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Introduction: Six years ago in our helps keep blood optimally flowing nattokinase might prove uniquely
special issue on nattokinase, Martin more than any other single intervention helpful in a range of disorders in which
Milner, N.D., announced, “In all that I use.” hypercoagulation is involved. This
my years of research as a professor includes atherosclerosis, infertility,
of cardiovascular and pulmonary Back in 2002, we theorized that by high blood pressure, dysmenorrhea,
medicine, nattokinase represents the dissolving branched fibrin—which fibromyalgia, deep vein thrombosis,
most exciting new development in the coagulates prior to full clot formation— varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and
prevention and treatment ischemic strokes. We also
of cardiovascular related suggested it would prove
diseases.” In this issue, Dr. In this update we will report on: helpful in chronic infections,
Milner follows up with a where the body lays down
detailed report on exactly • How to diagnose functional clotting problems before fibrin in an attempt to seal off
how he uses nattokinase obvious clinical disease. harmful pathogens. Finally,
in his clinical practice. His • Why chronic, insidious, low grade clotting can we concluded that nattokinase
experience with nearly 300 could be helpful in slowing
damage blood vessel walls, leading to many of
of his patients who have many age-associated illnesses,
the “diseases” of aging.
taken the enzyme leads him since high fibrin levels create
to conclude that: “I believe • A simple test that can be done in the office to local pathology and ischemia,
there is a low-grade chronic determine whether a patient is clotting at a faster and block nutrient and oxygen
coagulation disorder that is than optimal rate. delivery in microcirculation.
very broad-based throughout Six years later, with
the United States, as • How Coumadin and nattokinase differ. nattokinase widely in use,
evidenced by the prevalence firsthand clinical reports from
of cardiovascular disease. • The conditions that nattokinase may help. doctors around the country
Clotting is a key factor in the support our hypotheses and
evolution of chronic disease. • Why the over-40 population may already suffer from the enzyme’s impressive
With nattokinase, we know chronic, subclinical hypercoagulation. record of efficacy and safety in
how to stop it. Nattokinase a wide range of disorders.
The enzyme nattokinase offers a trauma). It is like our natural plant of fibrin. A clear halo showed degraded
completely natural means of helping kingdom source of plasmin, and is fibrin. The halo around nattokinase was
prevent and dissolve blood clots. It the most potent fibrinolytic enzyme over twice the size of the halo created
closely resembles plasmin, our own of nearly 200 foods studied for their by the other two enzymes, which our
natural clot-dissolver, and actually clot-dissolving abilities. It can even body manufactures. It also more potent
enhances our body’s production of outperform our own body: in one than garlic, bromelain or ginseng.
plasmin. Nattokinase cleaves fibrin remarkable in-vitro study, nattokinase,
I have now used nattokinase with
(the protein that helps our body form urokinase and plasmin (all capable of
around 300 patients. It is truly a
the ‘mesh’ of a clot from a wound or dissolving clots) were placed on a plate
A Simple Test for Bleeding Times When I looked at the research I found
that platelet aggregation induces
So how do we test for excessive clotting? Platelet aggregation and excess serotonin, histamine, epinephrine
fibrinogen start long before you can measure excess factors in the Vitamin K and norepinephrine—all powerful
clotting cascade (factors that usually rise after an actual injury to the blood
vasoactive substances that may
vessel). Vitamin K levels, prothrombin and thromboplastin times will not
be abnormal with individuals who are not taking Warfarin unless they are destabilize the vascular bed and
taking very high doses of Vitamin K. And it is the rare patient who will perhaps lead to migraines. I now
show abnormally high levels of platelets on a complete blood count. Dark- believe every migraine patient should
field microscopy can be useful, but many physicians don’t own such a ma- be tested for bleeding/clotting times.
chine. Platelet function assays are also useful yet are often normal unless
the platelet abnormality is severe. Intermittent claudication: Nattokinase
proved to be an excellent intervention
There is, however one test that has been performed reliably for years, and for a woman with advanced peripheral
that is a simple, in-office test for bleeding/clotting times. It is an excellent vascular disease and hypertension.
