Nattokinase for Neuropathy?
 

I have been taking Nattokinase from the health food store for a few months now. It does seem to help Has anyone else had any experience with this. It is a natural product that doesn't seem as invasive as Neurotin.

Isn't that a natural blood thinner product?

Nattokinase
 

Yes, it is a natural blood thinner. One of the problems with Neuropathy is the lack of blood flow which impairs the function of the nerves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nattokinase

If this is working for you, as a blood thinner...I'd make sure you have testing for MGUS... Thick blood is a sign of potential cancers of the blood system. I think it should be diagnosed and watched.

Blood thinning runs some risks. We've seen in studies recently that one small baby aspirin 81mg can cause small brain bleeds in those taking it for cardiac protection. Up to 70% of people studied showed this alarming side effect.

If you suspect you have "poor" circulation", it might be a good idea to look at this method:
http://www.drignarro.com/

Also agents that reduce endothelial inflammation, which is small inflammatory changes in blood vessels' linings, may help. Bioavailable curcumin has a study showing benefit for this.
Also reducing homocysteine if elevated helps too.

There are only a few forms of curcumin that are readily absorbed. So choosing carefully, improves response.

Simply restoring magnesium to the body, if you are not eating magnesium rich foods, will improve blood flow as well.

Drugs that constrict blood vessels, can lead to poor circulation.
Cymbalta and Effexor are in that category, along with caffeine, and other stimulants. Hypothyroidism leads to cold extremities as well.

Nattokinase
 

I forgot to mention that when I was watching Dr Oz a couple of days ago, he was listing important things we should do that Asians do. The number one thing was to take Nattokinase for heart health. I did research it before I started taking it.

Here is some interesting medical reading:

http://hearthawk.blogspot.com/2010/0...revisited.html

According to this, it really is not terrific as a blood thinner. Very little evidence.

But if it works for you, that is good for you. Whether it will work for others remains to be seen, I guess.

I tend to go with the flow, with antioxidants, and curcumin. That is what works for me.

Nattokinase
 

Thank you for your information. I am still trying to figure out for sure that this will help me. I now have some that has Vit C 80 mg Vit E 30 IU and 5mg of pycnogenol. My blood pressure is better so maybe it is helping. I know these things take time. I do not take any other blood thinners so think I should be ok.

My major concern is safety here. Since reading those monographs that nattokinase may not be absorbed well, and may not affect blood clotting that much...the risk is less.

After all 81mg of aspirin was enough to cause micro bleeds in peoples' brains! Who would have thought that (until it was discovered by CAT/MRI scans)?

The 5mg of pycnogenols is basically useless. 50- 100mg a day is about the average dose for antioxidant effects (sometimes higher).

The Vit E may be there for antioxidant protection of the product, and the Vit C also...both are low doses.

Keep in mind that magnesium is very good for improving circulation. (esp if you are low in this nutrient from the diet)
Here is my magnesium thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html

Nattokinase
 

I am taking 500mg of magnesium. I also take 1200 mg of Calcium Citrate with D3 and also walk twice daily in the sun. Is that enough?

I hope it is not magnesium oxide!! That is useless and not absorbed.

Magnesium oxide remains the most common one out there because it is cheap. Doctors still prescribe it, and studies clearly show it is extremely poorly absorbed. From 500mg you might get 10mg into your blood stream.

Citrate and the delayed acting chlorides are better. I also use a powder sometimes called Ionic Fizz...it is very quick acting and quite nice.
It dissolves rapidly in warm water. I am quite sensitive to the laxative actions of magnesium, so I do the delayed type SlowMag.
I get the generic for it, at Costco, for about $5 for 60. (it is behind the counter at the pharmacy, and they will order it for you-- Mag64.
I just saw brand name SlowMag at WalMart last weekend on the shelf for 9.99 for 60. SlowMag was designed for use by physicians for cardiac patients and others, but it has always been over the counter.

