Does eating garlic counteract eating high amounts of Vitamin K?

I am newly on warfarin. This past summer my mother's garden exploded with basil and parsley and I made and have frozen tons of pesto. I have been eating it regularly (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.

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.

Is it reasonable for me to assume that eating large amounts of garlic following the pesto will help keep my INR in a safe range?

The Health meets Food Team Says...

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 will contain at least 120 micrograms (mcg) of Vitamin K.

Furthermore, there's no evidence that the garlic will offer you any protection at all: indeed, there is no evidence for garlic offering much protection for any health problems. Some studies have shown that it might be helpful with high blood pressure or cholesterol, but this evidence is slight at best.

You are right that garlic is delicious, but it is not going to offset the effects of eating higher amounts of Vitamin K.

Thanks for writing.