Is Nutrisystem safe for those on Coumadin (warfarin)?
I work a lot, and am not thrilled with cooking. I've been thinking of trying the Nutrisystem plan. Would that be safe if I'm on Coumadin?
Dr. Gourmet Says...
I
get questions pretty frequently about the safety of prepared meals for those
taking Coumadin (warfarin). This is a challenging issue and one that I don't
have a definitive answer for (but read on anyway).
As you may know from reading information on DrGourmet.com there are two approaches to consumption of Vitamin K containing foods when taking Coumadin. One is to eat about the same amount of Vitamin K containing foods each day. This can be challenging for many as there's a wide variation between kale or other such greens (very high in Vitamin K) and carrots or iceberg lettuce (lower in Vitamin K). The other option is to eliminate all foods that are very high in Vitamin K.
Either way, prepared foods can present a problem because there's no way to know exactly how much Vitamin K might be in meals as well as the day to day consistency of the amount of Vitamin K for a given dish.
Challenging, to be sure and we have taken the posture on the convenience meals reviewed at DrGourmet.com that none are safe for use with Coumadin. While this is likely not the case and you may be able to look at the ingredient list to determine what might be safe, that's not something that we have had the resources for (nor have we had the time to call individual companies such as Nutrisystem, Lean Cuisine or others).
I will say that I do believe that these products can be part of a strategy for weight loss but my concern is always that if you don't learn how to plan, shop and cook. This the key to long term weight loss, weight maintenance and overall health.
Thanks for writing,
Timothy S. Harlan, M.D.
Dr. Gourmet