The vegetable cheese-like food, natto, is extremely popular in Japan, with a history of more than 1,000 years. It has become clear in the past 25 years that consumption of this fermented soybean curd provides a tremendous health benefit as a remedy for vascular diseases. In 1980, Dr. Hirouki Sumi at the University of Chicago Medical School discovered an enzyme, which he named nattokinase, to be the main ingredient in natto that is responsible for these benefits. Dr. Sumi found that the benefits of nattokinase vs. heart disease derived from the enzyme’s ability to prevent clots from forming and also to dissolve clots that had already formed. We now know that nattokinase helps restore healthy circulation to diseased blood vessels by reducing the level of fibrin, the protein that accumulates inside blood vessels and eventually clogs them. Until the discovery of nattokinase, we really didn't have any natural solution to remove blood clots and dissolve fibrin. This enzyme has emerged as one of the most exciting and significant new breakthroughs in recent memory.

Boosting Your Body’s Natural Clot-Busting Action

Your body normally produces an anti-clotting enzyme called plasmin, along with several other anti-clotting agents that are supposed to keep your arteries clear of bloods clots. However, as you age, the action of plasmin and its helpers weaken, allowing the buildup of a protein called fibrin, which causes clots to grow. The properties of nattokinase closely resemble those of plasmin, which is one of our body’s own agents agains heart disease. What makes nattokinase a particularly potent treatment, according to Dr. Martin Milner, from the Center for Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, is that it enhances the body's natural ability to fight blood clots in several different ways. It dissolves fibrin directly, it enhances the body's production of plasmin, and it boosts other clot-dissolving agents. In addition, nattokinase has a prolonged action, lasting from 8 to 12 hours, in contrast with short-acting anti-clot drugs. Nattokinase has been the subject of numerous studies. Some of the most significant results have been:

• Dissolving Blood Clots in Dogs: Blood clots that were induced in dogs disappeared within five hours of treatment with nattokinase; clots in dogs who received placebo showed no signs of dissolving within 18 hours.
  
• Dissolving Blood Clots in Humans: Human volunteers in one study consumed natto, after which their average time to dissolve clots dropped by 48% compared with controls; this enhanced ability to dissolve blood clots lasted for up to 8 hours.
  
• Dissolving Blood Clots in Humans: Human volunteers in one study consumed natto, after which their average time to dissolve clots dropped by 48% compared with controls; this enhanced ability to dissolve blood clots lasted for up to 8 hours.
  
• Dissolving Blood Clots in Humans: Human volunteers in one study consumed natto, after which their average time to dissolve clots dropped by 48% compared with controls; this enhanced ability to dissolve blood clots lasted for up to 8 hours.
  
• Enhancing Blood Flow: Rats with arterial clots regained 62 percent of blood flow after treatment with nattokinase, compared with rats who regained 15.8 percent of blood flow after treatment with plasmin.
  
• Reducing Blood Pressure in Rats: Blood pressure in rats treated with a natto extract dropped an average of 12.7 percent within two hours.
  
• Reducing Blood Pressure in Humans: After consuming a standardized natto extract for four days, human volunteers with high blood pressure showed a 10.9 percent drop in systolic blood pressure and a 9.7 percent drop in diastolic blood pressure.

Who Can Benefit from Nattokinase?

Heart disease from the accumulation of excess fibrin in arteries, and other health issues from excess fibrin in organs and almost anywhere in the body that inflammation occurs, is a fact of life. The latest research shows that clotting in blood vessels of the brain may be even a cause of dementia, which has previously been thought of as only a neurological disorder. Diabetes, high blood pressure, hemorrhoids, and organ failure of all kinds most likely have a clotting condition. Naturopath Dr. William Wong, in noting that excess fibrin causes shrinking and hardening of organs, calls anti-fibrin (fibrinolytic) enzymes such as nattokinase a valuable tool in anti-aging. The bottom line is that anyone who seeks optimum health will benefit from a daily regimen that includes nattokinase.

Getting the Most Out of Nattokinase

Natural products generally work better in mixtures, synergistically, rather than separately. This is certainly the case with nattokinase and other fibrinolytic enzymes. In fact, many manufacturers have assembled mixtures of nattokinase along with other enzymes such serrapeptase, papain, bromelain, and proteases, along with additional cofactors that enhance their enzyme absorption and performance. One particular mixture that I have found in my research, which has all the most important enzymes together with an excellent set of helper ingredients, is Trevinol ES Fibrin Defense Enzymes. I have made it a point to meet the people who are behind this product and to find out about the high quality effort that goes into putting it together. That is why I can say without hesitation that Trevinol ES is the best enzyme product that I know of. (You can find out more about what is in Trevinol ES by clicking on the link just above.