High-Dose Nattokinase: A Game-Changer for Atherosclerosis

Statin use and NK

Art, I am taking Crestor 40 b/c of a recent very high CT calcium score. Is there any reason I should not take 8000fu of NK as a supplement to my prescribed therapy? My doc seems disinterested in any supplement advice.

Hi Joey,

I haven't seen any studies or articles that say the two can't be taken together, but the point of the article was that nattokinase is more effective for reducing atherosclerosis than the statin drug group and it doesn't include any of the known side effects of statins, some of which could be serious as discussed here :

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/atorvastatin-side-effects.html

Art

Thank you for the article. One question I have that I can't find that anyone has touched on-

Since one of the roles of statins is to "harden" existing plaque to prevent clots from breaking off, does Nattokinase work opposite of that in terms of it's power to dissolve plaque? Put another simple way, wondering if they're safe to take together or if they work against each other? Thank you.

Hi Lola,

Unfortunately the study made no mention of dose timing. I personally take my full dose in the morning upon awakening. My supplement only suggests taking on an empty stomach and I would say my stomach is mostly empty upon awakening. Based on my cholesterol test results, I will likely continue on this dosing pattern.

I have seen articles suggesting taking at bedtime, morning or just on an empty stomach, but the majority of articles seem to agree on an empty stomach and to me that would be first thing in the morning. On the other hand, nattokinase is thought to be active in terms of fibrinolytic activity for over 8 hours, which is roughly the time we are asleep. So perhaps taking it at bedtime might optimize the antiatherosclerotic effects, but I have not seen a study to support that idea?

I think the bottom line is the study saw significant positive benefit just relying on the participants choice of when to take it.

Art

Question for Art, please - Best time to take Nattokinase?

I know that it should be taken on an empty stomach. Some suggest taking it on an empty stomach in the morning to optimize absorption rates. Another consideration is to take Nattokinase after dinner or before sleep since a thrombus is more likely to be produced around midnight to early.

Hi Maria,

The the study used Nattokinase at a high dose of 10, 800 FU per day for a full year, to very good effect in terms of lowering cholesterol, triglycerides, atherosclerosis, while raising HDL cholesterol. They also found that a dose of 3, 600 FU per day had no effect on the mentioned parameters. You didn't say what dose of nattokinase you used and for how long you used it. The majority of nattokinase supplements are only 2000 FU per capsule while some are only 1000 FU per capsule and the study dose would require more than 5 of these 2000 FU capsules per day to reach 10, 800 or more than 10 of the 1000 FU capsules per day to reach the study dose.

They also found that a low dose of vitamin K2M7 at only 180 mcg per day was additive to the high dose nattokinase in terms of improving the mentioned parameters.

My personal experience showed that nattokinase and vitamin K2M7 very significantly lowered my cholesterol numbers and triglycerides into the normal range.

Art

I've tried serrapeptase, nattokinase, lumbrokinase, not once, few times, regularly take full spectrum vitamin K+D+ everything that goes with that for full absorption.

It had zero effect on my cardio markers (Cardio IQ test and other tests) - I am a walking heart attack my doctor had said.

No, I have no genetic polymorphisms related to CVD or other genetic conditions.

I am 110lb, eat no gluten or sugar.

P.S. IP6 gold supplement does decrease my very high numbers. Interestingly, since I do have elevated bilirubin (harmless, they say), it goes down as well. Scientists should study the correlation of cardio markers and bilirubin. By the way bilirubin is a very strong antioxidant.

Hi Hollyhock,

Yes, I guess related in the sense that they are both promoters of atherosclerosis(AS) and CVD, but there are many promoters of AS and CVD in many things we eat, drink or are exposed to in life.

I am looking at it in terms of nattokinase, GSPE and vitamin K2M7 potentially ameliorating the atherosclerotic and CVD aspects of all of it in order to avoid becoming another AS or CVD statistic.

Art

Art, aren't the two related? Since covid can cause heart disease? And the Vax also brought on heart disease as well?

Just a brief comment to underscore just how serious a disease Atherosclerosis is for all of us.

Covid-19 is estimated to have killed approximately 7 million people since it was found in 2019/2020 until today or just over 4 years.

Atherosclerosis, the main cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) dwarfs all of the deaths from Covid-19 since it was detected and tracked. In just one year, accounting for over 30% of deaths in the world or approximately 18 million deaths per year, atherosclerosis is far and away much deadlier than Covid-19 ever was. Seven million deaths in just over 4 years for Covid-19 compared to atherosclerosis at approximately 18 million deaths in just one year!

For a bit more perspective, the death toll from atherosclerosis is predicted to increase each year, but assuming it stays at approximately 18 million deaths per year for the next 4 years, that will be about 72, 000, 000 deaths over a 4 year period compared to 7 million Covid-19 deaths over a similar 4 year period. That is greater than 10 times the death toll of Covid-19! Excuse me while I go take my nattokinase.

Art

Hi Cdhill910,

Mainly in that article I discussed the study results of Nattokinase over the study period, which was one year to obtain the results they reported.

My situation is different than the study, because I took more than nattokinase and for a significantly lesser period of time as I discussed my experience and timeline here :

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/nattokinase-benefits-high-cholesterol-treatment.html

The dose of nattokinase I used was slightly less than the dosage used in the study and that was mainly because it was more convenient for me to take the dosage that I used.

In my last doctor visit, my doctor said, "Honestly Art, I don't think you could have done better had you used a statin." He further told me that my lipid profile is trending downward and may continue. So I am going to ask him if he will recheck my lipid panel at my next visit. I don't want my lipids to decline too much because cholesterol has healthful uses in the body and if I feel they get too low, I will reduce my nattokinase dose or stop for a while.

Art

Thanks Art, that makes sense and will do. How long did you take before you had your cholesterol tested to see the results? My doctor just gave me a statin prescription on December 21st. The dosage is 5mg. which I have not started due to the fear of the side effects. I began the Nattokinase on December 30th along with the grape seed extract and vitamin k-2.

Hi Colette,

Since they are actually 4000 FU per capsule, you will have to by an additional bottle of 2000 FU nattokinase per capsule. Take 2 of the 4000 FU capsules and 1 of the 2000 FU capsules to get to the 10000 FU per day level. Unfortunately, the brand you purchased does not offer a 2000 FU version that I could find. So you will have to choose another brand for the extra 2000FU needed to get to 10000 FU.

Art

Hi Art,

The brand is Arthur Andrew Medical. Each capsule is 4,000 FU. The maintenance is 2 capsules per day. Increased support is 4 capsules per day.

Hi Rhonda,

Unfortunately there are no human studies that I have been able to find that used serrapeptase to reduce atherosclerosis. In my opinion, if an article makes a claim such as the one you mentioned and then offers no studies to support the claim, then the claim is merely an opinion.

When you check PubMed and search serrapeptase and atherosclerosis, you get zero results. They don't even have animal studies to support that claim.

When you search AI for the same, this is the answer it gives :

While some animal and in vitro studies have suggested potential benefits of serrapeptase in reducing arterial plaque buildup and inflammation associated with atherosclerosis, human clinical trials with rigorous methodologies are needed to establish its effectiveness and safety in treating or preventing atherosclerosis. '

This is the reason that I chose Nattokinase instead of Lumbrokinase or Serrapeptase, because Nattokinase not only had one human study, it had three or more, but there were over 1, 000 participants in the study I discussed to add further credibility to their findings. Overall it was a very good study and my short experience with trying to replicate the study results in myself has already exceeded their results in a shorter period of time than the study length.

I'm sure there is anecdotal evidence to support most of the proteolytic enzymes for atherosclerosis, but I was looking for science based evidence for the article and only nattokinase had that requirement. Given the above, I am sorry to say I have no suggestion for the dosing of serrapeptase for the purpose of reducing atherosclerosis.

Art

Hi Colette,

You didn't say what brand you are using, so I can't look it up to check the label.

