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Arri London Arri London is offline
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Default onions and coumadin



blake murphy wrote:
>
> my father was recently put on coumadin, for which i understand the
> generic is warfarin, a blood thinner or anti-coagulant (and yes, i
> know, a major ingredient in some rat poisons). there were some food
> restrictions (leafy green vegetables, etc.), due to large amounts of
> vitamin k, which apparently reduces the effect. those didn't bother
> him, but 'no onions' is chafing his knickers. (paradoxically, onions
> themselves seem to have an anticoagulant effect.)
>
> apparently, cooked onions are less bad, i presume because cooking
> destroys some of the viatmin k.
>
> anyhow, i told him i would put the question here to you all, since
> there seems to be much group experience in food allergies and medicine
> interactions, to see what you all thought, and ideas for
> substitutions, etc. so, any insights, wisdom, or warnings not to seek
> medical advice on the 'net? my dad's a pretty good cook, if that
> helps.
>
> (some years ago, i had a girlfriend who was allergic to onions, but i
> don't know that i acquired any cooking knowledge, other than i didn't
> make chili, and one side of the cutting board was non-onion. i did
> finally come up with a meat loaf.)
>
> your pal,
> blake


Here is some information from a reliable source:

http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/guides/coumad.htm

Coumadin/warfarin is meant to prevent clotting:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/d...r/a682277.html

Vitamin K is needed for blood to clot:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/002407.htm

A balance must be kept between the two; your father will need to be
tested frequently to see how things are doing. Most major hospitals have
a coumadin/warfarin clinic for that purpose.

The key is not to OD on the 'forbidden' foods and eat them, if desired,
in a regular manner, rather than bingeing one day and nothing the next.

HTH