Vitamin K is needed for regulating blood clotting, keeping strong bones and preventing calcium buildup in blood vessels.

According to the Cleveland Clinic recommended daily allowances are as follows:

• 90 micrograms for women
• 120 micrograms for men

It appears that vitamin K in supplements is not very effective. Vitamin K is stored in the body so it’s not necessary to get vitamin K every day. I’m aiming to get enough to last the week by eating high vitamin K food at least twice a week.

Vitamin K stays in food however the food is cooked, unlike for some other vitamins such as vitamin C, which can be lost when a food is cooked in water. Note to self: remember to sauté spinach!

High Vitamin K Foods

From the Veterans Association foods that are high in vitamin K are as below:

Food	Serving	Weight (gm)	Vitamin K (mcg)	Vitamin K per 100g
Asparagus, cooked from frozen	1 cup	180 g	144 mcg	80.0 mcg
Beet greens, cooked	½ cup	72 g	350 mcg	486.1 mcg
Broccoli, cooked	½ cup	78 g	110 mcg	141.0 mcg
Brussels sprouts, cooked	½ cup	78 g	109 mcg	139.7 mcg
Collard greens, cooked	½ cup	95 g	305 mcg	321.1 mcg
Collard greens, cooked from frozen	½ cup	85 g	530 mcg	623.5 mcg
Endive, raw	1 cup	50 g	116 mcg	232.0 mcg
Green onions/scallions, raw	½ cup	50 g	104 mcg	208.0 mcg
Kale, cooked from fresh or frozen	½ cup	65 g	247 mcg	380.0 mcg
Mustard greens, cooked	½ cup	70 g	415 mcg	592.9 mcg
Spinach, cooked	½ cup	90 g	445 mcg	494.4 mcg
Spinach, raw	1 cup	30 g	145 mcg	483.3 mcg
Swiss chard, cooked	1 cup	175 g	572 mcg	326.9 mcg
Swiss chard, raw	1 cup	36 g	299 mcg	830.6 mcg
Turnip greens, cooked	½ cup	72 g	265 mcg	368.1 mcg
Turnip greens, cooked from frozen	½ cup	82 g	425 mcg	518.3 mcg

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Resources

NIH factsheet on vitamin K

Cleveland Clinic advice on vitamin K

NHS advice on vitamin K

NIH research paper: Effect of different cooking methods on the content of vitamins and true retention in selected vegetables