I first encountered Coumadin when I took charge of my mother-in-law's daily needs. That's a brand name for warfarin, a common anticoagulent, which she took to prevent stroke. She eventually had one anyway. The story of how this drug came about is more interesting than you might imagine. It's animated, but it does contain a lot of blood. (via Kuriositas)
Japan grandma had to stop eating natto (fermented soy beans, a very rarified acquired flavour) and other foods that ‘thin’ blood naturally. Nasty way to poison rats as it’s other common use.
ReplyDeleteThe drug name WARFARIN is a combined word.
ReplyDeleteWARF stood for "Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation", which provided the funding for the research at the U of Wisconsin in Madison.
The ARIN came from 'coumarin', which was the substance in the sweet clover that, when moldy, became the anticoagulant substance 'dicoumarol' that caused all the problems.
-"BB"-
Now I know why one must "keep the cows out of the clover."
ReplyDelete"Japan grandma had to stop eating natto (fermented soy beans, a very rarified acquired flavour) and other foods that ‘thin’ blood naturally."
ReplyDeleteNatto has enzymes (nattokinase) that help break up clots, but it also has lots of vitamin K that helps normal clotting (and K2 which helps with bone growth). So I don't think Japanese grandma has to stop eating natto.
I learned to like natto after having some heart issues, since it supposed to be good for your heart and arteries. Like with any unfamiliar unfermented food, it takes a while to get used to, especially since it is so unfamilliar to my Western tastes--it took a really long time! But now I eat it all the time.
(I meant 'unfamiliar fermented food')
ReplyDelete