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Vitamin K Benefits and Plant-Based Sources

The truth about vitamin K1 vs. vitamin K2

The truth about vitamin K1 vs. vitamin K2

Last Updated: October 8, 2025 | First Published: October 21, 2023

Last Updated: October 8, 2025

First Published: October 21, 2023

Vitamin K.Vitamin K doesn’t usually get the attention it deserves, which is bad because it is a very important nutrient for blood coagulation and wound healing, as well as for our bones, our muscles, and our heart health! Deficiency is very common and tends to go unnoticed until we’re older and it manifests as osteoporosis, arterial or kidney calcification, heart conditions, and even cancer.

It’s never too early for our kids or too late for us to start getting adequate amounts. All we have to do is add green vegetables and leafy greens to our regular diet.

Vitamin K1 and Vitamin K2

You may have heard that vitamin K2 is better than vitamin K1, and that the top sources of K2 are animal-based products. This is actually not true, both forms have specific functions in our body. Not only that, the top source of vitamin K2 worldwide is natto, fermented soybeans! This is because vitamin K2 is made by bacteria, whether it is through fermentation during food preparation, or fermentation by our very own gut bacteria. That’s right, we can covert vitamin K1 into vitamin K2. And even if we didn’t absorb enough vitamin K2, we have enzymes ready to help us convert even more vitamin K1 into K2 inside our body.  

Given the high amounts of vitamin K1 present in dark leafy greens, getting just one cup of cooked kale, spinach, or other dark greens should give us all we need. And, if in doubt, we can always eat fermented plant-based foods.

On this page, we’ll share more about the best foods to help you reach your intake needs, a nutrition calculator to help you identify your Recommended Daily Allowance as well as your family’s, further details on what this vitamin can do for us as K1 and K2, interactions with popular medications, and a comparison between whole-food, plant-based sources, supplements, and animal-based sources.

Top Whole-Food, Plant-Based Sources

Green vegetables, especially green leaves, are a fantastic source of vitamin K. One serving alone can give us our daily requirements and then some. So, the key to avoiding deficiency is simply to add any of these to our daily menus. Think about salads, soups, roasted vegetables… the possibilities are limitless.

Hover over each food below to see how much of the Daily Value (DV) you can get with one cup. Click on each food’s picture to visit its interactive page with a sophisticated calculator that will show you this food’s top nutrients and how much of your Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) you and your family can get in one portion. Plus, discover some delicious and easy-to-make recipe ideas, and learn how this food can support your overall well being.

Parsley

Parsley

1 Tbsp raw = 52% DV

Link
Kale

Kale

1 cup raw 81% & cooked 412% DV

Link
Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts

1 cup cooked = 182% DV

Link
Collard Greens

Collard Greens

1 cup raw 131% & cooked 508%

Link
Spinach

Spinach

1 cup raw 121% & cooked 740% DV

Link
Mustard Greens

Mustard Greens

1 cup raw 120% & cooked 692% DV

Link
Broccoli

Broccoli

1 cup raw 76% & cooked 183% DV

Link
Asparagus

Asparagus

1 cup boiled 75% DV

Link

Vitamin K Personalized Calculator

See how much vitamin K1 you and your family need. Currently, there are no requirements established for vitamin K2. As more research is coming out, we’re learning more about how our body converts some of the K1 we ingest into the K2 we need.

Getting your personalized nutrition values will give you a better idea of how to plan your meals and family portions. You can never get too much of this vitamin, but unless you are already eating greens regularly, there is a big chance you and your loved ones are not getting enough.

Select your age group, sex, and whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding to get your personalized values!

Terminology:

  • Daily Value (DV): The recommended amount of nutrients to consume each day for individuals who are 4 years old or older.
  • Adequate Intake (AI): This is an approximation of nutrient intake by a group or groups of healthy people, based on age, sex, and whether a woman is pregnant, lactating, or none. It is used when a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) cannot be determined.
  • Upper Intake Level (UL): The highest amount of nutrient intake that will not pose adverse health effects on most individuals.

* Average RDAs have been provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 based on average weight by sex and age group, and based on whether women are pregnant, lactating or none.

How Our Body Uses Vitamin K

Vitamin K, was named after “koagulation” (German for coagulation). K1 is key for blood coagulation, but vitamin K also has important roles in our bones, our heart, and our muscles. 

Hover over each pointer below for more details on how this nutrient benefits our body. Click on the pointer to visit the specific body part’s interactive page to discover what other nutrients support it, the best sources to find them, and other interesting facts.

A group of people standing next to each other.
A family posing for the camera with an image of a heart in the background.

Important Things to Know

Hover over each of the interesting facts below to flip the tiles and learn more details.

Check out the interesting facts below! Tap on the red triangles to flip the tiles and learn more details.