I have a Vit D thread here also, and on it is new recommendations from a cardiologist who put on his blog, that people taking high dose D3 should cut back on calcium supplements (he does not recommend more than 600mg a day and only that for people with osteoporosis, etc)
He believes the Vit D greatly improves calcium absorption, and hence too much calcium may lead to hypercalcemia. (which then leads to arterial plaque and calcium deposits in the kidneys and other tissues).

If your D3 is only mixed in that calcium citrate, that is not considered high dose. High dose D3 is 2000IU and up a day.

Nattokinase
 

Thank you so much for your help. I love this forum and learning new things. You were right. It is Magnesium Oxide. I will change that as soon as I can. I have read that before about the D3. That is good to know because that could solve my problems if I am taking too much calcium because I think my problem is arterial plaque which causes poor circulation. Do you know of another way to clean that out? That is what I was hoping to do with the Nattokinase.

There have been many claims about cleaning out plaque...

Whoever finds the workable solution will be very rich I expect!

All of the claims are somewhat suspect IMO. For example, there is chelation of calcium, which can be dangerous.

I do think keeping inflammatory markers down with antioxidants, will reduce plaque from forming. Also the work of Dr. Ignarro is worth a try.
(arginine + citrulline).

Nattokinase does work, I’m living proof!!!
 

HI, a couple years LATE (I know)...but none the less this is so important to share in hopes that many people read it, and want to take a chance on something that could really help them naturally. I read a lot of the comments on this forum here and was stopped by your comment. I would love to share my own story with you concerning Nattokinase. This was about 5 years ago, I was using “Nuvaring” as my form of birth control (which can cause clots) and I was 40ish give or take a year or so. Was overweight, And I smoked. So all of those made me a prime candidate for blood clots. I thought I had a Charlie horse in my leg, upper mid inside of my calf. This just happened one morning after I woke, the pain. Then a week went by, pain wasn’t going away, 2 weeks in I started to seek answers as to what it could be (finding it to be a Thrombosis) now my leg began to swell and get red and become hot to the touch. This scared me so badly. I knew what it was and found the most promising natural cure I could find online, before giving in and going to hospital/Doctor... (which I was beyond terrified to do so) knowing they would keep me in hospital for a week or 2 observing as they administered Warfarin (blood thinner/ORIGINAL RAT POISON)... I did not have time for that, my Husband worked and we have children at home who at the time were not even close to watching themselves if Mom had to be elsewhere, and nobody to help. So I needed to find my best cure... so I found Dr.s Best Brand after reading many reviews down at our local super supplements store for about $21... Day 1 I took 1 Nattokinase capsul, woke up to nearly no pain and half swelling was gone! Day 2 took another capsul, woke up to no pain, no swelling and barely any heat. Day 3 took yet another capsul, woke up to nothing, it was gone, no heat, pain, swelling!!!! Well, I continued on taking 1 a day for a couple months for safe measure, being very careful not to take any other blood thinner at all due to risks of brain bleeding if you do. It’s been around 5 years ago now, never again have I had any thrombosis (blood clot in leg)... it was basically cured overnight, and I am living proof. I’ve done tons of additional research since then about Nattokinase, it is an absolutely amazing supplement. It dissolves clots, and plaque from your arteries. It basically makes your arteries and veins and heart health brand new again. They are actually starting to connect alsheimers/Dementia to how clogged the arteries are, the brain arteries can swell and put pressure on the brain if they are clogged, Nattokinase can clean those clogged arteries and possibly as the scientists state, reverse alsheimers/Dementia. Very good news to all of us! Also, neuropathy is another thing I’ve read Nattokinase can help with. So many benefits, as long as you heed the cautions and don’t take other blood thinners with it, seems to be a real cure. Best of luck to you 😊

I've been taking Nattokinase for some yrs. My integrative MD checked me for homocysteine and it was elevated so Natto is was with a couple other supplements for the homocysteine. She is not a big fearful doctor on cholesterol. There is a lot of information on the cholesterol myth.