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Nattokinase is an enzyme found in Nattô, a popular Japanese cheese made from fermented soybeans. This enzyme has been found to dissolve blood clots. Clots that form inside a blood vessel in the absence of a wound may restrict the blood flow and lead to heart attack or stroke. Nattokinase can diminish this risk.
According to legend, about a thousand years ago, the warrior Minamoto no Yoshiie found and tasted boiled soybeans that had been left on straw and had fermented. That was the discovery of Nattô. It is believed that by the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), Nattô had become a regular part of Japanese cuisine in some areas. It is no secret that the Japanese live longer, have less cardiovascular disease and are not affected by heart attack and stroke as frequently as people in the Western world. Many now believe that Nattô has been the secret to their well-being.
Nattokinase Plus, a special formulation with nattokinase, which has been hailed as a “clot busting miracle” by consumers and scientists. Blood vessels that have become clogged with arterial sclerosis impairs blood circulation. This leads to a host of unwanted health problems including high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and even congestive heart failure. When blood flow is restricted to the vessels of the heart due to clogged arteries or “blood clots,” the heart muscle begins to die. Symptoms of this include chest pain, heart attack and eventual congestive heart failure. When blood vessels of the head become clogged, stroke occurs. Blocked leg veins cause leg pain as well as swelling in ankles and feet. Nattokinase is a powerful weapon in reversing the effects of impaired blood flow.
| Dr. Martin Milner, from the Center for Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, "In all my years of research as a professor of cardiovascular and pulmonary medicine, natto and nattokinase represents the most exciting new development in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular related diseases," Dr. Milner said. "We have finally found a potent natural agent that can thin and dissolve clots effectively, with relative safety and without side effects." |
Nattokinase is a potent fibrinolytic enzyme extracted and highly purified from a traditional Japanese food called Natto. Doctor Hiroyuki Sumi had long researched thrombolytic enzymes searching for a natural agent that could successfully dissolve thrombus associated with cardiac and cerebral infarction (blood clots associated with heart attacks and stroke). Sumi discovered nattokinase in 1980 while working as a researcher and majoring in physiological chemistry at Chicago University Medical School.
Blood clots (or thrombi) form when strands of protein called fibrin accumulate in a blood vessel. In the heart, blood clots cause blockage of blood flow to muscle tissue. If blood flow is blocked, the oxygen supply to that tissue is cut off and it eventually dies. This can result in angina and heart attacks. Clots in chambers of the heart can mobilize to the brain. In the brain, blood clots also block blood and oxygen from reaching necessary areas, which can result in senility and/or stroke. The human body produces several types of enzymes for making thrombus (blood clotting material), but only one main enzyme for breaking it down and dissolving it - plasmin. The properties of nattokinase closely resemble plasmin.
Researchers from JCR Pharmaceuticals, Oklahoma State University, and Miyazaki Medical College tested nattokinase on 12 healthy Japanese volunteers (6 men and 6 women, between the ages of 21 and 55).
The tests indicated that the natto generated a heightened ability to dissolve blood clots: On average, the volunteers' ELT (a measure of how long it takes to dissolve a blood clot) dropped by 48 percent within two hours of treatment, and volunteers retained an enhanced ability to dissolve blood clots for 2 to 8 hours. As a control, researchers later fed the same amount of boiled soybeans to the same volunteers and tracked their fibrinolytic activity. The tests showed no significant change.
The Benefits of Nattokinase on Blood Pressure
The same natto extract was then tested on human volunteers with high blood pressure. Blood pressure levels were measured after 30 grams of lyophilized extract (equivalent to 200 grams of natto food) was administered orally for 4 consecutive days. In 4 out of 5 volunteers, the systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased on average from 173.8 + 20.5 mmHg to 154.8 + 12.6 mmHg. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) decreased on average from 101.0 + 11.4 mmHg to 91.2 + 6.6 mmHg. On average, this data represents a 10.9 percent drop in SBP and a 9.7 percent drop in DBP.
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