Babies get a vitamin K shot shortly after they’re born.

Newborns are at risk of deficiency due to low placental transfer of this nutrient. Breastmilk also has a low content.

In order to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding (aka hemorrhagic disease of the newborn), a 0.5 to 1 mg vitamin K1 shot is given to babies shortly after birth. 

Vitamin K deficiency bleeding can manifest as bleeding in the umbilicus, gastrointestinal tract, skin, nose and other sites.

Cabbage is a great source of vitamin K1 but if you ferment it, then it becomes a great source of vitamin K2.

Vitamin K1 can turn into K2 outside or inside our body.

As we know, vitamin K1 is highly present in plants such as green vegetables and leaves, and vitamin K2 is the only form present in animal-based foods. However, we can also get vitamin K2 from vitamin K1 sources. 

There are three ways:

  1. By fermenting our vitamin K1 foods, like turning cabbage into sauerkraut or soybeans into natto.
  2. Our own gut bacteria in our large intestine turn the vitamin K1 that is not absorbed in our small intestine into K2. And this is then absorbed into our body.
  3. A fraction of the vitamin K1 we absorb is synthesized into K2 in our liver and then transported to other tissues.

So, there is no need to eat animal-based foods to get the vitamin K2 we need. In fact, this study confirmed that supplementing vitamin K1 or different forms of K2 (MK4, MK7 and MK9) resulted in the same levels of vitamin K2 (as MK4) in mice tissues. MK4 is the form we use to support our heart, bones, muscles, and more.

Enhance vitamin K benefits by adding a small source of healthy fats to your leafy greens or green vegetables like this green salad with pine nuts.

Add a healthy fat to your greens to enhance absorption.

Since vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, eating our green vegetables or leaves with a small amount of healthy fats like nuts, seeds or avocado increases our absorption of this nutrient. 

But absorption is not the only step connected to fats in our body. Vitamin K uses the same means of transportation, lipoproteins, to go from our small intestine to our liver, and then from the liver to different parts of our body. 

Plus, vitamin K1 needs the same enzyme used to make cholesterol in the liver to make vitamin K2. Therefore, taking cholesterol inhibitors can lead to a vitamin K2 deficiency. See the next tile.

Statin, a popular cholesterol inhibitor, also inhibits the conversion of vitamin K1 to K2 in our body, likely leading to artery calcification, a common issue among patients taking statins.

Statins inhibit our synthesis of K2 and may lead to artery calcification.

The role of statins is to reduce cholesterol levels in our blood. How they work is by inhibiting an enzyme in the liver that is key in the production of cholesterol. The problem is that this enzyme is also a precursor of a compound that is part of another enzyme that our body uses to make vitamin K2. So, indirectly, statins also inhibit the synthesis of vitamin K2 in our body.

Ironically, while statins are taken to reduce the amounts of LDL cholesterol that attach to our arteries, the reduction of vitamin K2, as a side effect, leads to the calcification of arteries. Learn more.

Do not attempt to stop statin medication on your own. Talk to your doctor for any concerns and to establish a plan to reduce or eliminate the use of statins.

Watch out for interactions with anticoagulants.

Chronic anticoagulant therapy (Warfarin/Coumadin) is associated with vitamin K deficiency. This is because these medications work by blocking the coagulation function of vitamin K1.

Keep in mind that a sudden increase in vitamin K intake while taking these anticoagulants may lead to clot formation, and a sudden decrease may lead to bleeding. Learn more.

Always talk to your doctor about vitamin K deficiency concerns or if your intake changes during anticoagulant therapy.

We don’t show signs of deficiency until we age. Here’s why…

When we have a micro-nutrient deficiency, our bodies first allocate these nutrients for short-term survival and reproduction, disabling DNA repair that would keep us healthy as we age.

When it comes to a vitamin K deficiency, our body prioritizes the use of vitamin K1 for coagulation purposes over its use as vitamin K2 for other functions. This can result in heart conditions, osteoporosis, arterial and kidney calcification, potential loss of muscle mass and strength, and even cancer as we age.

There is a concern not only for the vast population that is not getting enough vitamin K through their diets, but also for those who are taking anticoagulant medications to block the function of vitamin K. Learn more.

Babies get a vitamin K shot shortly after they’re born.

Newborns are at risk of deficiency due to low placental transfer of this nutrient. Breastmilk also has a low content.

In order to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding (aka hemorrhagic disease of the newborn), a 0.5 to 1 mg vitamin K1 shot is given to babies shortly after birth. 

Vitamin K deficiency bleeding can manifest as bleeding in the umbilicus, gastrointestinal tract, skin, nose and other sites.

Cabbage is a great source of vitamin K1 but if you ferment it, then it becomes a great source of vitamin K2.

Vitamin K1 can turn into K2 outside or inside our body.

As we know, vitamin K1 is highly present in plants such as green vegetables and leaves, and vitamin K2 is the only form present in animal-based foods. However, we can also get vitamin K2 from vitamin K1 sources. 

There are three ways:

  1. By fermenting our vitamin K1 foods, like turning cabbage into sauerkraut or soybeans into natto.
  2. Our own gut bacteria in our large intestine turn the vitamin K1 that is not absorbed in our small intestine into K2. And this is then absorbed into our body.
  3. A fraction of the vitamin K1 we absorb is synthesized into K2 in our liver and then transported to other tissues.

So, there is no need to eat animal-based foods to get the vitamin K2 we need. In fact, this study confirmed that supplementing vitamin K1 or different forms of K2 (MK4, MK7 and MK9) resulted in the same levels of vitamin K2 (as MK4) in mice tissues. MK4 is the form we use to support our heart, bones, muscles, and more.

Enhance vitamin K benefits by adding a small source of healthy fats to your leafy greens or green vegetables like this green salad with pine nuts.

Add a healthy fat to your greens to enhance absorption.

Since vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, eating our green vegetables or leaves with a small amount of healthy fats like nuts, seeds or avocado increases our absorption of this nutrient. 

But absorption is not the only step connected to fats in our body. Vitamin K uses the same means of transportation, lipoproteins, to go from our small intestine to our liver, and then from the liver to different parts of our body. 

Plus, vitamin K1 needs the same enzyme used to make cholesterol in the liver to make vitamin K2. Therefore, taking cholesterol inhibitors can lead to a vitamin K2 deficiency. See the next tile.

Statin, a popular cholesterol inhibitor, also inhibits the conversion of vitamin K1 to K2 in our body, likely leading to artery calcification, a common issue among patients taking statins.

Statins inhibit our synthesis of K2 and may lead to artery calcification.

The role of statins is to reduce cholesterol levels in our blood. How they work is by inhibiting an enzyme in the liver that is key in the production of cholesterol. The problem is that this enzyme is also a precursor of a compound that is part of another enzyme that our body uses to make vitamin K2. So, indirectly, statins also inhibit the synthesis of vitamin K2 in our body.

Ironically, while statins are taken to reduce the amounts of LDL cholesterol that attach to our arteries, the reduction of vitamin K2, as a side effect, leads to the calcification of arteries. Learn more.

Do not attempt to stop statin medication on your own. Talk to your doctor for any concerns and to establish a plan to reduce or eliminate the use of statins.

Watch out for interactions with anticoagulants.

Chronic anticoagulant therapy (Warfarin/Coumadin) is associated with vitamin K deficiency. This is because these medications work by blocking the coagulation function of vitamin K1.

Keep in mind that a sudden increase in vitamin K intake while taking these anticoagulants may lead to clot formation, and a sudden decrease may lead to bleeding. Learn more.

Always talk to your doctor about vitamin K deficiency concerns or if your intake changes during anticoagulant therapy.

We don’t show signs of deficiency until we age. Here’s why…

When we have a micro-nutrient deficiency, our bodies first allocate these nutrients for short-term survival and reproduction, disabling DNA repair that would keep us healthy as we age.

When it comes to a vitamin K deficiency, our body prioritizes the use of vitamin K1 for coagulation purposes over its use as vitamin K2 for other functions. This can result in heart conditions, osteoporosis, arterial and kidney calcification, potential loss of muscle mass and strength, and even cancer as we age.

There is a concern not only for the vast population that is not getting enough vitamin K through their diets, but also for those who are taking anticoagulant medications to block the function of vitamin K. Learn more.

Vitamin K Sources Comparison

You may be wondering about other potential sources of this vitamin aside from green vegetables and leaves. Below we make a quick and simple comparison between the three choices we typically get: plant-based foods, supplements, or animal-based products. For vitamin K the top choice is clear!

Best source!
Plant-Based
Leafy greens are very rich in vitamin K1, key for blood coagulation. Our own gut bacteria and liver can make vitamin K2 out of the K1 we ingest. Eating two servings of dark leafy greens daily can give us way over our RDA or DV and enough to convert into the vitamin K2 we need.
Vitamin K2 is produced by bacteria, so another way to ensure we’re getting enough is to eat fermented foods like natto or sauerkraut.
Supplements
Most multivitamins only have a small percentage of the vitamin K we need. Taking vitamin K supplements specifically should only be done under medical supervision, and should be avoided when taking anticoagulants.
Animal-based
Vitamin K is present in much smaller amounts in animal-based products. While they are richer in vitamin K2, they are overall not a good source of this nutrient. Even fermented products like cheese have way lower levels than fermented soybeans.

References