Visitor Questions

Coumadin (warfarin) works by decreasing the activity of vitamin K and lengthening the time it takes for a clot to form. While taking coumadin or other anticoagulants, you need to be cautious not to consume large amounts of vitamin K in your diet. The key is trying to keep your vitamin K intake at a consistent level so that your blood clotting time is not significantly affected. Your international normalized ratio (INR)test is a standardized test to measure how quickly your blood clots. The lower your INR, the more quickly the blood clots or the “thicker” the blood. The higher your INR, the longer it takes the blood to clot or the “thinner” the blood, putting you at risk for bleeding problems. With an increase in vitamin K, your INR level may drop. Conversely, a decrease in vitamin K intake may increase the INR.

You can learn more about vitamin K containing foods on our website via this article: Vitamin K

If you take Coumadin or another blood thinner, we would encourage you to choose foods that fall on the low end of the vitamin K spectrum (e.g., peas, peppers, avocado) and limit those that contain the highest amounts of vitamin K (e.g., greens, broccoli, kale, Brussel sprouts, Swiss chard). You can choose foods on the higher end, but if you do so your intake should stay consistent.

Importantly, you should work with your healthcare provider about managing the vitamin K content of your diet if you take Coumadin or other medications that may impact vitamin K activity.

You can use our Recipe Assistant to choose the foods you would like to include or exclude in the recipe and you will be given a list of recipes to help meet your unique needs. Recipe Assistant