A lot of us aren’t aware of the importance of vitamin K foods in our diet. And that’s because we don’t even know what the vitamin does for us. Well here’s a short list of a few among its many advantages for the human body like helping your blood to clot properly, protecting your heart against various diseases, maintaining your insulin levels (meaning it’s good for diabetics), helping strengthen the bones in your body, fighting different kinds of cancers, helping combat Alzheimer’s disease to an extent, etc.
Vitamin K Rich Foods
Of course, you can always purchase some supplements. But why should you invest your money in them when you can increase your body’s vitamin K levels naturally? All you have to do is incorporate a few of the following foods rich in vitamin K in your diet.
1. Cabbage
You can eat it raw or steamed because either way, 1 cup of cabbage provides you with quite the dose of vitamin K – 76 micrograms (mg), which, by the way, also happens to be the daily intake of an average person’s vitamin K. Also, one cup cabbage also provides your body with much needed nutrients like fiber, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium.
2. Sun dried tomatoes
Vitamin K foods like sun dried tomatoes are very versatile when it comes to eating them, because they can be consumed with so many different food items! Sandwiches, pizzas, sauces, salads, pasta – the list is pretty much endless. Apart from being delicious, 1 cup of these tomatoes fulfills up to 30% of your daily vitamin K requirements. They also replenish your body with calcium, iron and vitamins C and A.
3. Broccoli
You don’t need me to tell you to eat broccoli daily. But what you DO need to hear is how important it is as a source of vitamin K. 1/2 a cup of broccoli gives you 110+mg of vitamin K, which is WAY over your daily requirements. And all of that is at the cost of merely 27 calories!
4. Raspberries
Summer’s upon us and what better way to enjoy it than by gorging on delicious raspberries? So even though they aren’t an exceptionally high source of vitamin K because 1 cup gives you 10mg of vitamin K, you can consume them multiple times a day in different formats – eating them raw, drinking them as a smoothie, having a raspberry juice, etc.
5. Spring onions
Not only do they instantly make your food taste more delicious, but half a cup of chopped spring onions gives you roughly 100mg of vitamin K. Add them to your regular diet as a replacement to regular onions, or simply add them to your vegetable soup once in a while!
6. Dried sage
One of the more unlikely vitamin K foods on our list, but if it works, it works! Sage is a herb that has been used for centuries as an ingredient in cooking, Chinese medicines, aromatherapy and what not. And today, you can use this wonder herb to get close to almost 45% of your vitamin K requirement. Specifically, 1 tsp. of this herb provides you with 34mg of vitamin K, apart from filling your body with anti-inflammatory agents and antioxidants. Besides, dried herbs like basil, oregano, coriander, parsley and thyme can easily up your vitamin K intake too.
7. Turnip
Turnip is a power house of vitamin K source – 1 cup gives you over 500mg of it. Whenever you plan on consuming it, just keep in mind to not boil it for more than 3-4 minutes because any more boiling than that can result in decreased nutritional values.
8. Okra
1 cup of okras provides your body with roughly 70mg of your vitamin K intake, which is nearly exact the amount you should be consuming daily. If you don’t know how to use this veggie, then know that it can easily be incorporated in your diet by adding it to rice, other veggies and even soup!
9. Celery
Not exactly on the top of people’s food lists, but celery is quite the power house of nutrients. It provides your body with potassium, calcium, folic acid, antioxidants and of course vitamin K. 1 medium sized stalk houses around 10mg of vitamin K and comes at the cost of a mere 6 calories. So eat as much of it as you want without having to worry about piling on the calories.
10. Spinach
Like celery, spinach is the kind of food that most Americans shy away from eating. However, when consumed either raw or cooked, it provides your body with several different types of minerals, vitamins C and K, iron and calcium. You can add it to your salads, pasta sauce or even a bowl of vegetable soup. 1 cup gives you 145mg of vitamin K.
11. Blackberries and blueberries
Vitamin K foods like blackberries sure do add a lot of fun to healthy eating! Much like raspberries, blackberries contain a high number of antioxidants, not to mention manganese and copper as well. So while 1 cup of blackberries provides you with roughly 30mg of vitamin K, you can eat multiple cups every day to increase your vitamin K needs.
12. Asparagus
Apart from all the health properties that asparagus possesses, one of its most popular advantages is its anti-aging property. So even if eating healthy isn’t exactly on the top of your priority list, looking good is, right? So go ahead and eat as much asparagus as you can; 4 spears of an average sized asparagus give you 48mg vitamin K!