Q. Why did my doctor tell me to stop eating leafy

 green vegetables now that I am taking Coumadin?

A. Your doctor is probably concerned about the balance between Coumadin and vitamin K

 in your blood. By limiting the amount of leafy green vegetables you

 eat, you can control the amount of vitamin K in your body.

Leafy green vegetables are a source of vitamin K, which helps make

proteins that are essential for the clotting of blood. Coumadin, a brand of the

 drug warfarin, is used to prevent the body from making

some of the proteins needed to clot the blood.

Doctors have learned that if you give just the right amount

 of Coumadin, you can control the amount of clotting.

 Some refer to this as blood thinning, but the blood is

not any less thick or thin -- it just doesn't clot as well or as rapidly.