If you're planning a trip for the holidays that will require an
extended airline flight, first of all, bon voyage!
And second: If you're going to be in the air for many hours,
you might want to consider taking one small precaution that
could help prevent considerable pain, and might even save
your life.
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Tight squeeze
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In the e-Alert "Air Time" (10/9/03), I told you about deep
vain thrombosis (DVT), which is a blood clot that can form
in the legs or pelvis when a person is confined to a
constricted space for a long period. Besides being painful,
DVT can turn fatal if fragments of the clot dislodge and
travel to the lungs where they can trigger a pulmonary
embolism.
Airline passengers who find themselves sitting for hours
during a long flight are particularly susceptible to developing
DVT. By some estimates, as many as 100,000 airline
passengers may die from complications associated with DVT
every year.
One of the most important things to be aware of with DVT is
that it can strike healthy people who have no previous
cardiovascular problems. In fact, people who exercise
regularly are at somewhat greater risk of DVT complications
because they tend to have low resting pulse, which may help
prompt DVT during long periods of inactivity.
Others who may be at greater risk of DVT include:
* Those who have previously experienced DVT.
* Those with a family history of DVT .
* Anyone who has experienced trauma to the legs.
* Those who have recently had surgery on the legs, feet, or in
the abdominal or pelvic areas.
* Those who may suffer from diabetes, heart or liver disease,
or certain cancers, such as colon, ovarian, stomach, liver,
pancreatic, or lymphatic cancers.
* Obese people.
* Those over the age of 40.
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Leg work
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A recent issue of the journal Clinical Applied
Thrombosis/Hemostasis details a study conducted by a team
of Italian researchers who examined the occurrence of DVT
and the far less threatening (although often painful)
superficial vein thrombosis (SVT) on a long-haul air flight.
This trial also examined the effects of Pycnogenol on about
half of the nearly 200 subjects. In previous e-Alerts I've told
you about Pycnogenol, the natural anti-inflammatory
extracted from French maritime pine bark. In the July 1998
Members Alert, we compared the effectiveness of
Pycnogenol's antioxidant qualities to two of the most
powerful antioxidants: glutathione and coenzyme Q10.
All of the subjects in the Italian study were monitored for
DVT and SVT before and after their flights, which averaged
a little more than eight hours. Those in the treatment group
received 200 mg of Pycnogenol two to three hours before
their flight, another 200 mg six hours later, and 100 mg the
following day.
Researchers noted some slight vein inflammation (phlebitis),
but no DVT or SVT among subjects who received
Pycnogenol. In the placebo group, one subject experienced
DVT, while SVT was reported in four subjects. There were
no adverse side effects reported.
These results run quite similar to a trial that appeared last
year in the journal Angiology. In that study, a product called
Flite Tabs (which contains Pycnogenol and a soy enzyme
called nattokinase) was tested on about 200 subjects during
long-haul flights. The legs of all subjects were measured
before and after the flights, and ultrasound was used to detect
blood clotting.
Results showed that none of the subjects in the Flite Tabs
group had evidence of blood clots, none experienced any leg
swelling, and 15 percent actually showed a decrease in
swelling. But in the control group, 5 subjects developed
DVT, 2 had superficial thrombosis, and leg swelling
increased in 12 percent of the group.
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The Wright stuff
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Writing in the Health eTips e-letter, Amanda Ross
(Managing Editor of Dr. Jonathan V. Wright's Nutrition &
Healing newsletter), pointed out that Dr. Wright has
recommended "taking 1 tablespoon of cod-liver oil daily,
along with 400 IU of vitamin E (as mixed tocopherols)" to
help prevent blood clots - including those that might be
triggered by DVT.
It's also important to avoid dehydration. According to Dr.
Wright, "Both alcohol and coffee are diuretics and tend to
dehydrate the body, so your intake of these should be modest.
Instead, drink plenty of water." And if you fit into any of the
high-risk groups mentioned above, consider wearing a pair of
compression stockings.
After a long flight, DVT warning signs to be watchful for
include: muscle pain, swelling or tenderness in the legs, and
discoloration in a painful area. Sometimes these symptoms
don't occur until many hours after you've arrived at your
destination.
Airline flights that last only a couple of hours should not
present a problem for most people. But if you're planning a
particularly long flight, a few simple precautions can help
prevent a hospital stay and even death.
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…and another thing
Vitamin E needs a good press agent - someone who can
provide spin control when this very beneficial supplement is
attacked.
I recently looked at - or, rather, flatly dismissed - the widely
reported study that found E to be dangerous in large doses.
And even though the study was clearly flawed, you can be
sure that the basic message - that vitamin E is somehow
dangerous - will linger in the mind of the general public.
But here's another message that the public deserves to hear:
Vitamin E may prevent heart attacks and deaths due to heart
disease among some diabetics.
A new study published in Diabetes Care last month used data
collected from a 2000 trial known as Heart Outcomes
Prevention Evaluation (HOPE). This trial examined the
effects of several antioxidants on cardiovascular health, and
the initial results indicated that vitamin E provided no
preventive benefits against heart disease.
But when researchers in Israel reexamined the HOPE data for
a specific subgroup, something amazing happened: Vitamin
E was recast as a potential life saver.
Previous research by the Israeli team had shown that certain
diabetics who have a very specific "2-2" form of haptoglobin
(a blood protein) may also have a risk of heart disease several
hundred times higher than diabetics who don't have the 2-2
haptoglobin. In their HOPE data study the researchers
demonstrate that this high-risk subgroup reduced their risk of
heart attack by more than 40 percent and their risk of dying
from heart disease by well over 50 percent when they took
400 IU of vitamin E daily.
The Israeli team estimates that as many as 40 percent of
diabetics are in the 2-2 haptoglobin group. If you have
diabetes, ask your doctor to check this important marker in
your next blood test.
Meanwhile, put a solid score up on the board for the
beleaguered vitamin E.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
**************************************************************
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Sources:
"Prevention of Venous Thrombosis and Thrombophlebitis in
Long-Haul Flights with Pycnogenol" Clinical Applied
Thrombosis/Hemostasis, Vol. 10, No. 4, October 2004,
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
"Study Supports Pycnogenol Benefits for Travellers"
NutraIngredients.com, 11/23/04, nutraingredients.com
"The Effect of Vitamin E Supplementation on Cardiovascular
Risk in Diabetic Individuals With Different Haptoglobin
Phenotypes" Diabetes Care, Vol. 27, No. 11, November
2004, care.diabetesjournals.org
"Vitamin E May Help Some Diabetics" EurekAlert!,
11/19/04, eurekalert.org
