Don't Eat to Live, Part II
As I began two posts ago, I am on a very interesting diet, interesting in that it shows how incredible our bodies are and how they were created to function. Because I am taking a blood-thinning drug orally, as well as injecting myself twice daily with another blood-thinning drug until the oral becomes therapeutic (medicaleze for 'starts to work'), I have to limit my intake of vitamin K, vitamin E, and a host of herbal substances, including ginger and garlic.
I love salads, and was trying to lose weight by increasing my intake of dark green leafy vegetables. So now, dark green leafy vegetables--and almost everything in between--are not exactly verboten, but have to be eaten consistently. Take avocados, for example: lower on the list (see below) but still on it; whenever we have them in the house, I eat one, sometimes two a day. Then days go by and we haven't bought any, so I don't eat any. NOT a good plan when you're trying to raise your INR to 2-3, when the pre-Coumadin level is 0-1. It's called a "clotting cascade," and it's amazing. But it can be a veritable balancing act, depending on what you ingest. Take a look at this cool animation, which shows it beautifully.
So now, in order to avoid fluctuations in the clotting vitamin K (they should have spelled 'clotting' with a 'K.' Or vitamin 'K' should have been 'C' - and designate another letter for Ascorbic Acid. But I digress...), I have to keep my intake of that vitamin steady as she goes, which means if I eat an avocado one day, I have to eat an avocado every day. Same with salad: 1 a day. In the past, doctors used to limit one's vitamin K intake, but the new methodology is to continue what you've been doing normally, and adjust your Coumadin dosage accordingly. I go for my 3rd INR test tomorrow.
By the way, I am officially withdrawing myself from NaBloPoMo for January. I don't feel up to blogging every day, if I feel like it at all. I'm keeping the widget on my sidebar, though, as a reminder.
I love salads, and was trying to lose weight by increasing my intake of dark green leafy vegetables. So now, dark green leafy vegetables--and almost everything in between--are not exactly verboten, but have to be eaten consistently. Take avocados, for example: lower on the list (see below) but still on it; whenever we have them in the house, I eat one, sometimes two a day. Then days go by and we haven't bought any, so I don't eat any. NOT a good plan when you're trying to raise your INR to 2-3, when the pre-Coumadin level is 0-1. It's called a "clotting cascade," and it's amazing. But it can be a veritable balancing act, depending on what you ingest. Take a look at this cool animation, which shows it beautifully.
So now, in order to avoid fluctuations in the clotting vitamin K (they should have spelled 'clotting' with a 'K.' Or vitamin 'K' should have been 'C' - and designate another letter for Ascorbic Acid. But I digress...), I have to keep my intake of that vitamin steady as she goes, which means if I eat an avocado one day, I have to eat an avocado every day. Same with salad: 1 a day. In the past, doctors used to limit one's vitamin K intake, but the new methodology is to continue what you've been doing normally, and adjust your Coumadin dosage accordingly. I go for my 3rd INR test tomorrow.
By the way, I am officially withdrawing myself from NaBloPoMo for January. I don't feel up to blogging every day, if I feel like it at all. I'm keeping the widget on my sidebar, though, as a reminder.
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refuah shleimah