Jiffy Pop Popcorn and Any Popcorn For That Matter

[Julian]

I was about to enjoy some Jiffy Pop when I read the ingredients and noticed it has partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil. Yesterday my INR was 1.6 and we are trying to raise it up, so they up my dose from 5mg to 7.5 on most days. I'm going to retest on Friday to see if it has raised me to therapeutic levels. Should I skip the Jiffy till I get therapeutic. Are all popcorn's like this? Lame. :frown2:

I'm 11 days post op so right now we are concerned with getting me within range and I don't want to do anything to compromise this. I don't want to be too anal about what I eat but right now we're just trying to get a baseline. Am I being too paranoid?

 

[Julian]

Concerning partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil; most highly processed and preserved foods contains these guys. Chips, breads, cereals. Are the levels of these oils high in these packaged foods in general to be a real threat?

 

[Protimenow]

Congrats on your new lease on life -- you'll feel a whole lot stronger soon, if you don't already.

I don't know if there's a lot of Vitamin K in the oils used for Jiffy Pop (or other snacks, for that matter), and I'm not sure if it's easy to eat enough of that stuff to bring your INR down, but it's probably not a bad idea to avoid those things while you're trying to get your INR into a therapeutic range. With an increase in your dosage of 50%, it's good that you're being tested frequently. Once you're stable, the doses can probably be fine tuned to put you in range.

One thing you should consider, when a good range is established for you, is that whatever you do (and whatever you eat), you should try to be consistent. If you like a Jiffy Pop every day, you should have a Jiffy Pop every day -- you'll be able to dose your INR to work with whatever effects the Jiffy Pop may have on your INR.

It's also not a bad idea to eat foods with Vitamin K - they should make it easier to establish and manage your dose.

Also -- the lower ranges of INR may not be quite as critical after the third month post-op with the On-X valve than they are with some of the other valves - but I'm sure your doctors probably made this clear.

 

[Herb M]

I buy organic popcorn. The only ingredient is popcorn. I add whatever oil that sits me. However I doubt the oil in regular popcorn would be a problem, however, almost all corn products are GMO, except for organic products.

 

[catwoman]

I buy organic popcorn. The only ingredient is popcorn. I add whatever oil that sits me. However I doubt the oil in regular popcorn would be a problem, however, almost all corn products are GMO, except for organic products.

It's not necessarily the type of oil that would be a problem. ALL oil contains vitamin K. The more oil and fats you consume, the more vitamin K you consume. Not sure how much more vitamin K would be in soybean oil than in other oils, but I personally wouldn't worry about it. Some might, but I wouldn't.

 

[Julian]

Thank you guys for all these great responses. I like processed foods, I'm sure I'm going to be consuming many hidden K oils in the long run. I'm not too worried in the future once I get in the therapeutic zone. Since I'm trying to get off the landing pad I'm extra cautious right now.

I know Doctors say that the first 3 months is more risky for stroke after surgery. I think I read a few post in the past where people didn't completely agree about this but I'd like to be more aware a cautious the first 3 to 6 months just to be safe.

 

[Greg a]

Also a caution on most snack foods due to the fact we have heart conditions watch the sodium levels

 

[Protimenow]

While we may all have heart 'conditions,' we don't all necessarily have problems with high blood pressure or coronary artery disease. Of course, it never hurts to watch the sodium levels in our foods, but this is not always a major issue for some of us.

As far as the 3 month risk -- I've seen it posted in medical reference works that the first three months post-op are, apparently statistically, the time when the risk of stroke is the greatest. This certainly makes sense, because the body is working on combining natural tissue with an implanted device.

 

[Bina]

Julian, how was the popcorn? Did your head explode?
Seriously, you can google the vitamin K content of various oils, but you may as well just eat half decently and
get a routine going. Skip the hydrogenated crap and go for low salt/sodium as part of a new healthier lifestyle.

 

[Cooker]

Eat the pop corn ... the only thing it might hurt is your teeth!!!! ... Don't let life hold you hostage!!!!

 

[Protimenow]

Cooker -- Amen to that. Those of us taking coumadin should NOT consider this a disability or a weakness. It's not really that much of a challenge. We should all be living our lives healthier and stronger than before we had to start taking coumadin (I'm trying to include A-fib here along with valves), and not let the slightly inconvenient watching of diet and activity - and occasional testing - get in the way of our lifestyles.

 

[Freddie]

I was about to enjoy some Jiffy Pop when I read the ingredients and noticed it has partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil. Yesterday my INR was 1.6 and we are trying to raise it up, so they up my dose from 5mg to 7.5 on most days. I'm going to retest on Friday to see if it has raised me to therapeutic levels. Should I skip the Jiffy till I get therapeutic. Are all popcorn's like this? Lame. :frown2:

I'm 11 days post op so right now we are concerned with getting me within range and I don't want to do anything to compromise this. I don't want to be too anal about what I eat but right now we're just trying to get a baseline. Am I being too paranoid?

Julian, here on the forum there is a term that is used quite often and that is: dose the diet, don't diet the dose.

It may take a while for your INR to level out, for me it took months because I too was paranoid on what I ate which I found out was the wrong thing to do.
If you compromise your eating habits now what will you do once you do get into range? Chances are you'll probably start eating the foods you have avoided and then find yourself on the famous roller-coaster ride (another term that is used around here).

Your range will come, it just takes time.

 

[piglet]

My advice is.....Sheryl Crow "Soak up the Sun" Make regular Popcorn on the stove, and add what you like and feel is safe.

 

[Julian]

This is good advice piglet. I went to get my INR tested. I was 3.2 my target range is 2.0 to 3.0. I told the girl I'm happy being anywhere between 2.0 to 4.0. She cut my dose a bit because she thinks I'm responding very well to the drug. I'm going to have the popcorn tonight! I'm 15 days post op and feel like having some peanuts and popcorn, life is good.

 

[Bina]

Julian, that reading of 3.2 is totally perfect. Her cutting your dose was dumb. But enjoy your treat !

 

[lance]

I buy corn kernels from the bulk barn, put them in a paper bag, then in the microwave set to "Popcorn". When the rate of popping slows down I take the bag out and shake it a bit and then eat.
No added salt and no oil at all.

Cooker,
You're one smart chimp.
Sandra

 

[dick0236]

I find the best way to deal with ingrediants in food is to NOT read the ingrediant list. Microwave popcorn (movie theatre butter:eek2 is one of my diet mainstays, and I have a bag for lunch literally every day:smile2:.......and I am a big believer in "dose the diet..DO NOT diet the dose":angel:.