strategy for assessing optimal blood flow in patients. The duration of bleed- She had already undergone a bypass
ing from a standard skin incision is determined while maintaining constant operation in 1999 and subsequently
increased venous pressure. Bleeding time measures the overall hemostatic
developed severe intermittent
role of platelets. A shortened bleeding time (rapid clotting) is due to exces-
sive platelets and/or aggregation. claudication with bilateral calf
and thigh pain. The pain woke her
You will need a blood pressure cuff, a standard “Surgicutt” lancet for a frequently at night and disturbed her
controlled incision, and clotting paper to touch gently to the side of the drop sleep for years. In spite of two decades
of blood every 30 seconds. This test will reveal a patient’s actual bleeding of use of natural medicine, high doses
time. A normal reference range is about two to eight minutes, although of fish oil, and chelation once a month
some laboratories allow ten minutes. I see a lot of patients at 2-3 minutes,
for five years and then once a week for
but personally, I feel 4-6 minutes is optimal normal finding and targets may
another year, she had no improvement
need to be as high as 8-12 minutes for chronic anticoagulant therapy. I’ve
seen patients on a whole array of blood-thinning nutraceuticals such as fish in the pain. In July 0f 2002 she began
oil, gingko and garlic, who still have bleeding times of only 3 minutes. So taking two capsules of nattokinase on
I never assume someone is protected. I test them to verify they are at the an empty stomach and within a few
optimal platelet aggregating target. weeks her leg pain began to abate
and she was able to sleep through the
night for the first time in years. Over been taking many supplements for then she could not walk at all without
a six month period she reported no many years. She began with two shortness of breath. For a patient so
side effects and only two episodes of capsules of nattokinase twice a day disabled, such improvement meant a
nighttime awakening. Considering and then increased to three capsules whole new level of freedom in her life.
her history of hypertension and severe twice a day. Her energy improved and
peripheral vascular disease I believe there was complete resolution of her Clotting is a Key Factor in
that she also had micro-thrombi in her headaches. Interestingly, her varicose Chronic Illness
lungs and was at risk for emboli in her veins also improved. To make a long story short, clotting
heart. This is a highly under-assessed is a key, often overlooked factor in
COPD and Pulmonary Hypertension:
risk conventionally, and I am convinced chronic illness, and with nattokinase,
A forty-nine year old patient with
the nattokinase is protecting her from a we know how to reverse it. We can
pulmonary hypertension visible on
dangerous clotting episode. safely and accurately monitor the dose
an echocardiogram as enlargement of
Fibromyalgia: A patient came to the right pulmonary ventricle of the of nattokinase with target fibrinogen
levels at 275-325 and bleeding times
me with a longstanding history of heart and COPD with 30% reduction
using a Surgicutt lancet targeted to
chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, in pulmonary function was very short
7-12 minutes.
hypothyroidism, chronic migraines, of breath. I wondered how much of her
GERD, colitis, leg cramps, mild problem was due to micro-thrombi in The management of chronic coagulation
osteoporosis, degenerative disk the pulmonary vasculature, and how is a new huge horizon in the prevention
disease, osteoarthritis of one much was permanent damage due to and treatment of cardiovascular and
knee, varicose veins, obesity and COPD. After 2-3 days on nattokinase peripheral vascular disease and has
hypertension. She was a classic she reported that breathing was easier wide implications for the effective
example of a chronic patient with and she was able to walk around the treatment of many other chronic
multiple health challenges who had block and go grocery shopping. Before diseases as well.
