The USDA has the best list of foods with vitamin K. In the table below, choose foods that add up to less than your RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for vitamin K (90 micrograms per day for women 19 to 70+ years or 120 micrograms per day for men 19 to 70+ years). Do not eat more than your RDA of vitamin K each day and try to eat a consistent amount from day to day.

Read below for what you need to know to regulate food intake which is influencing your clotting time (prothrombin). Just because you are on a blood thinner does not mean you should avoid all foods with vitamin K.

Your mother does not need to restrict foods containing iron. She needs to eat foods with iron to maintain her red blood cell hemoglobin which carries oxygen around her body.

Vitamin K is needed for blood clotting and if your mother eats different amounts (high one day and low the next day) of vitamin K, it will be more difficult to regulate her clotting time. Remember that vitamin K is a fat soluble vitamin so it is stored in your body. If your mother is on Coumadin, she needs to eat enough foods containing vitamin K to meet her RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) which is 90 micrograms per day for women 19 to 70+ years of age. See table below for a list of foods with vitamin K.

Canadians don't include vitamin K as a B vitamin. Since 1995, the U.S. and Canada have worked together to create the RDA's (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for vitamins and minerals.

Vitamin K comes in different forms including phyloquinone in plants and menaquinone in animal products in addition to a synthetic form menadione.

The known B vitamins are:

B1	Thiamin
B2	Riboflavin
B3	Niacin
B6	Pyridoxine
B12	Cobalamin

Your grandmother's doctor probably took her off the prescribed blood thinner (warfarin) so that she would not excessively bleed during and after surgery. This is standard practice. If she were to start taking an herbal blood thinner, she may excessively bleed during surgery and the doctor may not be able to stop the bleeding. Follow her doctor's advice and keep your grandmother off her prescribed blood thinner and don't substitute anything else to thin her blood. Make sure your grandmother informs her surgeon of all her medications (prescribed and over the counter) including vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements. Make sure that your grandmother's tumor surgeon is conferring with her heart surgeon as they may work in different hospitals or clinics.

Vitamin K promotes blood clotting. Ask your grandmother's doctor if there is any need to limit vitamin K foods pre or post surgery.

Leafy green vegetables (kale, collards, spinach, turnip greens, beet greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens green leaf lettuce), Brussels sprouts, broccoli, green onions, parsley, asparagus and sauerkraut contain more than the RDA of vitamin K for men or women. These foods are not allowed for persons with a history of blood clots and persons on blood thinning medication. See table below for a list of foods with vitamin K.

There is some misinformation that people on anticoagulants have to avoid all foods with vitamin K. What they need is a consistent amount of vitamin K each day that meets their RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) which is 90 micrograms per day for a woman ages 19 to 70+ years and 120 micrograms per day for men ages 19 to 70+ years.

Soy beans have about 1/3 of your friend's RDA for vitamin K, but should be limited to less than 2 cups of soybeans per day. Fortified soy milk is low in vitamin K so she can drink 3 cups per day to get her calcium and vitamin D. Tofu is low in vitamin K.

See table below for a list of vegetarian foods with vitamin K.

The information on vitamin K content in foods is limited to less than 1,000 foods. If he were to eat lettuce, he should stick to iceberg especially the whiter inner leaves (1 cup has 13.3 micrograms vitamin K) or Romaine (1 cup has 57.4 micrograms vitamin K) as they are the lowest in the USDA data.

Would suggest he try salads made of other raw vegetables that are low to moderate sources of vitamin K like white mushrooms, corn, beets, radishes, red, yellow or orange peppers, cooked dried beans (chickpeas, garbanzo, pinto, navy or red kidney), avocado, onions other than scallions or Spring type, cucumbers (peeled), peas, edible pod peas, mung bean sprouts, tomatoes, red cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

Onions are OK for persons on Coumadin except for green or Spring type onions. Onion soup is most often made with yellow or white onions so it should be fine. A few green onions slices sprinkled on the top would not be a problem either.