So first, look at the back of the label of your nattokinase bottle. I've noticed that some suppliers say 4000 FU on the front label, but when you look at the back label, it may say "Serving Size - Two capsules". So this means that each capsule is 2000 FU and it takes 2 capsules to equal the 4000 FU advertised on the front of the label. I consider this to be a questionable advertising technique to make the buyer think that they are actually getting 4000 FU in each capsule.

Okay, so if this turns out to be the case and you get 2000 FU per capsule, you could take 5 of these capsules to equal 10, 000 FU. The capsules I take are 2000 FU each and I take 5 per day. I realize that this is 800 FU below the dose used in the study, but it has worked very well for me and I thought it too much trouble to try and get the other 800 FU.

So check your label and please come back and let us know what it says.

Art

Please can you offer information on Serrapeptase as it relates to arterosclerosis? I've read that only 60mg is required for six months to reduce plaque by 30%. However, I've seen supplements with higher dosages. I've been taking the 60mg for one year and have not reduced my problem very much. I cannot find the studies, perhaps you have access to more.

Hello Art, I just received my Nattokinase that has 4,000 FUs per capsule. How can I adjust to take the 10,800 FU's per day? Would 3 capsules 12,000 FU's be too much to take per day?

Thanks for all of your articles on Earth Clinic. They provide a wealth of knowledge.

Hi Tony,

You can help prevent or remove arterial plaque build-up and occlusion in various ways using several strategies. You can remove cardiovascular and peripheral vascular problems caused by plaque build-up or high cholesterol in the blood or hypercoagulation in the blood aka "thick blood" due to excess fats in the blood or blood clot formation at the body's periphery or due to pathogen build-up in the arterial walls.

You could perhaps dissolve and remove the calcium-containing arterial plaque as one strategy. And you can achieve the calcium removal quite easily by either supplementing the Chanca piedra herb in capsule form at 1000 mg twice a day after meals. Or you could perhaps just follow Walter Last's recommendations and just mix 1 level tspn of Sodium Thiosulfate crystals + 2 tspns of water + 2 tspns DMSO(Dimethyl Sulfoxide) and manually spread that mix on you skin over or near the problem area. Both of these remedies will not actually reduce the calcium in the blood but they will act to safely solubilize and remove any excess calcium from the tissues and organs(including the arteries). And using Sodium Thiosulfate in this way also has the added advantage of removing any unwanted heavy metals and poisons like arsenic, chlorine, lead, mercury etc.

The next strategy that you could use to reduce excess cholesterol in your body and one particular LDL fat, called Lipoprotein A, better known as Lpa. The best and most Lpa-specific remedy for arterial plaque removal would be to just follow Linus Paulings protocol of taking 1 gm Sodium Ascorbate + 1 gm Lysine dissolved in a half-glass of water 6 to 8 times a day. The lack of vitamin C in the body is what causes the liver to automatically compensate by creating an excess of unwanted Lpa. So taking high dose Vitamin C acts to remove the need for the liver to produce any Lpa. And supplementing the Lysine also acts to solubilize and remove any existing plaque or Lpa from the arterial walls.

A simple remedy to safely thin the blood and to reduce clumping or "thick blood" would be to use the high dose Niacin protocol(niacinamide will not work!). Just supplement niacin between 100mg to 500mg 3 times a day at meal times. Supplementing the Lipase enzyme and granulated Lecithin -- only the granulated form, not the oil -- is another good one for avoiding hypercoagulation caused by fats in the blood. See this article by Walter Last:

Hypercoagulation (by Walter Last)

Lipase and Fat Metabolis (by Walter Last)

Walter Last also describes how using Vitamin C and MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) together is more efficient so that less Vitamin C need be supplemented but more Vitamin C can be absorbed and used for two essential tasks -- first to supply more oxygen to the cells and, second, to more efficiently kill unwanted pathogens in the body -- while MSM can also help to simultaneously detox and repair cells on its own while in its anti-oxidant DMSO form it can also helps to resolve deep vein thrombosis at the body's periphery. Walter Last describes how, by using the oxidant form of Vitamin C -- called dehydroascorbic acid(DHA), more vitamin C is absorbed into the body than taking Vitamin C on it's own. See this link for more:

