Oatmeal and Warfarin

A question was posted on PTINR.com whether oatmeal was a problem for patients taking warfarin. Oatmeal contains only 3 micrograms of vitamink K per serving making it a non-interacting food choice for patients. Vitamin K is the vitamin of most interest as it can interact with warfarin.

Most breakfast choices are safe for people on warfarin. Vitamin K is not ordinarily found in breakfast cereals or baked goods. Breakfast is the least likely meal for patients to be concerned with. If a patient breakfast includes fresh fruit however; there is a greater need to monitor food choices and serving sizes. While choices of cantaloupe and strawberries are low in vitamin K, green and red grapes are borderline low to medium in vitamin K. Orange juice is low in vitamin K and represents an excellent source of other vitamins.

PTINR.com uses 0-10 micrograms as low, 11-24 micrograms as medium, and any single food containing 25 micrograms or more as high. Patients should use these figures as general guides and not be overly concerned down to the single microgram.

Oatmeal and oatmeal with sugar presents no concern for warfarin patients who enjoy a hearty bowl of oatmeal to start the day or end it for that matter.