Vitamins, the organic substances essential to life, influence biological activity within the body. Although you can buy vitamins over-the-counter, you should take them under the supervision of your health care provider, especially if you take any prescription medications. Some vitamins may interfere or enhance the effects of medications. Plavix, for example, is a prescription medication that affects blood clotting and taking vitamin K, a vitamin necessary for blood to clot, may affect the biological activity of Plavix. Plavix is the brand name of the generic medication clopidogrel. Clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate, the active ingredient, affects the ability of platelets to clump together and form a blood clot. Platelets, the smallest type of blood cell, represent only fragments of cells. Platelets contain surface receptors for proteins that allow them to stick to breaks in blood vessels and to each other, making platelets vital for controlling bleeding. Adenosine diphosphate – ADP, a protein, binds to a receptor on the surface of platelets, makes them sticky and allows platelets to clump together.
Plavix inhibits the binding of ADP to platelets and prevents the formation of clots. Doctors prescribe Plavix to patients at risk for a stroke or heart attack to help prevent these life-threatening conditions. Usually, the lining of blood vessels is smooth, allowing blood to flow freely. During the process of atherosclerosis, a process in which cholesterol, fat, minerals and cellular waste build up along the walls of blood vessels, plaque forms. When plaques rupture, the platelets recognize this as an area of damage and rush to cover the plaque with a blood clot to prevent bleeding. Formation of blood clots within the blood vessels can be dangerous because when the clot breaks away it can travel to the heart and cause a heart attack or to the brain and cause a stroke. Vitamin K also affects the ability of your blood to clot. Vitamin K activates specialized proteins known as clotting factors. These clotting factors function in a series of events, known as the coagulation cascade, that allows blood to clot to stop bleeding.
A vitamin K deficiency increases your risk of excessive bleeding while too much vitamin K can cause uncontrolled clotting. Adult men should intake 120 mcg of vitamin K per day while women need only 90 mcg per day, as indicated by the Institute of Medicine. Most people meet their vitamin K intake through eating a healthy diet that includes leafy green vegetables and vegetable oils such as canola oil, soybean oil and olive oil. Medications classified as anticoagulants, such as warfarin, act directly on vitamin K within the body to prevent the formation of blood clots. Although Plavix, classified as an antiplatelet medication, does not directly interact with vitamin K to prevent the formation of blood clots, you should avoid large fluctuations in vitamin K intake while taking any medication to treat clotting disorders. The University of Illinois College of Medicine stresses the importance of notifying your doctor of all vitamins and herbal supplements you take before starting any anti-clotting medication to reduce the chance of adverse reactions and ensure the medication can provide maximum benefits.
Foods to Avoid When Taking Plavix Vitamins That Interact With Plavix Why Should One Not Consume Grapefruit With Plavix? Foods to Avoid When Taking Blood Thinners Plavix & Fish Oil Blood Thinner Alternatives to Plavix What Foods Can or Cannot Be Eaten When Using Plavix? Blood Platelets & Vitamin K Daily Dose: The Vitamins You Should or Shouldn't Be Taking Are There Natural Alternatives to Antiplatelet Medication? List of Blood-Thinning Foods Does Vitamin K Thin Your Blood or Thicken It? How Much Vitamin K is There in V8 Juice? Vitamin K in Green Beans and Apples Vitamin K Dependent Clotting Factors How Does Vitamin K Affect Blood Clots? Fruits That Affect Warfarin Vegetables That Do Not Have Vitamin KBlood thinners fall into two categories: antiplatelet drugs and anticoagulants. Antiplatelets keep blood cells from sticking together; examples are aspirin and clopidogrel, sold under the brand name Plavix.
Anticoagulants keep proteins in the blood from forming clots; an example is warfarin, sold under the brand names Coumadin, Dicumarol or Miradon. Consuming certain foods and beverages can inhibit or increase the blood-thinning properties of these drugs. The liver needs vitamin K to produce blood-clotting proteins. When taking warfarin, the National Institutes of Health says it’s important to be consistent with intake of foods containing vitamin K so the doctor can calculate your dosage correctly. Consuming less than when your dosage was calculated increases the risk of bleeding; consuming more increases the risk of clotting. Foods containing moderate to high amounts of vitamin K include kale, spinach, turnip greens, collards, Swiss chard, mustard greens, Brussels sprouts, green leaf lettuce, endive, romaine, broccoli, parsley, beef liver and chicken liver. In some cases, cooking can increase the amount of vitamin K available to the body from these foods. Iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, asparagus and soybean oil also contain vitamin K, but in smaller amounts.
Some beverages can affect the action of anticoagulants. Green tea, for example, is high in vitamin K. If you increase your consumption after your warfarin dosage is calculated, your risk of clotting is increased. If you decrease your consumption, your risk of bleeding is increased. Cranberry juice and alcohol increase the anticoagulant effect of warfarin and can lead to bleeding problems. Discuss with your doctor whether you can consume these beverages or whether you should avoid them completely. Omega-3 fatty acids can reduce inflammation in the body and are good for heart health. They are found in fatty, cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines and halibut, and can be taken in the form of fish-oil supplements. They are also in flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, soybeans, walnuts, krill, algae, canola oil and oils made from flaxseed, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, purslane, perilla seeds and walnuts. However, omega-3 fatty acids increase the risk of bleeding. Discuss omega-3 supplementation and diet with your doctor if you are on any blood-thinning drugs, including aspirin or warfarin.
Many herbs used as supplements or as flavorings in food can increase or decrease the action of blood-thinning drugs. The NIH lists several, including arnica, bilberry, butchers broom, cat’s claw, dong quai, feverfew, forskolin, garlic, ginger, ginkgo, horse chestnut, insositol hexaphosphate, licorice, melilot or sweet clover, pau d’arco, red clover, St. John’s wort, sweet woodruff, turmeric, willow bark and wheat grass. Before taking any of these herbs, discuss their use with your doctor to see if they will increase or decrease the action of your blood-thinner. A Good Diet When Taking Blood Thinners Side Effects of Using Spices While Taking Coumadin Foods to Avoid When the Blood is Too Thin Vitamin K Foods to Avoid While on Coumadin Blood Thinners & Leafy Green Vegetables A List of Foods to Avoid for Coumadin Patients Vitamin K & Plavix List of Foods That Thin Human Blood and/or Reduce Harmful Clotting of Arteries Is Grape Juice OK to Drink While Taking Coumadin?