough to reap it's benefits?
Aspirin doesn't really "thin" the blood as much as it keeps the platelets from sticking together.
If Vitamin E was good for this purpose, doctors would prescribe it for those of us with heart disease, not aspirin. There are some studies that show Vitamin E has no heart protective effect whatsoever, and could even cause it to be worse (if I'm remembering correctly; someone will come along and correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure).
The number of people who are allergic to aspirin, or in whom it causes gastritis, is very, very small. Especially in the "baby" aspirin dosage of 81 mg.
Actually, it is fish oil that may have a blood thinning effect....
those Vitamin E "case studies" are very deceptive. I believe they are only an attempt by the FDA to get people from taking the good stuff, and switching to patentable drugs. Do your own research before taking supplements.
those Vitamin E "case studies" are very deceptive. I believe they are only an attempt by the FDA to get people from taking the good stuff, and switching to patentable drugs. Do your own research before taking supplements.
They certainly were questionable, partly because they involved meta-analyses of other studies, which vary all over the lot in how they are conducted, and in bias. In other words, it was not a direct study of Vitamin E, but a study of studies. Out of about 651 studies, they excluded all but 68. They also excluded any study where no one had died. So if Vitamin E had say, prevented someone from dying in a study where no one else died, it wouldn't have mattered statistically because the study was already excluded. Also they mostly looked at studies of very old, sick people, e.g., people between 80 and 100 years old. Naturally if you have cancer or heart disease already, it is difficult for Vitamin E to prevent it, as it is a nutrient, not a drug. Furthermore, people who have serious diseases like that, depending on how scared they are, tend sometimes to take too much. So you might have had some people adversely affecting their health by taking 2,000 I.U., of Vitamin E a day, for example, which is not really fair, if the bottle says to take only one pill at 400 I.U. It's not the fault of the Vitamin if people take too much of it. I read a report from an M.D. who looked at these studies and determined that up to 800 I.U. of Vitamin E a day was OK. I take 400 I.U., and I think that is way better for my health than not taking any Vitamin E supplement at all. I don't think any study has or can demonstrate that taking a 400 I.U. Vitamin E pill is bad for you, especially when, for example, some studies have indicated that men who take Vitamin E supplements reduce their risk of getting prostate cancer. [The ATBC study discovered "a 32% reduction in prostate cancer incidence in response to daily Vitamin E supplementation."] Studies have shown many other likely benefits, related for example to brain function and to the blood, of taking Vitamin E. I also eat a lot of vegetables and exercise.
One more thing: Almost all medical studies of Vitamin E have used only the d-Alpha Tocopherol form of Vitamin E, not natural Vitamin E (which has the complete tocopherols). But nowadays, most manufacturers are also selling natural Vitamin E supplements, not just the d-Alpha type, and the natural type is what I take. I really think these studies are irrelevant once you know what you are doing and what type of Vitamin E to take. Those studies are obsolete, so what are they proving by analyzing them???
Last edited by Hardy09; 04-11-2007 at 12:36 PM.
Reason: Add a line, correct spelling.
Fish oil is so effective of a blood thinner that they have warnings on the bottle not to take with aspirin or other blood thinners! So that would work pretty good, right?
Also, it's interesting that Wheat germ oil actually has complete vitamin E in it naturally, not added to it. So I found some Wheat germ oil caps at Vitamin World and take those.
Fish oil is so effective of a blood thinner that they have warnings on the bottle not to take with aspirin or other blood thinners! So that would work pretty good, right?
Also, it's interesting that Wheat germ oil actually has complete vitamin E in it naturally, not added to it. So I found some Wheat germ oil caps at Vitamin World and take those.
Hello!
It has been shown that taking aspirin daily can be very beneficial to some (depending on the risk factors or existing heart disease), but not others. Specifically, I remember a recommendation that women under 65 years of age do not take aspirin as a preventative measure (unless told by their doctors to do so). The reason given was that the risk of internal bleeding with long term use outweighs any potential benefits.
I have a question regarding the wheat germ oil you mentioned: what is it derived from? One would think it is extracted from wheat germ! Just wondered how much of the real stuff one would have to take to get the same benefits as when taking the supplements. What is the daily recommended dose?
It has been shown that taking aspirin daily can be very beneficial to some (depending on the risk factors or existing heart disease), but not others. Specifically, I remember a recommendation that women under 65 years of age do not take aspirin as a preventative measure (unless told by their doctors to do so). The reason given was that the risk of internal bleeding with long term use outweighs any potential benefits.
I have a question regarding the wheat germ oil you mentioned: what is it derived from? One would think it is extracted from wheat germ! Just wondered how much of the real stuff one would have to take to get the same benefits as when taking the supplements. What is the daily recommended dose?
The one I have says to only take one, although the daily value is low on it(only 8%) For me that percentage isn't so important as the fact it is more a matter of the body using it all, a complete vitamin E, rather than worrying about the RDA of basically synthetic vitamins(which most gets pee'd out since the body views synthetic isolates as drugs and proceeds to get rid of it). I imagine if you shop around you might find a higher RDA percentage oil but that little oil probably does more good than a 100% synthetic vitamin e pill from what I've read!
You also must take into account if you eat enough vitamin e foods; or fortified foods with vitamin e in them, supplements are not meant to substitute. I'm even going to look into those super food drinks myself, as the latest trend is using these powdered drinks as supplements rather than vitamin pills since the food blends seem to be concentrated with vitamins and minerals.
Thank you for the info!
I was going to do the same thing and look into energy/power drinks, nutritional values, percentages of daily recommended doses etc. It would be nice if one could eliminate taking a bunch of different things and just have a couple of these a day...At the moment, I don't know anything at all about them so have to start from scratch and do some research.
You are welcome. I know, I'm in the same boat trying to figure out the whole superfood powder drink thing too. I might go ahead and try the GNC Maximum greens one first. I also will still take other food type supps like cod liver oil(contains A and D), the wheat germ(E) and rosehips C. But those dont' have enough so that might be where the powders come in. I also like protein powders so why not...
It does seem strange not to take the centrum or one a days though, eh? It's the kind of thing hard to de-program from, even when you find out they aren't that good for you. Well, good luck on your hunt; I'm so glad for the internet these days there is so much info to consider.
