Dear Friends
Historically, getting in a pickle meant a
predicament. It derives from the
Dutch,in de piklel zetten, which literally means sitting in the pickle brine,
full of salt and irritation.
I have commented before
about the high content of salt in canned pickles, up to three grams (3000 mg)
in a medium sized dill! This would put
any person with heart disease in more edema, i.e., a predicament (pickle).
My associate, Louise Nett,
has a recipe for sour pickles that accompanies this issue of Second Wind. They are great and add zest to a sandwich or salad. I started to
get hooked on them, for their flavor, and without salt! Amongst other medications that keep me
going, I have to take Coumadin to reduce my clotting mechanisms. Coumadin is commonly known as a "blood
thinner. The activity of Coumadin is
frequently monitored by measuring the INR, which is known as the international
neutralization rate (of a clotting process).
Shortly after appreciating
Louise's salt free pickles, I found out that my INR was way down, meaning
that the Coumadin was not controlling the clotting process. The answer
had to be the vitamin K in pickles.
Vitamin K counteracts the effects of Coumadin on some clotting factors,
and thus mitigates the tendency to form clots in the legs, lung, heart and
brain. Maintaining a therapeutic range
INR is extremely important for persons requiring this drug.
The main sources of vitamin
K in the diet are green leafy vegetables, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Also vitamin K is in Centrum and
other multivitamin preparations. There
is no mention of vitamin K in pickles, in any dietary manual that I could
find, but now that I control my pickle consumption, my INR is easy to maintain
again.
I thought these facts would keep some of our readers from "getting in a
pickle!"
I'll be in touch next month
Your Friend,
