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Basic Description
Food
Kale
Spinach
Mustard Greens
Collard Greens
Beet Greens
Swiss Chard
Turnip Greens
Parsley
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cals
36
41
36
63
39
35
29
11
55
56
DRI/DV
1180%
987%
922%
858%
774%
636%
588%
554%
245%
243%
There are three basic types of vitamin K. Their common names are
K1, K2, and K3.
The K1 form of vitamin K is found in plant foods, and 44 of our
WHFoods are plant foods that serve as excellent, very good, or good
sources of vitamin K! Many of our best sources of this vitamin are
green vegetables (including 16 excellent sources); this makes good
sense since K1 is required for green plants to conduct the process of
photosynthesis. The K2 form of vitamin K is made from K1 and K3
plaque, this plaque can sometimes rupture and our body may form a
blood clot in order to seal off the ruptured plaque. However, this
blood clot might also end up stopping the flow of blood through the
blood vessel since the blood vessel had become overly narrowed
from the buildup of plaque.
Regardless of the specific situation, vitamin K is necessary for blood
clots to form. The clotting process is very complex, requiring at least
12 proteins to function before the clotting process can be completed.
Four of these protein clotting factors require vitamin K for their
activity.
Luckily, we rarely see vitamin K deficiency lead to impairment in
the clotting process in adults. We see it in newborns because vitamin
K does not efficiently cross the placenta to the fetus, and it can take
several weeks for the fetus to build up dietary stores. We also
occasionally see clotting problems related to vitamin K deficiency in
persons with severe liver or gastrointestinal diseases. But vitamin K
deficiency basically never causes insufficient clotting disorders in
healthy adults.
In contrast to insufficient clotting in healthy adults, we do see
vitamin K deficiency becoming involved in unwanted clotting. This
process once again involves the activity of multiple vitamin Kdependent enzyme systems, most importantly a system called matrix
Gla protein.
It is currently somewhat of an open question how important vitamin
K is to the progression of clot formation and heart disease.
Researchers have sometimes, but not consistently, been able to
correlate low vitamin K intake with increased risk of heart disease.
One problem in interpreting this research, however, is separating out
the effect of healthy foods from the nutrients they contain. Even
casual readers of this site are probably aware that the same green
leafy vegetables that are our richest sources of vitamin K1 are also
Bone Health
Vitamin K is a fascinating nutrient with respect to bone health, and
unlike some of the open-ended questions related to clotting,
knowledge about the role of vitamin K nourishment in bone support
is fairly well-established. Individuals who are vitamin K deficient
have repeatedly been shown to have a greater risk of fracture. In
addition, for women who have passed through menopause and have
started to experience unwanted bone loss, vitamin K has clearly been
shown to help prevent future fractures.
Bone support involves different forms of vitamin K
Research has shown that our bone cells take up vitamin K in the form
of K1 as well as K2, suggesting that these forms of the vitamin may
play different roles in the health of our bone. In the case of K2,
researchers have also become interested in two particular subtypes of
K2 called MK-4 and MK-7, which appear to be uptaken by our bone
cells in preference to other subtypes. In fact, research on bone health
is partly responsible for getting researchers more and more interested
in the whole issue of vitamin K2 subtypes. Vitamin K2 contains a
chemical "tail" composed of repeating units called prenyl units. The
bone are carboxylated, our bones have increased risk for fracture.
This unwanted risk appears to be particularly important with respect
to hip fracture. Scientists refer to this bone problem as a problem
involving "undercarboxylated osteocalcin" and they have determined
that vitamin K can greatly improve the situation. Since vitamin K is
required for proper activity of the carboxylase enzyme that allows
carboxylation of the osteocalcin proteins in our bone, vitamin K can
help restore these bone proteins to their proper place in our bone
structure and strengthen the composition of the bone. In clinical
studies, both K1 and K2 forms of vitamin K appear to play a role in
osteocalcin carboxylation. Some studies show the K2 form (and
specifically MK-4) to be especially helpful in postmenopausal bone
protection.
Whether provided by the diet in the form of K1 or K2, this vitamin is
becoming more and more focal in research on bone protection. Low
levels of vitamin K intake are emerging as dietary risk factors for
osteoporosis. Researchers have shown that increasing dietary vitamin
K intake by 100 mcg per dayroughly doubling the average
American adult intake for a time period of one full yearcan lead to
a significant increase in bone density in post-menopausal women.
