Coumadin User Alert: Food Low in Vitamin K That Can Be Life-Threatening

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Coumadin User Alert: Food Low in Vitamin K That Can Be Life-Threatening - Published on 08/18/14

Indie developer James Hollender's iOS universal app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, Vitamin K, includes a notification to users about a food that's low in Vitamin K but can be life-threating to Coumadin users. The Vitamin K app allows users to easily find out how much vitamin K there is in over 900 different foods which is critical in helping keep the effectiveness of their blood thinning medications working properly.

Revere, Massachusetts - Indie developer James Hollender's iOS universal app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, Vitamin K, includes a notification to users about a food that's low in Vitamin K but can be life-threating to Coumadin users. The Vitamin K app allows users to easily find out how much vitamin K there is in over 900 different foods which is critical in helping keep the effectiveness of their blood thinning medications working properly.

It has come to our attention by one of our Vitamin K app users that grapefruit can be life threatening to Coumadin (Warfarin) users. Based on this information and additional research, the following warning is now prominently shown in the "Coumadin & Vitamin K" info page in the app:

"GRAPEFRUIT INTERACTIONS - Grapefruit, whether in whole fruit or in juice form, contains chemicals that can interfere with the enzymes that break down Coumadin in the body. This could cause the drug to build up in the bloodstream, leading to an unintentional overdose of the medication."

The Vitamin K app allows users to easily find out how much vitamin K there is in over 900 different foods which is critical in helping keep the effectiveness of their blood thinning medications working properly. The foods are rated from Extremely Low to Extremely High in Vitamin K.

Version 4.0 adds Copy Functionality ... 1) Copy single intake item to today; and 2) Copy entire day's intake items to today.

In all 10 iNutrient apps (iKals, iCarbs, iCholesterol, iFiber, iPotassium, iProteins, iSatFat, iSodium, iSugars and Vitamin K), besides making full use of the iPhone 5 taller screen size, is the capability to record Custom Serving Sizes from 1 to 500 grams in 0.1 gram increments. Users can easily adjust the amounts while viewing the weight in not only grams, but also kilograms, ounces and pounds. In addition to immediate weight updates as you change the number of grams, the nutrient content and calories get updated also. This makes it easy to record the exact serving size you're looking for based on any of the variables: 9 for Vitamin K, 6 for iCals, and 7 for each of the others.

If you take blood thinning medications like Coumadin(R) or Warfarin (also known as Jantoven, Marfarin, Lawarin, Waran and Marevan), then this is an app you will truly make use of on a regular basis. Most lists providing information on the content of vitamin K (K1, K1D & K2) in foods generally contain only a limited number of foods, and often they don't indicate the serving size. It is important to understand that the goal isn't to not eat any foods with vitamin K, but rather to keep relatively constant the amount of vitamin K ingested each day so the amount of Coumadin(R) prescribed can work effectively. This can be different for every person using blood thinning medications, and this is why doctors require occasional blood tests as they indicate if the dosage needs to be adjusted.

All too often we hear that you should stay away from dark green leafy vegetables if you are using Coumadin, but there are a host of other foods containing vitamin K. Even the dark green leafy vegetables contain varying amounts of vitamin K. Further, each food has its own characteristics and sometimes whether it is fresh, frozen or canned can make a difference in the vitamin K content. The important thing to understand is you may be inadvertently ingesting something which you think doesn't contain any vitamin K when in fact it does. A good example would be carrots which contain varying amounts of vitamin K. A single baby carrot has only 0.9 mcg (very low) while a cup of canned carrot juice contains 36.6 mcg (high).

The following if from a recent review by Sherry:
"Just a note to thank you for such a wonderful application. I love the color code that is used to note the level of Vitamin K in each food listed, quick guide to reference and if you need more information that is also available. I was amazed at the foods that contain VK that are not green, mind blowing. I love to eat tomato sauce based foods and if it were not for this app, I would be on overload. For those of you just thinking about down loading, go ahead and download. You will not be disappointed. You are also able to email with questions about foods you are unsure of and receive a reply, from a person. No computer generated response stating someone will contact you. Thanks James, for all your help."

