BIRD TALK

Your article speaks glowingly about the outstanding benefits and recommends without exception that everyone should consume green tea and enjoy the amazing health benefits to be derived as a result.

My eyebrows were raised on reading the article, particularly because I have a disease called atrial fibrillation and I consume the prescription Warfarin daily as an antidote to the possible blood clots which can be prevalent with this disease. Upon being diagnosed with Afib, I was provided with a manual developed and provided by Alberta Health Services. Page 11 of this manual states that there are only two foods to be avoided if you have Afib; the foods to avoid are GREEN TEA and pistachio nuts. Both of these foods are extremely high in vitamin K, which is a problem with Afib and where potential blood clots are concerned, every effort should be made to avoid anything that could contribute to this potentially fatal situation. I do believe your writer should have noted a precaution in this regard and, because this was not the case, I sincerely hope this can be corrected in the letter section of the next issue.

Doug H.
Seba Beach, AB

Response:
Ed.: Excellent information, Doug, thank you. You could also add bananas to that list of high “K” foods to be aware of. It is funny that what is good for high blood pressure is bad for atrial fibrillation. I have been advised to seek out foods with high potassium for my high blood pressure. There are some very interesting and effective new drugs for treating atrial fibrillation and you should discuss these with your doctor. They are:
• Apixaban (Eliquis)
• Dabigatran (Pradaxa)
• Edoxaban (Savaysa)
• Rivaroxaban (Xarelto)