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A sprouts fan was rushed to hospital after eating too many of the traditional Christmas Day veg.

Now doctors say Brussels sprouts should come with a health warning for patients on blood thinning medication.

The leafy green veg contains vitamin K, a chemical which promotes blood clotting and works against anticoagulant tablets.

The patient, from Ayrshire in Scotland, was prescribed anticoagulants after suffering heart failure last year and his dose was monitored once or twice a week to prevent blood clotting.

When his blood started to clot near to Christmas last year, the man was admitted to the specialist heart unit at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire.

Doctors could not work out why the medication was not keeping his blood thin... until they found he had been eating too many sprouts.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Roy Gardner said: "Patients who are taking anticoagulants are generally advised not to eat too many green leafy vegetables, as they are full of vitamin K, which antagonise the action of this vital medication."

Jill Young, chief executive of the Golden Jubilee Hospital, said: "Whilst we think this is possibly the first-ever festive admission to hospital caused by the consumption of Brussels sprouts, we were delighted that we were able to stabilise his levels."

The case was reported in a festive edition of the Medical Journal of Australia.