Here is a table of vitamin K values (micrograms per serving) which you can also get from the USDA. I have selected foods high in vitamin K that people usually consume (excluding spices and herbs which are used in very small amounts). The Recommended Dietary Allowances for vitamin K for adult males is 120 mcg and for adult females 90 mcg.

Table: vitamin K in 1 cup serving:

Omit	High	Medium	Low	Very Low
90 to 1,150 mcg	60 to 90 mcg	30 to 60 mcg	10 to 30 mcg	5 to 10 mcg
kale	okra	Chinese cabbage	tomato paste	cashew nuts 1 ounce
collards	cabbage	lettuce romaine or cos	mixed vegetables	split peas
spinach	rhubarb	celery	blackberries	lima beans
turnip greens	plums dried stewed	coleslaw	blueberries fresh	squash winter
beet greens	cowpeas or blackeye	peas edible pod	cabbage red	prune juice
mustard greens		cabbage Savoy	plums dried 5 prunes	mangos 1 fruit
Brussels sprouts		cabbage	artichokes	duck (1/2 cooked)
broccoli		blueberries frozen	grapes red or green	salad dressing Italian 1 tbsp
onions Spring or scallion		pumpkin	cauliflower	salad dressing Russian 1 tbsp
dandelion greens		peas green	carrots	beef stew
parsley 10 sprigs		tuna fish in oil 3 ounces	miso	papaya 1 fruit
spinach noodles		carrot juice	cucumber peeled	oat cereal cooked
asparagus		spaghetti sauce	yellow snap beans	pears
sauerkraut		mung bean sprouts	green snap beans	muffins oat bran
endive		soybeans cooked	vegetable soup	soy milk
lettuce green leaf		kiwi fruit 1 medium	salad dressing French 1 tbsp	peppers sweet red
			French fried potatoes 1 large fast food serving	soup split pea
			cauliflower	soup clam chowder
			raspberries	seaweed kelp 2 tbsp
			biscuit with egg & sausage fast food (1)	chickpeas or garbanzo beans cooked
			salad dressing vinegar & oil 1 tbsp	fruit cocktail
			pine nuts	peppers hot chili green
			tomatoes fresh	chives 1 tbsp
			salad dressing blue or Roquefort 1 tbsp	peppers hot chili red
			bread stuffing 1/2 cup	squash summer
			turkey patties breaded battered fried 1 patty	soup vegetarian vegetable
			seeds pumpkin or squash roasted	peaches dried 3 halves
			lettuce iceberg	refried beans
			peppers sweet green	pinto beans
			vegetable juice cocktail	avocado 1 ounce
			potatoes mashed	figs dried (2)
			pickle relish 1 tbsp	red kidney beans
			Asian pear	mayonnaise salad dressing 1 tbsp
			pickles dill (1)	potatoes hash brown
			chestnuts	apricots canned
			plums purple canned	sweet potatoes
			salad dressing thousand island 1 tbsp	tomato juice
			alfalfa seed sprouts	peaches frozen
				fruit leathers 1 ounce
				raisins
				chili con carne
				honeydew melon

Coumadin is prescribed to prevent blood clots and increase the amount of time it takes your blood to form a clot. This allows the blood to flow more easily through narrowed blood vessels.

You should have a consistent intake of vitamin K (Recommended Dietary Allowance for men is 120 micrograms, women 90 micrograms per day). Avoid supplements with vitamin K as that would interfere with the amount of Coumadin needed to regulate your clotting time. Your clotting time will be periodically tested by your doctor to regulate this medication.

Foods high in vitamin K are green leafy vegetables (kale, collards, spinach, turnip greens, beet greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens), Brussels sprouts, broccoli, green onions, parsley, asparagus, sauerkraut and lettuce (endive and green leaf). Milk, meat, eggs and cereal contain small amounts. Vitamin K content in vegetables and fruits vary. See table above for a list of foods with vitamin K because vitamin K content of food is not usually listed on food labels. Vitamin supplements containing vitamin K are available by prescription.

You did not say what type of cardiac nutrition therapy you are supposed to follow. Are you on a low saturated fat, low trans fat , low fat / calorie reduced nutrition therapy? Please write back.