Diet effects bleeding
Growing up I ate the typical standard American diet (SAD): fast food, lots of processed food (chips and candy), soda, and very little fruits and vegetables. In high school my diet was almost exclusively red vines, popcorn, Gatorade, beef jerky, and Taco Bell. Needless to say this was not doing my body any favors. At the time, I honestly believed diet did not have any impact on the body. Nutrition was not taught at my school and unfortunately no one blessed me with nutrition knowledge.
It was not until my late 20’s when I started to eat better. In 2014 my younger brother tipped me off to a YouTube video that emphasized healthy eating, exercise, and overall wellness. Thank goodness for the internet. I started to research and watch YouTube videos on nutrition. This was a turning point in my life. I started to eat better, exercise more, and stretch.
I started to eat more fruits and vegetables. I first became a pescetarian and cut out meat (besides fish). I was scared of going fully plant based; I thought I would be deficient in the vitamin, minerals and amino acids. After some research I found out this was not something to fear. So after a few months of being pescetarian, I decided to go plant base. I was tracking my nutrients for the first few months, which helped me get a better sense of what nutrients each food contained. After a while I figured out what worked for me and stopped tracking my diet.
I was using the website/app Cronometer. It shows how much macronutrients (carbs, fats, and protein) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are in each food. You can track what you eat and it will show how much of the recommended daily allowances you are consuming of each nutrient. Note, I am not advertising for them, it’s just what I used.
I excluded all meat, dairy and eggs from my diet. I also cut out artificial coloring and flavors/sweetener. This has removed a lot of junk food in my life as well. After changing my diet and lifestyle, I have noticed I have less injuries and faster healing times. My overall energy is more stable and higher. We have all felt lethargic after eating a heavy meal.
You don’t have to have to be as extreme as me to be able to notice changes in your bleeds and health. One of the biggest things for me was to cut out (or lower) alcohol consumption. There have been many times I injured myself while hung over. During these times I noticed my bleeding was significantly longer and heavier.
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables have also helped with my bleeds, particularly foods high in Vitamin K: Kale, Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Spinach, Green or Red Leaf lettuce, Cabbage. Vitamin K is vital in the production of clotting factors. If only I knew about this sooner.
Although most fruits and vegetables are great for us, there are some that have anti-coagulant properties. In other words, they will make us bleed more. These foods are usually fine for “normal” people, but for us bleeders it can have a severe impact. In 2018 I read about the anti-inflammatory properties of some foods (ginger, turmeric, chamomile, burdock root) and started incorporating them in to my diet. Unfortunately I did not know about their anti-coagulant properties. During this time I had a hip injury that took about four times as usual to heal (over a year!). My hip was finally able to heal after cutting out these anti-coagulant foods. I still eat some of these foods, but I am mindful of them and try to limit the quantity.
Below is a list of anti-coagulant foods (Note - this is not an all inclusive list):
-Alcohol
-Turmeric
-Ginger
-Cayenne peppers
-Garlic
-Cassia cinnamon
-Almonds
-Pineapple
-Chamomile
-Ginkgo biloba
-Burdock root
-Black seed oil
Please let me know what your experience with diet and hemophilia has been.
