Nutrition
Leaf vegetables are typically low in calories, low in fat, high in protein per calorie, high in dietary fiber, high in iron and calcium, and very high in phytochemicals such as vitamin C, carotenoids, lutein, folate, magnesium as well as vitamin K.
The vitamin K content of leaf vegetables is particularly high, since these are photosynthetic tissues and phylloquinone is involved in photosynthesis. Thus, users of vitamin K antagonist medications, such as warfarin, must take special care to avoid leaf vegetables entirely (or else eat a very carefully monitored and constant amount of one of more of them, which is very difficult). Even green beans, peas, and green fruits usually have too little vitamin K to cause problems for users of these medications, and while other plant tissues (fruits and non-green vegetables) and meats contain some vitamin K, it is usually too little to cause large changes in coagulation status with warfarin. (Note: the green algae Spirulina, due to its photosynthetic nature, contains significant vitamin K).
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