Vitamin K food guide

For people taking warfarin: how much vitamin K is in a typical portion of everyday foods. The goal is a steady intake from week to week, not avoiding healthy foods.

Keeping vitamin K consistent

  • Aim for about the same amount each week. Warfarin doses are adjusted to your usual diet; a sudden increase in vitamin K can lower the INR, and a sudden drop can raise it.
  • You don't need to avoid greens. Eat high vitamin K foods in steady, similar portions rather than on and off.
  • Watch portion size and cooking. A cup of cooked greens holds several times the vitamin K of a cup of raw greens, because cooking shrinks the volume.
  • Count oils and supplements. Soybean and canola oils, dressings, multivitamins, and meal-replacement shakes can add vitamin K.
  • Tell the clinician who manages warfarin before starting a diet, a new supplement, or a big change in how much you eat (illness, travel, holidays), so INR checks can be timed.

Adequate intake for adults is 120 mcg a day for men and 90 mcg a day for women (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements). Vitamin K fact sheet.

341 foods, highest vitamin K per portion first. High: 100 mcg or more; moderate: 25 to 99 mcg; low: under 25 mcg.

Vitamin K (phylloquinone) values are from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), published Apr 1, 2019 (downloadable datasets, public domain). Content varies with variety, growing conditions, and preparation. Bars use a square-root scale so low values stay visible. This guide supports, and doesn't replace, advice from the clinician managing warfarin. See also warfarin dosing and vitamin K interactions.