Low levels of vitamin K have also been associated with increased
risk of arthritis. Low activity of vitamin K-dependent proteins inside
the joints has been suggested as a likely mechanism for this increased
risk.
Vitamin K1
Vitamin K2
Vitamin K3
Scientific name
phylloquinones
menaquinones
menadiones
Food sources
plant foods,
especially dark
green leafy
vegetables
not known to be
provided in
substantial, naturally
occurring amounts in
food
Food
Serving
Size
1 cup
1 cup
Kale
Spinach
Mustard
1 cup
Greens
Collard Greens
1 cup
Beet Greens
1 cup
Swiss Chard
1 cup
Turnip Greens
1 cup
Parsley
0.50 cup
Broccoli
1 cup
Brussels
1 cup
Sprouts
Romaine
2 cups
Lettuce
Asparagus
1 cup
Basil
0.50 cup
Cabbage
1 cup
Bok Choy
1 cup
Celery
1 cup
Kiwifruit
1 2 inches
Leeks
1 cup
Cilantro
0.50 cup
Sage
2 tsp
Green Beans
1 cup
Cauliflower
1 cup
Cucumber
1 cup
Tomatoes
1 cup
Oregano
2 tsp
Black Pepper
2 tsp
World's
Healthiest
Amount DRI/DV Nutrient
Foods
Cals (mcg)
(%) Density
Rating
36.4 1062.10 1180
583.6
excellent
41.4 888.48
987
429.2
excellent
36.4 829.78
922
455.9
excellent
62.7
38.9
35.0
28.8
10.9
54.6
772.54
696.96
572.77
529.34
498.56
220.12
858
774
636
588
554
245
246.4
358.5
327.3
367.6
911.4
80.6
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
56.2 218.87
243
77.9
excellent
16.0 96.35
107
120.6
excellent
39.6
4.9
43.5
20.4
16.2
42.1
32.2
1.8
4.4
43.8
28.5
15.6
32.4
5.3
14.6
101
98
79
64
33
31
29
28
27
22
19
19
16
14
11
46.0
360.4
32.8
56.7
36.6
13.2
16.4
269.6
108.8
9.1
12.0
21.9
8.8
46.9
13.0
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
excellent
91.08
87.94
71.40
57.80
29.59
27.81
26.42
24.80
24.00
20.00
17.11
17.06
14.22
12.43
9.49
Green Peas
1 cup
Blueberries
1 cup
Grapes
1 cup
Carrots
1 cup
Summer
1 cup
Squash
Cloves
2 tsp
Chili Peppers
2 tsp
Soybeans
1 cup
Avocado
1 cup
Raspberries
1 cup
Winter Squash
1 cup
Pear
1 medium
Cranberries
1 cup
Miso
1 TBS
Bell Peppers
1 cup
1 2-1/8
Plum
inches
Cantaloupe
1 cup
Eggplant
1 cup
World's Healthiest
Foods Rating
excellent
very good
good
115.7
84.4
104.2
50.0
35.68
28.56
22.05
16.10
40
32
25
18
6.2
6.8
4.2
6.4
very good
very good
very good
very good
36.0
6.30
3.5
very good
11.5
15.2
297.6
240.0
64.0
75.8
101.5
46.0
34.2
28.5
5.96
5.71
33.02
31.50
9.59
9.02
7.83
5.10
5.04
4.51
7
6
37
35
11
10
9
6
6
5
10.4
7.5
2.2
2.6
3.0
2.4
1.5
2.2
2.9
3.2
very good
very good
good
good
good
good
good
good
good
good
30.4
4.22
2.8
good
54.4
34.6
4.00
2.87
4
3
1.5
1.7
good
good
Rule
DRI/DV>=75% OR
Density>=7.6 AND DRI/DV>=10%
DRI/DV>=50% OR
Density>=3.4 AND DRI/DV>=5%
DRI/DV>=25% OR
Density>=1.5 AND DRI/DV>=2.5%
Disease Checklist
The 2001 vitamin K DRIs did not include any Tolerable Upper
IntakeLevels (ULs). We are not aware of any other public health
organization that has issued a maximum level for dietary intake of
vitamin K.
The Daily Value (DV) for vitamin K is 80 micrograms. This is the
value that you'll see on food and supplement labels.
At WHFoods, we selected the DRI of 90 micrograms for women
ages 19 and above as our recommended daily intake level.
References
Source: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=112