Photo: Barbara L. Hanson/Flickr

Kind of late warning, but doctors are concerned about all the reckless consumption of Brussels sprouts over the holidays, especially after a man overdosed on the little cabbages last Christmas. But before you go throwing out those delicious nutrient-filled orbs, check your medicine cabinet; you only need to abstain if you’re taking blood thinners.

Along with the entire host of minerals and fatty acids that Brussels sprouts provide, they’re also packed with vitamin K,  a known blood-clotting promoter. And as many people with heart disease or blood pressure problems are on blood-thinning medication, this can directly reverse the medicine’s effects.

Luckily for kids (or unluckily, if they have the typical hatred for stinky Brussels sprouts), they’re typically not on blood thinners, so grandma can still load up their plate.

One other benefit if you’re not on medication: The holidays typically come with a lot of alcohol consumption, which also thins the blood. So if you drunkenly slip on the ice while leaving Great Aunt Agnes’ house, a healthy dose of Brussels sprouts may help clot up the otherwise profusely bleeding scrape on your tailbone.