The NHShas highlighted the importance of 'keeping yourdiet stable' when taking warfarin and encourages people to be mindful whilst consuming one nutrient. Warfarin is an 'anticoagulant' medicineprescribed to treat andprevent blood clots in people who have previously had one.

While most adults and children can take warfarin, theNHS explains that big changes in your eating and drinking habits can alter how the body responds to it. Patients are therefore advised to be aware of something commonly known as the 'clotting vitamin'.

"It's important that you eat foods containing vitamin K, so rather than leaving them out of your diet, make sure you eat similar amounts of them regularly," current advice from the NHS reads.

"This will mean the level of vitamin K in your blood stays fairly constant and makes it more likely that your INR level stays stable. Do not drink cranberry or grapefruit juice while you're taking warfarin. It can increase the effect of your medicine and put you at higher risk of bleeding."

Although clotting is often perceived as a bad thing, our bodies actually need it in order to survive. The mechanism, known as coagulation, helps prevent excessive bleeding and is essential for wound healing.

Vitamin K, the 'clotting vitamin', typically assists in this process by creating certain proteins that allow clotting to occur. Emerging evidence suggests that the nutrient may help keep bones healthy, too, but more research is needed on the subject.

As warfarin is an anticoagulant, it works against the process of coagulation in people with a higher risk of serious blood clots. These serious blood clots are usually deep vein thrombosis and occur when they form in the wrong place, typically in the deep veins of the leg.

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So, in essence, consuming too much vitamin K can therefore hinder warfarin's effectiveness. The nutrient is abundant in foods like broccoli, spinach, chickpeas, mature cheese, egg yolks, olive oil, avocados and various others.

NHS guidance continues: "It's very important to keep your diet stable while taking warfarin. This means your dose of warfarin is more likely to stay the same. Any big changes in what you eat or drink can change how your body responds to warfarin.

"Speak to your doctor or nurse before changing what you eat – for example, before you go on a diet to lose weight." Adults generally require approximately one microgram of vitamin K per kilogram of body weight per day.

If someone weighs 75kg, they would need around 75 micrograms of vitamin K per day, while someone weighing 97kg would need 97 micrograms per day. The NHS asserts that you should be able to get all the vitamin K you need by eating a balanced diet.

For more information, head to the NHS website here.

According to the NHS, some of these foods include:

• Green leafy vegetables, including broccoli, spinach and lettuce


• Chickpeas


• Liver


• Egg yolks


• Mature cheese and blue cheese


• Avocado


• Olive oil


• Vegetable oils


• Cereal grains

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