Balance of Nature // Texas Superfoods // etc. (?)

mjbnj0001

Hi. I'm just off coumadin (warfarin), and the commercials for these products are calling out to me (they don't report or control Vitamin-K content). I'm eating a good amount of veggies, but these types of things supposedly blend extracts of several dozen per capsule. I'm always skeptical, being a veteran of a lifetime of food "facts" that aren't. Facts.

Any experiences to share? Much appreciated, thanks!

JeromeBarry1

Is Vitamin-K something you must have or avoid?

fishgutzy

mjbnj0001 wrote: »

Hi. I'm just off coumadin (warfarin), and the commercials for these products are calling out to me (they don't report or control Vitamin-K content). I'm eating a good amount of veggies, but these types of things supposedly blend extracts of several dozen per capsule. I'm always skeptical, being a veteran of a lifetime of food "facts" that aren't. Facts.

Any experiences to share? Much appreciated, thanks!

My mother was on wafarin since around 1978. Finally, at age 79, and a month long hospital stay she was switched to Xeralto. No more K avoidance. No label looking. She lives with my family. So no more separate vegetable plate.
See if you can switch to it. (I know Medicare hates it because it is more expensive. But hospital stays are even more expensive. )

mjbnj0001

I hear you. I was on coumadin for over 10 yrs. Got fed up with the testing, dietary restrictions, and general uncertainty of it all. I (did) a lot of business travel, so it was always a balancing act. Plus, knowing I'm taking rat poison every day was not a healthy thing for the soul.

Trying Eliquis now. For private insurance folks, there's a discount program for low co-pays. Otherwise, it's a second mortgage every month. Statistically, also seems to be better than coumadin. Xarelto and Pradaxa have similar stories. Good luck with your mother, and thanks for the advice.

sheermomentum

I've heard their marketing on the radio and I have to admit its pursuasive. BUT I make it a rule, personally, never to ingest any sort of pill that doesn't tell me what's in it, chemically speaking. I don't know what's in it, and I don't have any reason to believe the people selling it.

Their primary claim is that it contains the nutrition of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, but I seriously doubt that. For it to be true, it would have to contain all the calories of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, for a start, because 1. that's a nutrient, and 2. removing the water doesn't remove the calories. (And if does contain those calories, which the label does not say, I'll just eat the food, thanks.) They say that the contents of the capsules are nothing but freeze-dried, powdered fruits and vegetables, and that 10 servings, which should be about 5 cups of fresh chopped food, are in 6 capsules. I haven't seen those capsules, but even dried and powdered I'm wary of that math.

So in the end I'll just stick to my multi-vitamin. At least it makes a claim about what I'm taking.

mjbnj0001

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Is Vitamin-K something you must have or avoid?

Coumadin is a "blood thinner" - that is, it decreases the effectiveness of your blood clotting. For certain conditions you want to moderate your coagulation effectiveness so you are not generating blood clots through your system. Atrial Fibrillation is one condition. Having a heart valve is another. Some meds are good in one case, some in other cases.

Vitamin-K helps in blood clotting, and is one of the things that coumadin works against. Comes from deeply green veggies, mostly. So stuff like broccoli, kale, spinach, etc., you have to keep in moderate intake. It's a balancing act: you're getting regular blood tests to see if your clotting time levels are stable. You adjust your diet and/or level of medication to ensure things are in range.

There are several new meds on the market that don't work in the same manner as coumadin, so the vitamin-K thing isn't an issue when using them (there are a bunch of different "factors" that together make up how your blood clots).

This past week, I've made kale soup, kale smoothies, sauteed spinach with fish, brussels sprouts and other green things I've been generally avoiding. Just in time for summer grill-and-salad season, LOL! I feel like Mel Gibson in the movie "Braveheart" ... "Freedom!"

mjbnj0001

sheermomentum wrote: »

I've heard their marketing on the radio and I have to admit its pursuasive. BUT I make it a rule, personally, never to ingest any sort of pill that doesn't tell me what's in it, chemically speaking. I don't know what's in it, and I don't have any reason to believe the people selling it.

Their primary claim is that it contains the nutrition of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, but I seriously doubt that. For it to be true, it would have to contain all the calories of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, for a start, because 1. that's a nutrient, and 2. removing the water doesn't remove the calories. (And if does contain those calories, which the label does not say, I'll just eat the food, thanks.) They say that the contents of the capsules are nothing but freeze-dried, powdered fruits and vegetables, and that 10 servings, which should be about 5 cups of fresh chopped food, are in 6 capsules. I haven't seen those capsules, but even dried and powdered I'm wary of that math.

So in the end I'll just stick to my multi-vitamin. At least it makes a claim about what I'm taking.

Balance of Nature discusses some of this in their website FAQs. On one hand, it sounds like slippery, imprecise math often encountered in nutrition discussions, and on the other hand, seems OK, in that the "serving" is the "salad" (mix) and not each veggie added together.

I was interested in hearing any experiences with these types of products with potential veggie "phytonutrients" that would be near-impossible to get just by eating mass quantities of the actual stuff. The commercials sound intriguing, but I wonder if the content of these capsules is enough to truly make a difference. I've been down the "interesting, but useless" route before; now that I can eat more veggies, more freely, I'm hearing the Sirens singing.

mjbnj0001

meant also to say "thanks" ...