There is a growing body of science that confirms that dark chocolate does indeed provide health benefits. Dark chocolate thins the blood and performs the same anti-clotting activity as aspirin. Many doctors recommend baby aspirin to reduce our risk of heart attack or stroke.
Eating dark chocolate is a great way to incorporate more cacao into your diet, which can help to lower your high blood pressure! The flavonoids in dark chocolate have been found to produce nitric oxide, which causes blood vessels to relax and lower high blood pressure.
All the fruits in the berry-family, including strawberries, cranberries, and blueberries are significant blood thinners. Oranges, tangerines, cherries, raisins, prunes, pineapples, and tomatoes work in the same manner.
Chocolate contains flavonoids, which are antioxidants that lower the level of pro-inflammatory molecules in your body. Chocolate has the same anti-clotting effect as aspirin. It thins the blood and is high in antioxidants.
Dark chocolate is considered chocolate that has > 60% cocoa (1). It contains flavonoids, which are antioxidants known to reduce the amount of pro-inflammatory molecules in the blood, increase HDL (“good” cholesterol) and lower LDL (“bad” cholesterol) levels in the blood, and improve blood flow throughout the body.
Dark chocolate thins the blood and performs the same anti-clotting activity as aspirin. Many doctors recommend baby aspirin to reduce our risk of heart attack or stroke. Researchers at University of California, Davis have found that dark chocolate has a similar effect.
Research continues to point to dark chocolate as having many health benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease and diabetes, preventing blood clots, improving memory, lowering cholesterol and even preventing some types of cancer.
The likes of coffee and other caffeine favourites can dehydrate the body, making the blood become a thicker consistency - leading to slower blood flow.
As it turns out, the answer is yes. Bananas are rich in potassium which keeps the heart-healthy. They lower blood pressure which helps improve blood flow. Pectin, which is also found in bananas, has blood-thinning effects and makes the bloodless susceptible to forming clots.
Also, chocolate is high in sugar and saturated fat. It is a high-energy (high calorie) food, and too much can result in excess weight, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Healthier sources of polyphenols include beans, pulses, fruit and vegetables.
Too much chocolate, 85 bars to be exact, results in theobromine poisoning which will give you symptoms similar to that of a caffeine overdose – trembling, excessive sweating and severe headaches. In some cases, consuming 70g of theobromine can lead to death by cardiac failure, dehydration, and seizures.
If you feel badly after eating any chocolate product, throw the rest of it out and don't buy it again. Old chocolate can make you sick if it's been tainted with something or if one of the added ingredients has expired, such as milk powder.
There are some foods that cause the blood to thicken. These include kale, spinach, collard greens, parsley, cauliflower, asparagus, leeks, and celery. You shouldn't eat these foods if you want to have thin blood.
Prevent Blood Clots:Eating eggs may help lower risk of a heart attack or stroke by helping to prevent blood clots. The anti-clotting egg yolk proteins inhibit clot formation in a dose-dependent manner - the more egg yolks eaten, the more clot preventing action.
Viral infections, such as HIV, hepatitis C, mumps, rubella, or the Epstein-Barr virus, may cause platelet numbers to fall . Bone marrow disorders, such as leukemia and lymphoma, can also affect how many platelets the body can produce.
Water helps to thin the blood, which in turn makes it less likely to form clots, explains Jackie Chan, Dr. P.H., the lead study author. But don't chug your extra H2O all at once. "You need to drink water throughout the day to keep your blood thin, starting with a glass or two in the morning," adds Dr.
A steeping cup of ginger tea has an amazing potential to work as a natural blood thinner. Acetylsalicylic acid, derived from salicylate works like aspirin that helps in preventing stroke. The presence of salicylate compounds in foods such as ginger, garlic, berries, and chillies help in blood from clotting.
Go for a dark chocolate or a dark coconut milk chocolate if you're looking to maximize health benefits— it's not just a lower cacao content that makes a milk chocolate less good for you. The proteins in animal milk bind to the antioxidants in chocolate, making them unavailable for your body to use.
Moderate amounts of red wine or purple grape juice daily helps keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots, thanks to powerful antioxidants called polyphenols in purple grapes, according to a review of previous studies published in the Journal of Nutrition.
Aspirin, a blood thinner, is also used. A class of medications called thrombolytics can dissolve clots even more quickly, but can increase the risk of bleeding. Doctors may also opt to perform surgery to remove the blood clot.