The Vitamin K app provides information about foods and how they are rated for Vitamin K content based on preparation and serving sizes. This is provided as a means to assist in deciding which foods to eat if you are using blood thinning medications such as Coumadin or Warfarin. The foods are rated from Extremely Low to Extremely High in Vitamin K. The following colors help readily identify which is which:
* Black = Rated Extremely High in Vitamin K (700.0 - 1146.6 mcg)
* Dark Red = Rated Very High in Vitamin K (300.0 - 699.9 mcg)
* Red = Rated High in Vitamin K (25.0 - 299.9 mcg)
* Orange = Rated Moderately High in Vitamin K (20.0 - 24.9 mcg)
* Yellow = Rated Moderate in Vitamin K (15.0 - 19.9 mcg)
* Yellow-Green = Rated Moderately Low in Vitamin K (10.0 - 14.9 mcg)
* Green = Rated Low in Vitamin K (5.0 - 9.0 mcg)
* Cyan = Rated Very Low in Vitamin K (0.1 - 4.9 mcg)
* White = Rated Extremely Low in Vitamin K (less than 0.1 mcg)

There are eight tables listing foods:
* All Foods
* Fast Foods
* Fruits & Vegetables
* Meat, Fish & Shellfish
* Dairy & Egg
* Cereal Grains & Pasta
* Sweets
* Snacks

The All Foods table includes a search capability to quickly find food servings you are interested in.

Selecting an item in any of the tables will display pertinent information about the selected food serving:
* Food Title
* Weight in grams
* Common Measure, e.g., 1/2 cup, etc.
* Vitamin K Content (overall)
* Vitamin K1 Content
* Vitamin K1D Content
* Vitamin K2 Content
* Calories
* USDA Description
* USDA Food Group
* USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference ID

Information is derived from the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference: Vitamin K Content of Selected Foods per Common Measure. There are currently over 930 different foods included, searchable using approximately 2,500 names (some foods are known by different names or how they are prepared, e.g., "Egg, Scrambled" and "Scrambled Egg"). A few of these have as many as six searchable names.

The Info page provides additional information about Vitamin K:

* What is Vitamin K? - Describes what vitamin K is and how it affects the clotting of blood; Identifies the differences between vitamins K1, K2 and K3

* Coumadin(R) and Vitamin K - Provides information concerning the interaction between Coumadin(R) and vitamin K; Explains why Coumadin(R) might have been prescribed, how it works and what can help keep your blood INR/PT in the desired range; Illustrates potential interactions of alcoholic beverages, dietary supplements, vitamin E, herbal medications and antibiotics

* Highest Vitamin K Foods - Lists 11 different foods containing the highest amounts of vitamin K

* How to Use this App - Shows detailed information about how to record the user's personal nutrient intake of Vitamin K, how to make changes to what the user has recorded, how to backup and restore the data, and also a list of the foods that include Vitamins K1D and/or K2.

* Access My Records - Provides up to a full year of recorded entries, listed and grouped by date. Users may also view each individual entry in the database.

* Other Important Information - Provides access to a copy of the User Agreement, and links to communicate with the developer about bugs, suggestions or comments.

The Vitamin K app is one of 10 apps in the iNutrient collection. Others include:
* iCarbs - Carbohydrates
* iCholesterol - Dietary Cholesterol
* iFiber - Fiber
* iPotassium - Potassium
* iProteins - Proteins
* iKals - Calories
* iSatFat - Saturated Fats
* iSodium - Sodium
* iSugars - Sugars

Thinking about purchasing more than just one iNutrient app?
For the price of 2 individual Nutrient apps you can get the new iNutrients app which covers 10 nutrients, the same as listed above. The app actually contains the entire USDA National Nutrient Database for these nutrients built right in, so the searches of over 8,000 foods and 14,000 food servings is lightning fast, and the food serving information collected is kept on the device, thus protecting the user's privacy. Data can be backed up via iTunes on a PC or Mac.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
* Requires iOS 4.3 or later
* Universal app optimized for display on all iOS devices

Pricing and Availability:
The Vitamin K price is $1.99 (USD) and available worldwide through the App Store in the Medical category. Review copies are available on request.

James Hollender: http://www.hollender.com
Vitamin K 4.1.1: http://www.hollender.com/VitaminK.html
Purchase and Download: https://itunes.apple.com/app/vitamin-k-inutrients-vitamins/id393118621
Screenshots (iPhone, iPad & iPod touch): http://www.hollender.com/VitaminK.html#screenshots1
App Icon: http://www.hollender.com/VitaminKLogo.html
Purchase and Download iNutrients App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id580660547


Based in Revere, Massachusetts, Indie developer James Hollender is a well seasoned Information Technology professional who has been familiar with Apple products since the days of the first Macintosh computer and has been involved with object oriented programming since the introduction of Java, culminating most recently in writing apps in Objective C for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. His innovative ideas have resulted in numerous suggestions and other awards including a commendation from The President of the United States. James Hollender has been involved writing iPad apps with Foliage, Kronos, Olympus, Cross Country Automotive Services (now Agero), and Valmarc. Copyright (C) 2010-2013 James Hollender. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.


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