Q: Should I avoid lettuce while on Coumadin?

I was told that if you are on Coumadin you should not eat lettuce. Is this true?

A: Dr. Gourmet Says...

Because Vitamin K can have an effect on how Coumadin® (warfarin) is processed in your body it is important to have about the same amounts of Vitamin K each day.

Lettuces are members of the cabbage family. As a rule cabbages contain higher amounts of Vitamin K. Part of eating healthy is to eat a lot of green leafy vegetables but this can be a problem for those people who use Coumadin as a result. If you are going to begin eating lettuce and other members of the cabbage family, it is important to be consistent. By that I mean you should eat about the same amount of such green leafy vegetables each day so that your INR doesn't fluctuate.

Here is a link to a list of the relative levels of Vitamin K content of food. If you print this out, you can take this to your doctor and discuss eating a consistent serving of such foods. That way the two of you can more closely monitor your INR while you are adapting your diet.

Thanks for writing.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Dr. Gourmet