Great new list of Vit K content of foods

[sharon]

Just wanted to let you all know about a great list of the Vit K content of foods. It's 21 pages long and put out by the USDA. It is the most complete list and I think the most recent list too.

Don't know if this was ever posted on this site - but Hank if you go to the site I think you'll agree that it should be included in your coumadin links.

Check out the Vit K info at the following link:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR17/wtrank/wt_rank.html

Sharon
St Judes avr 4/97

 

[Cris N]

Sharon,

This is the list I refer to all the time. What's really nice is that you can get it either by food type or by amount of Vit. K.

I use it to keep myself out of trouble while I getting my INR stable.

Cris

 

[Ross]

I will caution all of you regarding the use of these lists. Do so only as a guide, but don't try to use them to regulate your Coumadin. Eat the foods you love, be consistent with what you eat. Dose the diet, don't diet the dose.

I will add this to the must have links for future reference, thanks.

 

[Cris N]

I will caution all of you regarding the use of these lists. Do so only as a guide, but don't try to use them to regulate your Coumadin. Eat the foods you love, be consistent with what you eat. Dose the diet, don't diet the dose.

Ross, I totally agree but I find the list quite helpful while I am slowly building up my Vit K amount and getting my warfarin adjusted. I've already had one stroke since my surgery (my INR was at 1.3) and I don't need another one. Then I was on amiordarone for a month... so that's still affecting my INR... my coumadin clinic nurse has suggested that I slowly increase my Vit K intake until I reach my desired level - and we're adjusting my warfarin accordingly - but she has cautioned me to take it slowly so I keep out danger.

One of the problems that I had is the diet I was fed in the hospital... it was very low in Vitamin K ... hard to get started on a consistent amount when the consistency you've had is next to nothing!

Part of the problem for the newbie is the consistent intake of Vitamin K. They gave me this booklet that talked about green leafy veggies... well, it doesn't say anything about, for example, asparagus - 4 spears of frozen, boiled, unsalted = 48 mcg Vitamin K. If I didn't have this information available I would have thought that asparagus was not terribly high in Vitamin K based on the green leafy veggie section in the booklet... of course I can't stand asparagus so no danger there Likewise, a cup of carrot juice contains 36.6 mcg. And carrots are neither green, nor leafy!

So, I guess I'm saying that the list is very helpful for those new to the whole warfarin scene... I think it's a good way to help keep people from accidentally lowering their INR to dangerous levels... dosing the diet doesn't work if you're dead!

Thanks for letting me speak my mind.

Cris

 

[Yaps]

Ranch dressing has vit k I love ranch, with carrots,another vit k.. , I just adjust my dose.. ..I ve saved the booklet, thanks

 

[Ross]

You'd be surprised at how many people freak when they see their favorite veggie has X amount of Vit k, then they avoid it altogether, which is not a good thing either. This is why I say to use them only for reference, but don't sit down and expect that chart to give you an exact amount for what you eat, it just doesn't work and is a lot of worrying and wasted time, not to mention that your denying your body necessary nutrients. I love Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Spinich, heck every Vit K no no there is and I eat all of them I want and then some. I just eat what I like and the dose is adjusted for that diet, which is 40mg Coumadin for one week for me.

 

[Nancy]

It would be so easy if the amount of vitamin K you eat was what messed up your INR. It's not that simple at all.

Some of the other things that make a difference, and this is only a partial list, I'm sure others will add more and more

activity level
whether you are sick
other medications
recent medication adjustments
injections
over the counter meds.
the weather
drinking alcohol
eating hidden sources of vitamin K, like V-8 juice, health drinks with green algae and other stuff like wheat grass and other greenies
some health bars
diet drinks that you mix with milk
Boost
Ensure
taking antacids

 

[twinmaker]

Since being on Coumadin for almost 24 years, I haven't really spent one minute thinking about what I eat. And no one told me to watch my Vitamin K or anything else. The just told me to eat the things I've always eaten in roughly the same amounts and not to make HUGE differences in this area. I love all kinds of vegetables. I eat what I feel is a normal amount for me and just don't even think about it. It seems to work for me. Even though I have gone through bad times with regulating my Coumadin, my doctor never felt it was because of my diet.

 

[Guest]

My experience has been that diet plays only a minor role. I had one woman who ate a whole bag of cole slaw mix over 2 days. Her INR only went down to 1.6 (she was a 2 - 3 person) and then it was back up the next week. Diet is an easy one to blame when the person managing the warfarin doesn't know how to do it.

My guess is that eating a normal diet would be a nearly impossible cause of the INR going down to 1.3.

Sure, you could get down there but the amount of vegetables you would have to eat would be just short of tremendous.

 

[sharon]

You are all correct - but like Cris I just like to use as a reference as I know that my inr can change for numerous reasons not just my diet.

Sharon
St Judes avr 4/97

 

[catwoman]

Nutritional charts are always subject to variation, from what I've read. Nutritional content of vegetables & fruit can vary, according to maturity of the produce, etc. I'm sure vitamin K content could vary too.
Right now we're enjoying Pecos cantaloupe -- cantaloupe grown in the Pecos River area in far West Texas. They are incredibly sweet. Season seems to be very short, or at least we don't get to enjoy them for very long. I'm sure their sugar content exceeds that of cantaloupe grown in other areas. I don't know what it is that makes Pecos cantaloupe so wonderful, if it is the soil, water, climate, etc.
Same could hold true for produce high in vitamin K. I doubt any research has been done to determine such, because there's not much reason to throw money at that kind of research.