Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Q: I have been on Warfarin for post-PE blood thinning for about two and a half months now. I started reintroducing items containing vitamin K into my diet – the margarine substitute Earth Balance instead of butter, and some green vegetables. Specifically I’ve made a huge batch of pesto, since my mother’s garden exploded with basil and parsley. I’ve been eating it fairly regularly since I made it (it’s impossible to resist!). I’ve only been eating a few tablespoons at a time, but since I know it’s high in vitamin K I have been trying to counteract the effect a bit with three or four cloves of garlic, boiled and eaten whole, which is also delicious. The total amount of vitamin K I consume at any given time is not massive, not like eating a plateful of mustard greens – probably between 100-200 mcg. I do intend to give away some of the pesto, but I will never give it up entirely. What do you think of this system?

So is my assumption, that eating large amounts of garlic following the pesto will help keep my INR in a safe range, a reasonable one?

A: This could be very dangerous for you and cause wide swings in your INR. If you are going to begin to incorporate high Vitamin K foods in your diet, keeping in touch with your doctor to monitor carefully is key. A couple of tablespoons of basil pesto contains at least 120 micrograms (mcg) of Vitamin K.

Furthermore, there’s no evidence….

Q: My husband has been diagnosed as being pre-diabetic. What amount of carbs should he eat per day? I know that carbs are bad for him, but as they are in most foods, it’s hard to be totaly carb free. Also, we both eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, so what about the sugars they contain?

A: I am sorry for your husband’s new diagnosis. For many the issue of having “pre-diabetes” or “insulin intolerance” is one that can be controlled through making changes in diet and exercise. In a lot of cases weight is a major factor and losing weight is key.

First and foremost, carbohydrates are not bad.

The issue is that most folks today eat far too many calories and end up eating a lot of carbohydrates. Often this is in the form of low quality carbs like the simple sugars in soda, candy, etc.. The key is for your husband to eat high quality calories no matter whether those calories come from carbohydrates, protein or fats.

For instance, both Coca Cola and oatmeal are full of carbohydrates….