Blood Vessels |
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Our blood flows though our blood vessels like a never ending water stream in the mountains. We give little thought to the cells of our blood. We may think of blood as red fluid, which is really simple. The blood can be divided into blood cells and other macro sized substances and serum. Serum is blood without blood cells.  Blood cells are of three types generally. The two main groups are red and white blood cells. Please note that this does not mean they are red and white literally in colour. The platelets are the third type but technically aren’t cells. Platelets are small particles that help form clots when we injure or cut through a blood vessel. Without clot formation our blood would stream out and we would bleed to death. We also don’t want to over clot unnecessarily! Clots can cause major problems when they block our blood flow. Fortunately, in the mainstream our diet can lead to healthy clot formation only when needed. Eating a diet heavily loaded with meat which brings in all that saturated fat and fried foods can clog up blood vessels. Excess fats and sugars, cigarette smoke and other toxins can damage or injure our blood vessels. In addition low intakes of vitamin C can weaken our blood vessels, which permit them to be vulnerable to damage. Keep your blood vessels strong by eating vegetables and fruit in some cases raw. Heating destroys vitamin C so keep vitamin C alive by having some raw fresh fruit and vegetables. Vitamin C accompanied by bioflavonoids in fruits and vegetables is an extra boost!  Watch out for the blood vessel ‘attackers’ such as cigarette smoke. There are some genetically poor blood clot formatters. If your mother or father has haemophilia then there is a chance you or your sibling may be born with this genetic defect. Some of the enzymes that build up to platelet clogging can not be made. World haemophilia Day is on the 17 April and it’s a day for considering blood. There are known cases of AIDS transmission in the past in haemophiliacs due to blood transfusions. They need blood transfusions to replace lost blood from any mild bump as they leak out blood easily. A slight knock against any body part will lead to internal bleeding and often requires hospital attention. Arthritis is a major disability that can develop as the joints become hampered by the excessive harmful bleeding. We may take our blood stream for granted and not fret about any little fall or soft playful punch. Life is easy then. Imagine being ‘banned’ from sport and weary of any physical contact. Blood is precious. Anastacia D.N. Med |