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Dear Reader,
As I'm sure you've discovered by now, I spend a
great deal of time researching and traveling. One of the countries
I've focused on most intently over the past year or two is Japan.
Japan has one of the lowest disease rates in the
world, and one of the best track records for heart health and longevity.
No doubt this can be contributed in part to their high fish and
seafood consumption. But what's even more intriguing is that they
have one of the highest consumption rates of a soybean-based food
called natto.
Natto is a fermented food that looks and tastes
a bit like cheese. It's made by adding spores of the beneficial
bacteria Bacillus natto to boiled soybeans. The Japanese
have been eating natto for at least 1,000 years, and today the average
per capita annual consumption of natto in Japan is roughly 4.5 pounds.
There's a specialized enzyme in natto, called “nattokinase.”
And it's this enzyme that's emerging as one of the most exciting
breakthroughs for supporting healthy circulation.
Nattokinase was discovered in 1980 by Doctor Hiroyuki
Sumi, who was completing his chemistry degree at the Chicago University
Medical School. He was testing 173 different foods for their ability
to promote healthy circulation, and nattokinase did the job better
than any of the other substances he was testing.
Since that time, additional research has been done
on nattokinase, including 17 published studies in Japan and here
in the U.S. The results have been very exciting, to say the least.
But to fully understand the significance of nattokinase, you need
to first understand the impact healthy blood flow has on your entire
body.
Healthy blood flow affects your circulation, blood
pressure, and entire body. That's because blood is the transport
vehicle that delivers nutrients and oxygen to every cell in your
body, carries antibodies where needed, sends the heat in your body
out to your skin, and excretes waste products from your body. You
cannot be truly healthy without a healthy blood flow.
But here's the challenge. As you age, all of the
enzymes in your body may begin to decline—including the enzymes
that facilitate healthy blood flow by supporting normal clotting.
That's why nattokinase, with its ability to help promote healthy
circulation, is such a promising breakthrough.
I apologize for getting technical here, but to
understand how Nattokinase works, I need to give you a crash course
in normal blood clotting. I'll keep it quick and simple.
First off, blood clotting is a normal and necessary
process. It's what stops the bleeding if you cut your finger, or
suffer from any type of injury.
Your body produces several compounds that make
blood clots, one of the most important of which is fibrin.
Fibrin is made up of sticky protein fibers which look a little bit
like a tangled spider's web. Fibrin's job is to stick to the blood
vessel walls and act like a net, forming a lump or plug that stops
the bleeding.
Fibrin is also what determines the viscosity, or
thickness, of blood throughout your entire circulatory system.
Normal fibrin levels will give you normal blood flow.
While your body makes several compounds that help
promote normal blood clotting, it only produces one enzyme—called
plasmin—that dissolves and breaks down fibrin. Remember,
fibrin is what's forming a “web” that stops blood from
flowing—so by breaking down fibrin, plasmin helps to keep your
blood flowing normally.
Your body produces plasmin all throughout your
circulatory system—in the endothelial cells that line the interior
walls of arteries, veins, and lymph vessels. But unfortunately,
plasmin production often declines with age.
Since plasmin production slows down as you age,
it would seem logical that you would want to deliver more plasmin
to your body. There's no such thing as a plasmin supplement, but
that's where nattokinase comes in.
Nattokinase works to support healthy circulation
in two different ways. First off, nattokinase resembles plasmin,
so it can break down fibrin directly. Second, nattokinase enhances
your body's natural production of plasmin, which also helps to break
down fibrin.
In a nutshell, Nattokinase:
- Supports normal circulation, blood flow, and
blood viscosity (thickness)
- Supports your body's normal blood-clotting mechanism
- Supports your body's production of plasmin,
which reduces fibrin
- Helps to maintain normal blood pressure levels
First off, if you want to get nattokinase by eating
natto, the way the Japanese do, it's hard to find in the United
States. I've also given out the recipe to make your own natto “cheese,”
but truthfully, it's very difficult and time-consuming—not
to mention the fact that it smells bad, and doesn't taste very good.
A much better option is to take nattokinase in
supplement form. But there are two major problems with the supplements
I've found. First, nattokinase naturally contains vitamin K. And
second, most fall short of the research dose. Dr. Sumi recommends
a dosage requirement of 2,000 FU (fibrin units) of nattokinase a
day.
After extensive searching, I found a nattokinase
supplement that I was able to bring to you through Mountain Home
Nutritionals. It was developed with a special patented process that
removes the vitamin K from the extract.
The Mountain Home Nutritionals Nattokinase
also includes the full research dosage of 2,000 FU of nattokinase
per day, which I believe is very important to its effectiveness.
It also offers only the patented NSK-SD™ formulation, which
has its naturally occurring vitamin K removed.
Nattokinase provides you with support
for normal blood clotting, circulation, and normal blood pressure.
I recommend taking it right along with your multinutrient. It's
the most significant tool for promoting normal circulation that
I've uncovered in the last several years. I highly recommend it,
especially as you age.
Take care,
Dr. David Williams
P.S. I also recommend Advanced Nattokinase. It provides all the circulatory and blood pressure benefits of Nattokinase, plus:
- Supports normal cholesterol levels
- Helps raise HDL cholesterol levels
- Helps lower levels of C-reactive protein
For extra blood pressure support, I recommend taking Nattokinase and Advanced Nattokinase.
Note: Do not take this product if you take Coumadin® (warfarin)
or other blood-thinning products. If you are pregnant or lactating,
consult a health care provider before taking this product. |