Home » Food-Drug interactions (6/6): Leafy vegetables

Food-Drug interactions (6/6): Leafy vegetables

This is a guest blog post by Seuna K. Linda Eva

Did you know that the everyday foods we eat can totally change the way prescription drugs act in the body ? Medically, it is known that some common foods can interact with prescription drugs, with the most commonly known culprit being grapefruit juice.

However, there are a lot more of food and drug interactions to be concerned about.

Here is the last out of 06 food-drugs interactions to avoid we are going to present in series…

Blood-thinning medications like warfarin (Coumadin) can interfere with vitamin K-dependent clotting factors that take place in your liver.

Eating too many green leafy veggies like spinach, broccoli, and lettuce (that are rich in vitamin K) can actually decrease the ability of the blood-thinner to prevent clotting.

There are other blood thinners, like heparin or “low molecular” weight heparins such as: Lovenox, Fragmin, or Innohep where the vitamin K does not have any influence on.

You don’t have to stop eating your green leafy veggies. Problems only occur when the amount of your vitamin k intake has changed, as it can alter the effectiveness of the medicine. So eat your leafy greens in consistent amounts each day. If you don’t normally eat leafy green veggies, then do not suddenly start eating large amounts of them.

Anytime you’re given a newly prescribed or over-the-counter medication, you’ll want to always read the drug warning labels.

Be sure to ask your doctor and/or pharmacist about which foods or other drugs you should avoid or be concerned about taking, based on your diet.

You may want to see if there is a different medication you could take, that would work better with your diet.

Don’t forget to share this post!

Seuna Linda
Seuna K. Linda Eva is a Cameroonian-based nutritionist passionate about empowering people to make health-conscious decisions about their diet and lifestyle. She believes you can be healthy without forgoing our delicious African dishes. Co-founder of DietMiam, through her writing, speaking and one-on-one coaching services, she has helped thousands with diet-related disorders (obesity, hypertension, diabetes, gout, etc.) to develop long-term, sustainable lifestyle habits and rediscover the joy of eating.

1 thought on “Food-Drug interactions (6/6): Leafy vegetables”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *