thick blood

[rena]

I have read that greens contain a lot of vitamin K which makes your blood thick. People with bad hearts and taking blood thinners are advised not to eat a lot of things with vit K. So, if we, or I, am eating a lot of greens, green smoothies with kale, collards, spinach and a lot of salads, how do we know if we are getting too much to cause a blood clot or something? I know you are not doctors on here, but just a thought.

[SemiAutocraticWeapon]

I have read that greens contain a lot of vitamin K which makes your blood thick. People with bad hearts and taking blood thinners are advised not to eat a lot of things with vit K. So, if we, or I, am eating a lot of greens, green smoothies with kale, collards, spinach and a lot of salads, how do we know if we are getting too much to cause a blood clot or something? I know you are not doctors on here, but just a thought.


There are foods and spices that balance out your Vit. K intake. Spices and herbs like Cinnamon, Tumeric, Ginger, Curry, Mint. I have read that stuff in the Onion/Garlic family is good for that too. Also certain fruits like cherries, cranberries, grapes, etc. I am sure there are people that can go into far more detail, but that should give you the gist.

[Tenuviel]

I think there is a difference in having thick blood from vitamin K, and sticky blood, which is the kind that is full of fat/ cholesterol. my blood is thick whenever I get a blood test, and I know I'm well hydrated, so also curious

[kaleboy]

try earthing...it is a natural way to thin your blood and may be good for raw foodists.

[snoops]

I believe you have it backwards but someone correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't it thin your blood and therefore if you are already on blood thinners you need to be careful and have blood tests because you may be getting too thin between the greens and the pills.

[SemiAutocraticWeapon]

I believe you have it backwards but someone correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't it thin your blood and therefore if you are already on blood thinners you need to be careful and have blood tests because you may be getting too thin between the greens and the pills.

From what I have researched it looks like Vit. K is an antagonist to coumadin(the med that most people with heart/clotting issues take.) Also, you can google it, and see that Vitamin K is responsible for assisting in blood clotting.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Uumm, i would have to check that. What i heard is that eating a lot of green thin your blood. I am not sure that all greens has vitamin K.

But thanks for bringing this up, i will check this out.

[ferb]

well speaking for my dad, he's on blood thinners and gets himself tested monthly some mths they tell him to eat turnipgreens (or any greens spinach, collard but his preference is the turnip) it will thicken/build blood. some mths they tell him to leave off eating greens all together. and he's amazed and will tell me 'they can tell when I eat my turnip greens'.... he's a hoot

[Tenuviel]

I knew someone who had to go on blood thinners after having a huge pituitary tumor removed. they kept getting clots in their legs, lungs heart, hence the coumadin... and they were told to not eat any greens! just iceberg. However they continued to eat crap like fried chicken and that was just fine according to the surgeon :weird

I'm pretty sure that there are other nutrients in the greens that counteract the clotting effects of the vitamin K. fruits have salicyclates that thin the blood, so that probably balances it all out.

[SharonC]

Unfortunately, this is so widely misunderstood (because of many in the medical community).

Vitamin K performs many functions - one of the most important is it's role in the coagulation of our blood - this is a very good thing to stop bleeding when needed! People who have clotting disorders or have an increased risk of clotting for whatever reason and choose conventional treatment are routinely given the following drug...

"Warfarin (brand name Coumadin®, Warfilone®) is a prescription medication that interferes normal blood clotting (coagulation). It is also called an anticoagulant. Many people refer to these medicines as blood thinners, although they do not actually cause the blood to become less thick, only less likely to clot.

The normal clotting mechanism is a complex process that involves multiple substances (clotting factors). These factors are produced by the liver and act in sequence to form a blood clot. In order for the liver to produce some of the clotting factors, adequate amounts of vitamin K must be available. Warfarin blocks the availability of vitamin K and limits the production of these clotting factors. As a result, the clotting mechanism is disrupted and it takes longer for the blood to clot.

Vitamin K — Eating an increased amount of foods rich in vitamin K can lower the prothrombin time and INR, making warfarin less effective, and potentially increasing the risk of blood clots. Patients who take warfarin should aim to eat a relatively similar amount of vitamin K each week. Some foods have a high level of vitamin K, including: kale, broccoli, spinach, collard or turnip greens, lettuce, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage (table 1). It is not necessary to avoid these foods. However, the patient should eat a relatively similar amount on a regular basis rather than eating a large serving occasionally." rest of this article....http://www.uptodate.com/contents/patient-information-warfarin-coumadin-reg

Explanation of why it is actually better to NOT reduce vitamin K (greens) when on this drug - http://www.clotcare.com/clotcare/vitaminkandwarfarin.aspx


There are many interactions with warfarin (going both ways - causing it not to work in preventing clots, or in the other direction, bleeding). Very narrow therapeutic window which is why it has to be monitored and adjusted regularly. Makes no sense to me since there are better and safer ways, but this is what is common.