Foods that Contain Vitamin K

Foods that Contain Vitamin K
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About Vitamin K

Vitamin K is a vitamin that is fat-soluble. The name is derived from the German word “koagulation”, referring to the help vitamin K provides in blood clotting.

According to the Linus Pauling Institute, the following are the recommended daily amounts for vitamin K:

  • Children up to 6 months of age: 2 mcg
  • Children 7 to 12 months of age: 2.5 mcg
  • Children 1 to 3 years of age: 30 mcg
  • Children 4 to 8 years of age: 55 mcg
  • Children 9 to 13 years of age: 60 mcg
  • Youth 14 to 18 years of age, including pregnant and lactating: 75 mcg
  • Males age 19 and older: 120 mcg
  • Females age 19 and older, including pregnant and lactating: 90 mcg

Foods that contain vitamin K in high amounts are typically leafy greens, as evidenced by the following list.

Kale

The most vitamin-K rich food on the list, one cup of boiled kale provides 1062.1 mcg or 1327.6 percent of the recommended daily value. This same serving has only 36.4 calories.

Packed with multiple nutrients, kale also provides high quantities of vitamin A, manganese and vitamin C.

Spinach

One cup of boiled spinach is loaded with nutrients, including 888.48 mcg of vitamin K. This constitutes 1110.6 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin K. That same one cup serving of spinach contains 41.4 calories and includes a number of other high-value nutrients. These nutrients include vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, vitamin C and iron.

Collard Greens

With only 49.4 calories per one cup serving, boiled collard greens also provide 880 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin K. This comes from the 704 mcg of vitamin it contains.

Collard greens are also high in other nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, manganese and folate.

Swiss Chard

With only 35 calories per one cup serving, boiled Swiss chard is loaded with vitamin K. Swiss chard contains 716 percent of the recommended daily value or 572.8 mcg of vitamin K.

Swiss chard also provides a high amount of other nutrients, such as vitamin A, magnesium and vitamin C.

Turnip Greens

There is 529.34 mcg or 661.7 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin K in one cup of cooked turnip greens. A one cup serving of turnip greens also contains 28.8 calories. Other nutrients found in high amounts in turnip greens are vitamin A, vitamin C, folate and manganese.

Mustard Greens

A one cup serving of boiled mustard greens contains 21 calories and 419.3 mcg of vitamin K. This equals 524.1 percent of the recommended daily value for vitamin K.

Mustard greens also contain a other nutrients in high amounts. Vitamin A, vitamin C and folate are just a few of the nutrients found in mustard greens.

Thyme

Two teaspoons of dried ground thyme contain 60 percent of the recommended daily value for vitamin K. That percentage comes from the 48.01 mcg of vitamin K found in that two teaspoon serving. Other nutrients found in thyme include iron, manganese, calcium, iron and dietary fiber. Thyme can be easily added to a number of foods that contain vitamin K to boost the amount provided in a meal.

References

Vitamin K. The World’s Healthiest Foods. https://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=112

Vitamin K. Micronutrient Information Center. Linus Pauling Institute. Oregon State University. https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminK/