Willow tree bark has an active ingredient called salicylic acid, which is a phytonutrient that acts as an anti-inflammatory and painkiller. It’s been used since the 1800s to treat fever and pain.
Today, aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (a derivative of salicylic acid), is our most commonly-used medication. Aspirin also acts as a blood thinner and has become even more popular in recent years because many rely on its blood-thinning property to prevent heart disease.
In the 1950s and ’60s, evidence indicated aspirin reduced the risk of blood clotting. By 1970, it was found taking aspirin regularly protected individuals against heart attacks.
The official recommendation today for those with a history of heart disease or stroke is to take a low-dose aspirin daily. Those without a known history, however, should only follow these recommendations when the heart disease benefits from taking aspirin outweigh the risks of bleeding. Evidently, bleeding can be a severe side-effect linked to regular aspirin use.
If you’ve never had a heart attack or stroke and decide to take low-dose aspirin daily to prevent blood clotting, you may increase your risk of a hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding within the brain) and several other major bleeding complications. Discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor.
However, the best advice for those who have no history of heart attack – but are worried about it – is to start considering what you are eating, instead.
Willow tree bark isn’t the only plant with anti-clotting or blood thinning properties. All plants have phytonutrients like salicylic acid or other properties that naturally thin the blood.
Eating more vegetables and other plant foods has many other benefits, too. Vegetable fibre is instrumental in maintaining a healthy balance of intestinal microbiota or “good bacteria” in your gut, which is recognized as vital for good health. Researchers are linking poor gut health to almost every illness and disease.
Plenty of evidence shows heart disease can be prevented and, yes, even reversed by eating more plant-based foods (veggies and fruit, root vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds) and eating less artery-clogging oils, dairy and meat. This is supported by credible research, including the famous Framingham Heart Study. The study’s long-time director, Bill Castelli, endorses a plant-based diet. Castelli believes if we all ate more healthfully, our current heart disease epidemic would disappear.
Heart disease is the second leading cause of death among Canadians (cancer takes first place). If taking blood-thinners can reduce these epidemic levels, this is truly a sad reflection of our Western diet. And it’s a strong indication we need to eat more veggies!
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Eve Lees has been active in the health & fitness industry since 1979. Currently, she is a Freelance Health Writer for several publication and speaks to business and private groups on various health topics.