People will also need to avoid crossing their legs when sitting, as this can negatively affect circulation. The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) notes that vitamin K can interact with warfarin. Additionally, a sudden change in the amount of vitamin K a person consumes may cause serious side effects. Any moderate exercise, such as walking or swimming, may be beneficial. Aerobic exercise can also help to improve lung function if a person has had a pulmonary embolism. A funnel plot of studies assessing incident venous thromboembolism in highest alcohol consumers compared with the lowest alcohol consumers.
Can people drink alcohol while taking blood thinners?
According to research, moderate consumption of alcohol has been found to cause a small increase in your HDL (good) cholesterol. If you drink too much or are concerned about how much you drink, you should speak to a physician about lowering your alcohol intake or getting treatment through a rehabilitation program. Working with an addiction specialist to safely detox from alcohol and then get behavioral treatment through rehab is the best process for ending AUD and other forms of problem drinking. Fortunately, there are many evidence-based programs available, which specialize in treating alcohol use disorder.
- If travel, a health condition, or the nature of your job require you to sit for long periods of time, it’s important to get up and move as often as you are able.
- Some research shows that resveratrol could be linked to a lower risk of swelling and irritation, called inflammation, and blood clotting.
- Being overweight or obese puts added pressure on the veins in your pelvis and legs, and it more than doubles your chances of DVT.
- Blood clots that form in the deep veins of the legs (deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT) can cause leg symptoms.
- You’ll find how to accelerate treatment, avoid recurrence, and assure renewed leg strength and wellness.
- The heart-protective potential of red wine is believed to be partially due to its high concentration of plant compounds called polyphenols, especially resveratrol.
COVID-19 and blood clot risk
It can be suggested to them, that alcohol does affect blood clotting processes, but not in the way some might think. One of these servings of alcohol per day, with at least two days per week without alcohol consumption, may benefit heart health. However, there is no such thing as completely safe drinking, so if you have any concerns about heart health, it is better to avoid drinking. This is especially true for those who have a family history of heart disease or blood disorders, or who are on any kind of prescription medication, including blood thinners. This knowledge does not in any way intend to encourage an individual who doesn’t drink to start drinking in terms of protecting against heart disease. However, more recent research warns against using alcohol as a strategy for improving heart health, says Andrews.
Should You Drink Alcohol While Taking Blood Thinners?
However, moderate consumption doesn’t significantly affect the metabolism of warfarin. Moderate alcohol use is generally safe while taking most blood thinners. For healthy adults, doctors recommend limiting alcohol intake to a maximum of two drinks a day for males and one drink a day for females.
Should a person with DVT avoid any particular lifestyle factors?
Alcohol can also affect the action of platelets, which are the components of the blood that form clots. A 2016 review suggests that significant daily alcohol consumption increases the activity of platelets. Researchers have found that low-to-moderate drinking could reduce certain processes that lead to heart disease and inflammation. However, more research is necessary to determine whether alcohol use is directly responsible for these possible heart benefits.
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Second, various cut-off values for the categories of alcohol intake were used across studies, which led to a certain degree of heterogeneity. Third, the inadequate adjustment of all known confounding factors in some included studies may distort the summary risk estimate (32). Fourth, the results of our study are likely to be only generalizable to Western populations and may not be generalizable to Asian populations. Fifth, some studies included former drinkers in the reference group, which drinking and blood clots may distort the association. If alcohol consumption has a protective role in VTE, the inclusion of former drinkers in the reference group can result in an underestimate of the true association.
- Moderate alcohol use is generally safe while taking most blood thinners.
- A total of 441,128 individuals with 10,221 VTE cases were included in these 10 studies.
- Green tea also contains some vitamin K, so it’s best to choose another option, like black tea, which doesn’t interact with a blood thinner.
- Although alcohol thins the blood, long-term use can have a different effect.
- Fourth, the results of our study are likely to be only generalizable to Western populations and may not be generalizable to Asian populations.
Top causes of blood clots in the legs and how to avoid them
Doing anything that can make you bleed is something to seriously consider not doing if you’re on a blood thinner. That means contact sports like hockey, soccer or football, or ones that pose a serious risk of injury if you fall (like skiing, gymnastics or ice skating) are best put on the sidelines. Consuming alcohol leads to a lower number of blood platelets because the substance hinders the bone marrow’s ability to produce these cells. It also changes their physical makeup, making them less sticky and therefore less able to stick together and form a clot. Additionally, the NIAA advises that studies have indicated that heavy alcohol use and AUD have links to increased surgical complications.
Alcohol may not trigger blood clotting processes but actually, restrict them. They’ll also help you learn how to minimize the risks of taking a blood thinner so you can reap the rewards without worry. Drinking too much increases blood clotting problems through several mechanisms. However, blood clots can become dangerous when they form in a blood vessel without any obvious injury and do not naturally dissolve. Depending on whether a clot forms in an artery or vein, it may cause slightly different problems.
This form of arthritis results from painful buildup of uric acid in the joints. You can get gout from eating too much food high in chemicals called purines, which include red meat, shellfish, and alcohol — especially beer and liquor. There is a clear link between heavy alcohol use and many types of cancers.
A healthy diet will help you manage your weight as it helps you control inflammation and blood pressure, two things that affect your chances of developing a clot. Within the last few years, a new class of blood thinners was developed. They offer a number of benefits over warfarin, but they do have some disadvantages. Speak with a healthcare professional about the benefits and risks.