Flying increases your risk of blood clots

If you're nervous about stepping onto an airplane these days, I don't blame you - especially in light of the two recent Airbus crashes.

But the biggest threat of flying doesn't come from bad weather, faulty equipment, or terrorist attacks. It comes from a silent threat called a venous thromboembolism (VTE).

A VTE is a blood clot that forms in your legs, which can get dislodged and cause a deadly blood clot in your lungs called a pulmonary embolism.

It's already common knowledge that long-distance travel can increase the risk of VTEs. But according to the most recent research, the threat could be as much as three times greater that was originally thought.

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston also found that the more you travel, the greater your risk. For every two hours spent driving in a car, the risk of VTE goes up 18 percent. But for air travel, the risk skyrockets 26 percent for every two hours in the air.

It might seem like a surprisingly high percentage, but it's hardly a surprising conclusion.

Blood clots tend to form in your legs when you're rooted in one position for hours on end - and that's the case with any long-distance travel, whether it's in the air or on the ground.

Still, for all the seemingly grim news about VTE, there's a relatively small number of people who are affected by it. Those at the greatest risk are those recovering from major surgery (especially joint replacements), cancer patients and women on birth control pills.

Of course, this doesn't mean you should ignore the potential danger of VTE, either.

If you do a lot of traveling, the best thing you can do to avoid VTE is to get up and stretch your legs periodically on long flights or car trips.

Sounds simple, but like I always say - staying healthy was never meant to be complicated.