More Energy, Less Disease (by Walter Last)

In the article above, Walter Last describes a handy and useful internal protocol that is good for generating the dehydroascorbic acid(DHA) that is always necessary for increased Vitamin C absorption into the body -- here is an extract from the article:

"With serious infections it may be helpful to oxidize vitamin C to DHA before ingestion for better absorption and a stronger effect. Dissolve a teaspoon of sodium ascorbate and 1 teaspoon of MSM in a large glass of water. Add a teaspoon of 3% or about 10 drops of 35% hydrogen peroxide, a teaspoon of glycerine and a tiny amount of a copper compound. This solution does not keep and needs to be made fresh every day. Take a sip of it frequently during the day. In this way you can get a stronger antimicrobial effect with less vitamin C "

The simple Vitamin C and MSM internal and external protocol that Walter Last recommends in the above article is quickly described here:

"It is best to use vitamin C and MSM together, such as up to 2 rounded teaspoons or 10 grams each of sodium ascorbate and MSM, and possibly 1 to 3 teaspoons of 50 to 70% DMSO rubbed on the skin at problem areas, such as for arthritis."

Walter Last also advises that it's much more effective to use the oxidant form of ascorbic acid(or ascorbate) -- called dehydroascorbic acid -- which is the best form to help supply extra energy to the cells and to also help to kill a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi and nanobacteria in the body as well.

Tony,

The available studies suggest that nattokinase at high enough dosing will breakdown arterial plaque deposits. These plaques are composed of fibrin, cellular waste products, fatty substances, calcium, cholesterol and possibly other components. So the studies suggest that arterial calcium deposits are part of the debris that is broken down in arteries.

Art

Art, will nattokinase also reverse calcium from arteries and body?

Hi Greg,

What the study found is that the addition of vitamin K2 was additive to the effects of the nattokinase. So for better effect in reducing atherosclerosis, adding vitamin K2 improved the results of the nattokinase for atherosclerosis in the study.

Art

Thanks for the follow-up! I am bit confused on the K2 (mcg) vs taking Natto (FU's). Am I supposed to be taking both? I eat Nattobeans from this company. They say it has 500 mcg of vitamin K2 per serving.

https://www.nyrture.com/order-natto

Hi Greg,

If you are a believer in the idea that inflammation in the vascular system is one of the main initiators of atherosclerosis, as I am, then absolutely, olive oil (OO) should have antiatherosclerotic effects via its anti inflammatory effects. I don't necessarily think it is the most potent natural antiatherosclerotic agent, but yes, I definitely feel it has antiatherosclerotic effects. Being a significant component of the Mediterranean diet adds a bit more confirmation to that idea since the Mediterranean diet is noted for antiatherosclerotic effects.

Art

Art,

What are your thoughts on taking a Tablespoon of high quality olive oil every day? Do you think it is necessary or not worth it since oils may go rancid on the shelf?

Curleyhead,

In the one year study that the article was based on, they did not report any adverse events or significant side effects.

Art

Nattokinase and Soy Isoflavones

What about estrogen effects from the high dosage of Nattokinase? Is it considered a danger/risk?

Lindi

I have not seen any human studies using nattokinase or other fibrinolytic enzymes specifically for varicose veins so I can not recommend it for that purpose. However, there are web based health promotion sites that do suggest that nattokinase may be useful for varicose veins based on anecdotal evidence. Here is a typical example :

https://www.clinicaleducation.org/wp-content/uploads/argfocus_200811_nattokinase_web.pdf

Here is a relevant quote from the site:

Back in 2002, we theorized that by dissolving branched fibrin—which coagulates prior to full clot formation— nattokinase might prove uniquely helpful in a range of disorders in which hypercoagulation is involved. This includes atherosclerosis, infertility, high blood pressure, dysmenorrhea, fibromyalgia, deep vein thrombosis, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and ischemic strokes. We also suggested it would prove helpful in chronic infections, where the body lays down fibrin in an attempt to seal off harmful pathogens. Finally, we concluded that nattokinase could be helpful in slowing many age-associated illnesses, since high fibrin levels create local pathology and ischemia, and block nutrient and oxygen delivery in microcirculation. Six years later, with nattokinase widely in use, firsthand clinical reports from doctors around the country support our hypotheses and the enzyme's impressive record of efficacy and safety in a wide range of disorders.

