"No Leafy Greens"

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donyellemoniquex3
donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My mom's recovering from (mechanical) heart valve replacement after 2 heart attacks in December. She's starting to drive again after 12 years and has lots of other health problems, including anxiety, depression, and dementia which were caused by her brain surgery due to double brain aneurysms 12-13 years ago.

I go with her when she drives because I don't really trust her driving alone unless it's a quick trip in town to the bank, pharmacy, etc. A few days ago, her pain doctor told her to "stay away from leafy greens".
Will that hurt HER weight loss ? (medifast)
Is that life sustainable ?

Replies

  • LunaZuriel
    LunaZuriel Posts: 77 Member
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    I eat a bunch of leafy greens.

    I'm not sure how leafy greens would hurt someone or their health. Maybe it's the type of vitamin the leafy green has? Not sure why a doctor would tell his or her patient to stay away from something that is great for your health. Don't know dear. I'm stumped.

    I mean I would think eating lots of leafy greens would help kick start her weight loss, and metabolism. However, everyone has a different body type.
  • mjudd1990
    mjudd1990 Posts: 222 Member
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    If she is on warfarin/Coumadin as a blood thinner then it's likely she was told to stay away from leafy greens because they contain a lot of vitamin K. Warfarin basically works by depleting your body of active vitamin K so if you take in a bunch through your diet it isn't nearly as effective.

    As for weight loss there is nothing special about greens that will make losing weight any easier. Losing weight always boils down to burning more calories than you are ingesting.
  • Keep_The_Laughter
    Keep_The_Laughter Posts: 183 Member
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    If your mother has been prescribed anticoagulnts in the warfarin family, then foods rich in vitamin k, (like leafy greens), can reduce the effectiveness of her medication. This is very important. If need be, try to get your mother's consent and speak directly to her GP about any anticoagulant issues. A history of aneurysm usually requires anticoagulant therapy.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
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    If she is on warfarin/Coumadin as a blood thinner then it's likely she was told to stay away from leafy greens because they contain a lot of vitamin K. Warfarin basically works by depleting your body of active vitamin K so if you take in a bunch through your diet it isn't nearly as effective.

    As for weight loss there is nothing special about greens that will make losing weight any easier. Losing weight always boils down to burning more calories than you are ingesting.

    That's what I was about to say. When my mom was on Warfarin and then on Coumadin, she had the same instructions. Warfarin and Coumadin are blood thinners, to prevent dangerous clotting in the body. Vitamin K triggers clotting. So it basically would cancel out the blood thinner medications.

    The darker the green color, the more K the item has. So spinach has more than celery, for example.

    My mom was allowed a small amount of the lighter green veggies. But was also told that she had to keep that amount consistent from week to week, so the body would adjust to a specific level.

    My mom is now taking a different medication that does not require her to avoid the dark green leafy vegetables. But I can't remember what it's called. She was overjoyed to be able to eat a spinach salad. It was sort of funny.
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
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    She is likely taking Coumadin/warfarin for her mechanical valve and will need to take it for the rest of her life. The most important thing with Coumadin is not AVOIDING leafy greens or foods high in Vitamin K. The most important thing is eating a CONSISTENT AMOUNT of leafy greens or foods high in Vitamin K. She will likely need to have her pro-time (PT) checked on a regular basis to measure her blood clotting time. If she increases or decreases the amount of Vitamin K, she will need to have her dose of Coumadin adjusted up or down to maintain a stable PT. So, if she absolutely loves spinach or other leafy greens, she needs to eat them every day and have her PT checked and Coumadin adjusted. Eating them once a month will probably have little effect. The problem comes when someone eats no leafy greens or high Vit K foods and then switches to eating a lot for a period of a few weeks.

    I can't imagine it would affect her weight loss. There are many other vegetables that she could eat instead.
  • ThinkInOregon
    ThinkInOregon Posts: 283
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    My mom's recovering from (mechanical) heart valve replacement after 2 heart attacks in December. She's starting to drive again after 12 years and has lots of other health problems, including anxiety, depression, and dementia which were caused by her brain surgery due to double brain aneurysms 12-13 years ago.

    I go with her when she drives because I don't really trust her driving alone unless it's a quick trip in town to the bank, pharmacy, etc. A few days ago, her pain doctor told her to "stay away from leafy greens".
    Will that hurt HER weight loss ? (medifast)
    Is that life sustainable ?

    Is her pain dr a cardiologist???

    The previous post is correct about coumadin/warfarin. Coumadin requires frequent/occasional monitoring, dependent on how the person holds their levels. It is most important to be constant on a daily basis with leafy greens. So if she wants to have a daily salad, spinach, greens, etc. then she needs to work with her doctor to adjust her coumadin levels to accommodate that dietary change. And then she needs to maintain that daily level.

    I am both a nurse and have had valve replacement surgery due to damaged valves. This was done when I was 42. There is no way I want to spend the rest of my life not having leafy greens. I was unable to take coumadin, even 1mg (while I was in the hospital) caused nosebleeds, gushing from my PICC line sites and bleeding from a scabbed surgical site that was 2 weeks old.

    Is there any way to go with her to her next appointment to discuss this with them? To the doctor who does her Coumadin prescribing (if you dont already)?
  • toadg53
    toadg53 Posts: 302 Member
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    That's all right. When I was on Warfarin a year ago after a pulmonary embolism, I was told to stay away from any dark greens, and that included cabbages, sauerkraut, etc. It was becuz of the vitamin K . It would wreak havoc on the blood thinner levels. She can eat iceberg lettuce though. That doesn't affect the levels cuz it doesn't have the vitamin K I guess. It's my understanding if you take the drug Plavix instead you aren't restricted.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
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    That's all right. When I was on Warfarin a year ago after a pulmonary embolism, I was told to stay away from any dark greens, and that included cabbages, sauerkraut, etc. It was becuz of the vitamin K . It would wreak havoc on the blood thinner levels. She can eat iceberg lettuce though. That doesn't affect the levels cuz it doesn't have the vitamin K I guess. It's my understanding if you take the drug Plavix instead you aren't restricted.

    Plavix! That's the one my mom recently switched to. She loves it.

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