Everybody is aware of {that a} balanced food regimen stuffed with nutritional vitamins and minerals is vital to a wholesome life-style. However you appear to listen to about some nutritional vitamins greater than others—like how vitamin C can enhance your immune system and vitamin D helps construct wholesome bones. Nicely, vitamin Ok is equally vital. It aids in blood clotting and helps with bone formation.
Vitamin K is a group of compounds. The 2 commonest compounds are vitamin K1, also called phylloquinone, which is present in leafy inexperienced greens, and vitamin K2, or menaquinone, present in meats, eggs and cheeses. Vitamin Ok is a fat-soluble vitamin that the physique shops within the liver and different bodily tissues, just like the mind, bones and coronary heart.
Whereas vitamin Ok is out there in complement kind, nutritionists and well being specialists advocate growing your consumption of vitamin Ok-rich meals. Right here’s a take a look at which meals offers you essentially the most vitamin Ok and the way the vitamin advantages the physique.
What Are the Advantages of Vitamin Ok?
Vitamin Ok is greatest often known as the “clotting vitamin,” because it performs a necessary function in clotting blood, says Anna Taylor, MS, RD, LD, CDCES, a registered dietitian with Cleveland Clinic’s Heart for Human Vitamin.
“Prothrombin is a protein in plasma that helps the blood clot,” she explains. “This protein depends on vitamin Ok to operate. The blood will take longer to clot for individuals with a vitamin Ok deficiency, resulting in bruising and bleeding issues.”
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The vitamin can also be important for bone metabolism. Satisfactory vitamin Ok consumption, together with calcium and vitamin D, helps bone well being. Taylor says not getting sufficient vitamin Ok may result in osteoporosis.
Vitamin Ok has additionally been proven to reduce your risk for having severe COVID-19, says Dr. Linda Anegawa, MD, a double board-certified doctor in inside medication and weight problems medication, and medical director at digital well being platform PlushCare.
11 Vitamin Ok-Wealthy Meals
Vitamin Ok is fat-soluble, that means it’s greatest absorbed by the physique when consumed with fats, Taylor says. “For individuals making an attempt to spice up their vitamin Ok consumption, embody a bit of wholesome fats—akin to salmon, nuts or olive oil (which include vitamin Ok themselves)—in the identical meal as your leafy inexperienced greens.”
Adequate intake of vitamin K is 120 micrograms (mcg) a day for males and 90 mcg for girls. Listed below are 11 meals which are wealthy in vitamin Ok that it is best to add to your food regimen:
1. Natto
This Japanese dish comprised of fermented soybeans is a wonderful supply of vitamin Ok, Taylor says. Simply 3 ounces contain 850 mcg of the vitamin. Analysis exhibits that frequently consuming natto provides bone health benefits in aged males.
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2. Collard greens and turnip greens
Leafy green vegetables include the very best ranges of phylloquinone, or vitamin K1. Half a cup of boiled collard greens incorporates 530 mcg of vitamin Ok, whereas half a cup of boiled turnip greens incorporates 426 mcg. Stir just a few handfuls of those greens right into a soup to up your nutrient rely.
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3. Spinach
One cup of raw spinach incorporates 145 mcg of vitamin Ok. Spinach incorporates a wealth of different vitamins, too, like potassium, vitamin C and iron. Use this leafy inexperienced as a salad base or sautee it as a facet for a nutrient enhance.
4. Kale
Kale is one other leafy inexperienced so as to add to your food regimen to extend your vitamin Ok ranges. A cup of uncooked kale offers you 113 mcg of the vitamin.
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5. Broccoli
Whether or not you’re steaming, stir-frying or roasting it, broccoli will add a vitamin Ok enhance to any meal. Half a cup of boiled broccoli contains 110 mcg of vitamin Ok. Make sure you embody the stems and leaves with the florets for an additional dose of phylloquinone.
6. Soybeans
Soybeans are one other nice supply of vitamin Ok. They’re additionally wealthy in protein and fiber, and a very good supply of omega-3 fatty acids. Half a cup of roasted soybeans contains 43 mcg of vitamin Ok, and half a cup of frozen edamame has 21 mcg.
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7. Soybean and canola oils
Since vitamin Ok is a fat-soluble vitamin, sauteeing greens in soybean or canola oil, which additionally incorporates vitamin Ok, can dramatically enhance your nutrient consumption. Another choice is to toss a salad in a dressing comprised of these oils. A single tablespoon of soybean oil contains 25 mcg, and one tablespoon of canola oil has 10 mcg.
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8. Olive oil
Olive oil is a wholesome fats that may enhance your physique’s absorption of vitamin Ok when paired with different meals wealthy within the vitamin, like broccoli or kale. One tablespoon of olive oil contains 8 mcg of vitamin Ok.
9. Pine nuts
Pine nuts are a wealthy supply of vitamin Ok. An ounce of pine nuts contains 15 mcg of vitamin Ok. Different nuts, like cashews, are additionally good sources of vitamin Ok.
10. Lettuces
Romaine, butterhead lettuce, and green and red leaf lettuce provide 100 mcg to 126 mcg of vitamin Ok, relying on the range. This equates to most of your day by day worth of the vitamin. So, take into consideration including a facet salad to most of your meals, particularly one with a dressing comprised of olive or soybean oil.
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11. Pumpkin
This fall staple is an effective supply of vitamin Ok. Half a cup of canned pumpkin contains 20 mcg of the nutrient. So, all that pumpkin bread, pumpkin pasta, and even your PSL would possibly really be good for you.
Can You Devour Too A lot Vitamin Ok?
It’s robust to get an excessive amount of vitamin Ok, and vitamin Ok toxicity is uncommon, Anegawa says. That’s as a result of vitamin Ok, in contrast to different fat-soluble nutritional vitamins, is quickly damaged down by the physique, so it’s unlikely to achieve poisonous ranges, Taylor says.
However, some individuals want to observe their vitamin Ok consumption. For instance, the vitamin can intrude with the consequences of sure anti-coagulant medicine, like warfarin, Taylor says.
Additionally, individuals with some liver and gallbladder illnesses could also be in danger for vitamin Ok deficiency, Anegawa says. Taking antibiotics may trigger deficiency because the medicine can have an effect on the intestine micro organism, which can hinder vitamin Ok recycling within the physique.
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Sources:
- Dr. Linda Anegawa, MD, a double board-certified doctor in inside medication and weight problems medication, and medical director at digital well being platform PlushCare
- Anna Taylor, MS, RD, LD, CDCES, a registered dietitian with Cleveland Clinic’s Heart for Human Vitamin
- Open Discussion board Infectious Illnesses, “Vitamin K & D Deficiencies Are Independently Associated With COVID-19 Disease Severity”
- MedlinePlus, “Vitamin K”
- Mount Sinai, “Vitamin K”
- Nationwide Institutes of Well being, “Vitamin K”
- Osteoporosis Worldwide, “Association between vitamin K intake from fermented soybeans, natto, and bone mineral density in elderly Japanese men: the Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) study”
- Meals & Vitamin Analysis, “Vitamin K: food composition and dietary intakes”