Based on the established safety profile of nattokinase, it seems worth discussing it with your doctor to see if he will also suggest it as in the article, for varicose veins.

Regarding vitamin K2, I am not aware of any studies confirming efficacy for varicose veins, but vitamin K2 has shown benefit for the vascular system in general as has nattokinase. Your doctor would have to approve their use for your safety and to make sure that they are compatible with all medications you are taking.

Thank you for your inquiry!

Art

Art,

Can you take nattokinase and K2 if you have bad varicose veins?

K2 I like...

I trust all Mercola products as being of high quality - K2 = 180 mcg. I also like Carlyle K2+D3 in olive oil - one dropperful = 80 mcg K2 and 50 mcg (2000 IU) if Vitamin D.

Hi Debra,

Vitamin K2 works with other clotting factors in the body to aid in blood coagulation as discussed in this Cleveland Clinic article on the subject :

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/vitamin-k2/#:~:text=Aids in blood clotting, thing — and they can be.

Here is a relevant quote from the article :

One of the main functions of K vitamins is to allow your blood to clot. In fact, the “K” in vitamin K is in reference to the German word “koagulation, ” which translates to “coagulation” or the ability to clot (or thicken) blood.

Regarding lumbrokinase, I have looked at studies for it, but in comparison to nattokinase, they are fairly limited. PubMed only has 92 studies listed for "Lumbrokinase" whereas PubMed lists 242 studies for "Nattokinase".

On a related note, the nattokinase study I highlighted for the article was important because of the size of the study cohort of 1,062 eligible participants and the fact that they also used a dose one third the size of the 10,800 FU of 3,600FU, which showed no benefit at all. Imo, a study of this size carries significant weight in terms of the value of the results they get. I have never seen a study of this size for Lumbrokinase being used for atherosclerosis. I would, however, like to see the study or studies that the doctor you listened to based his claim on. I haven't seen a heads up study specifically for atherosclerosis utilizing lumbrokinase, nattokinase and serrapeptase/serratiopeptidase.

Thank you for your questions.

Art

Dick,

Thank you for the positive feedback!

Art

Hi Frances,

You're welcome!

Yes, nattokinase has many other potential health benefits other than atherosclerosis or cardiovascular disease and EC has written an article that lists some of those benefits here :

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/nattokinase.html

Art

Joey,

Thank you for the feedback!

I only point to Amazon because they have a large selection, but they are not the only reseller of nattokinase. So if you have a reseller that you feel confident in to sell real products, that is always your option.

Art

Hi ya,

I think what you shared is great info ~ however, is purchasing supplements from Amazon pure?

Thanks for this article.

Natto is also recommended to dissolve the spike protein in CV19. Readers might be interested in The Great cholesterol con by Dr Malcolm Kendrick in the UK.

My GP has had me on one DaVinci Nattokinase Plus capsule for years. I am 84 years old and heart wise my Cardio Dr. says my heart and vessels are in good condition for my age.

Hi Art,

I just read your article on Nattokinase and the higher dose made a lot of sense to me. You mentioned in the article that Vitamin K2 has blood coagulase properties. I use Vitamin K2 (MK7) as an anticoagulant and am pretty sure this is what it does. I wondered if it was a typo?

The other question I wanted to ask, is if you have ever tried or researched Lumbrokinase for arterial plaques. I listened to a doctor speak recently on how Lumbrokinase was by far superior to both Natto and Serrapeptase. I have used both of the latter for years as I suffer from blood clotting issues, due to fibrin, mold and EMF. I have only just ordered the Lumbrokinase so hoping to see myself if there is a difference to the 250,000IU of Serrapeptase I'm currently taking. I would love to know what you think.