It seems that lots of things that are good for you are also natural blood thinners. How do you know how much is too much? I recently cut myself and bled rather too much. Now I'm afraid of eating any food or taking supplements that can thin blood.

    You're right, several supplements can increase the risk of bleeding through an anti-coagulant effect, but they rarely cause problems either alone or in combination. You're unlikely to run into any problems with them unless you're also taking blood thinning medications such as Coumadin, a drug prescribed to prevent the formation of clots that can block the flow of blood to the heart or brain and cause heart attacks and strokes.

    Supplements that have been associated with an anti-coagulant effect include St. John's wort, coenzyme Q10, dong quai, feverfew, garlic and vitamin E. If you are on Coumadin, be sure to tell your physician about any supplements you are taking. If you wish to continue with them, take them regularly so that any necessary adjustments can be made when you take your regular lab tests. Normally, doctors perform these tests monthly on all patients taking Coumadin to make sure that their blood clotting time remains in the right range.

    In addition to the supplements listed above, omega-3 fatty acids make the blood less likely to form clots, which is one of the reasons why they're so highly recommended for prevention of heart disease. You get omega-3s from eating oily fish such as salmon, sardines, and herring or taking fish oil supplements. My longstanding recommendation is to consume two to three servings of fish per week. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two fish meals a week. Some foods, including garlic and onions, have anticoagulant effects, but here, too, neither is likely to cause bleeding problems.

    好象很多事情对于天生贫血的你还是不错．你怎么知道多少血是太多了呢？我最近受伤了流了很多血．现在我害怕吃任何东西或是补药都会让我贫血．

    没错，有几种补血方法都会用到一种抗血凝剂从而会增加失血的危险，但很少造成单方面也不会造成多方面的问题．即使你服用治疗贫血的药物也未必会出现任何问题，象香豆丁，一种处方药物用来防止血栓的形成从而会阻止血流向心脏和大脑最终造成对心脏的冲击和中风．

    一些补血方法的抗血凝剂具有一定的辅助作用，包括Ｓt．约翰的麦芽汁，Ｑ１０辅酶，dong quai, 菊科植物，大蒜，和维生素Ｅ．如果你正在服用香丁豆，一定要告诉你的内科医生你服用的任何一种补血药如果你希望继续使用它们一定要按要求使用以便根据你使用药物的情况进行必要的调整．通常情况下，医生每个月都要对所有服用香丁豆的病人进行一次检查来确定他们的血凝时间在一个正常的范围．

    作为对这个补血目录的补充，欧米加脂肪酸也能减少血栓的形成，这就是为什么大力推荐它为预防心脏病的药物的原因．你可以吃鱼类的油脂来补充欧米加三，象鲑鱼，沙丁鱼，青鱼或是鱼油都可以．我被建议长期食用鱼，一周两到三次．美国心脏病协会提倡一周最少吃两次鱼．一些食物包括大蒜，洋葱都有抗血栓的作用，但同样有造成贫血的问题．