Two new developments in gastro- a microbiome, a kind of super-organ- biota choreograph multiple important
intestinal nutrition may change the ism made of microbial life, according functions, such as producing essential
landscape of gut health and immune to Jeffrey Gordon, M.D., the Dr. Robert vitamins, metabolizing toxins, fer-
function. In this issue we feature two J. Glaser Distinguished University Pro- menting food in our gut, manipulating
remarkable new nutraceuticals: Zyac- fessor at Washington University in St. our gene activity, influencing the rate
tinase, a uniquely processed enzyme Louis, and one of the architects of the at which our gut lining renews itself,
from kiwi fruit that has a tonic effect National Institutes of Health’s Human and helping regulate everything from
on the entire gut, stimulates healthy Microbiome Project. In fact, descen- blood pressure to obesity. Our micro-
lactobacilli and other lactic-acid flora, dants of the most ancient single-celled biota are potent regulators of human
speeds bowel transit time and increas- organism, the “mother” organism, ar- health, and our “healthy” native flora
es gut motility. We also look at the sci- chaea, can be found in our digestive help eliminate potential pathogens,
entific research on an impressive, new tract. Fossils of archaea date back to and modulate innate and adaptive im-
probiotic that functions as a unique about 3.5 billion years ago. Scientists mune defense mechanisms. Microbiota
prebiotic, selectively stimulating bifi- first isolated archaea from the human
may one day form the basis of a whole
dobacteria, the essential, health-pro- intestine in 1982. Our microbiota are
new pharmacopeia. The dawn of that
moting flora in our colon. evidence not only of evolution’s awe-
day has already begun, as evidenced
inspiring creations, but of how closely
An astounding 100 trillion micro- in the two new nutraceuticals that to-
allied we are with the microbial world.
organisms thrive and happily beget gether can influence the entire diges-
themselves in our guts. They constitute Research already shows that micro- tive tract in a targeted, powerful way.
The most famous fruit in beautiful through a special process, has a pro- Iona Weir, PhD. “My background is
New Zealand—the kiwi, which was found yet gentle normalizing effect on programmed cell death in plants. Kiwi
actually carried from China to New gut troubles, from IBS to constipation, fruit can actually initiate programmed
Zealand by a missionary and under- diarrhea, impaction, and even food cell death and completely recover from
went an extensive breeding program poisoning. It also shows promise in it. Once a human cell has committed to
to become the plump confection it is lowering cholesterol. dying, it will die. But you can put kiwi
today—might not automatically bring fruit through a drought or other signifi-
to mind phrases about your feces like Zyactinase, a cysteine/serine protease cant stress, and it will lock itself down,
“snake or sausage like…loose, mas- enzyme complex from kiwi fruit, con- almost die, and then restore itself back
sive with rough edge, slurry-like… tains plant enzymes, polyphenols, di- to normal health. The enzyme that trig-
separate hard group, like stone…” But etary fiber, carbohydrates, sugars and gers this programmed cell death is also
it turns out that an enzyme complex in oligosaccharides. “Kiwi fruit is ex- involved in cellular repair of the plant.
kiwi fruit, when isolated and enhanced tremely interesting,” says cell biologist Thus there is something quite unique
Effective in Treating
Constipation 4
Two human clinical trials show that Zyactinase
Zyactinase is a safe and effective treat-
3
Placebo
ment for constipation. In one double-
blind placebo trial of 134 individuals
2
with constipation, from the Chinese
Center for Disease Control at Tianjing 1
Centre Hospital, Zyactinase normal-
ized bowel function without any side 0
Baseline Period 1 Period 2
effects at all.
A unique, new probiotic that simul- are potent promoters of gut health: they time, these remarkable bacteria serve
taneously functions as a prebiotic may produce natural biological acids and as a powerful prebiotic: bile-resistant
be highly effective in enhancing colon short-chain fatty acids that protect the strains of the bacteria can flourish in
health, and improving bowel function colon, improve constipation and bowel the lower gut and selectively stimulate
and constipation. Propionibacterium transit time and, according to the latest bifidus bacteria, the dominant, healthy
freudenreichii is a natural probiotic research, may reduce the risk of colon flora in our colon.
that has been used for centuries as a cancer. They have been proven to in-
starter culture to make Swiss and Em- crease bowel motility and improve con- By stimulating our own native “good”
menthaler cheeses. Propionic bacteria stipation in healthy adults. At the same flora, propionic bacteria bypass the
FOCUS publishes emerging nutritional science and scientific theories that should not be construed to be conclusive scientific proof of any specific cause, effect, or
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and theories of the authors. FOCUS takes no position on the views and theories expressed but offers them for candid inquiry and debate. The articles are not intended
for use in support of the sale of any commercial product and should not be construed as indicative of the use or efficacy of any commercial product. Emerging science
and scientific theories do not constitute scientific proof of any specific cause, effect, or relationship. Copyright © 2008. Allergy Research Group®. Special permission is
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