Vitamins and minerals are crucial for the healthy functioning of our body. Different vitamins play different roles in maintaining optimal health. It is necessary to include them all in your diet to ward off diseases and ailments. Vitamin C promotes immunity, whereas vitamin D is responsible for strengthening bones, we all know that. But there are a few lesser-known types of vitamins that are equally necessary. Vitamin K is a type of vitamin which is rarely discussed but has tons of health benefits. Eating vitamin K-rich foods promotes bone health and accelerates wound healing, it is necessary for blood clotting. Before we reveal which foods are rich in vitamin K, let’s learn a bit more about this essential vitamin. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin. It is a group of compounds categorised into two — vitamin K1 or phylloquinone and vitamin K2 or menaquinone.
Vitamin K1 is found in plant-based foods, mainly green leafy vegetables. Whereas vitamin K2 is found in animal-sourced foods. This means no matter what your food choices, you can obtain this vitamin from both sources. To make it further easy for you we have divided our list of vitamin K-rich foods into two categories, K1 and K2.
There are plenty of vegetables from which you can obtain your required intake of vitamin K. Note that these plant-sourced foods will provide your vitamin K1 or phylloquinone to your body. Here are the top five vitamin K-rich foods for vegetarians.
1. Spinach
The health benefits of spinach are not unknown. Rich in iron, spinach is also a great source of vitamins A, C and K. It is good for bone health, this green leafy vegetable also ensures the proper functioning of red blood cells in the body. Did you know 100 grams of raw spinach gives you 483 mcg of vitamin K1? Vital vitamins and minerals can sometimes be lost during the cooking process, therefore it is best to eat spinach in raw form. You can add some to your smoothie in the morning or add it in your sandwich to have it in a delicious way!
Cauliflower
One of the most popular and loved vegetables in India, cauliflower too offers a lot of health benefits. Right from maintaining a healthy digestive system to preventing obesity and arthritis, cauliflower is one vegetable with plenty of benefits. It is also a vitamin K-rich food. Did you know 1 cup of cauliflower contains about 19% of the daily recommended vitamin K intake? Add a bowl of cauliflower to your meals to get all the benefits mentioned above. There are plenty of ways in Indian cuisine to cook and eat this vegetable, try them all!
3. Broccoli
Packed with vitamins and antioxidants, broccoli can ward off many health problems when consumed regularly. It destroys free radicals and strengthens your immunity to maintain optimal health. Adding this vitamin K-rich food to your diet is pretty simple too, you can blanch or stir fry it and eat it as part of your salad or as a side dish. One cup of broccoli contains 110 mcg of vitamin K. However, you need to be careful with broccoli, make sure you don’t overcook it or it will lose its nutrition and flavour.
4. Kale
Kale is probably the most nutritious green leafy vegetable. Apart from being a rich source of fibre, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids, kale also provides 50% of the daily recommended allowance of vitamin K. 100 grams of raw spinach gives you a whopping 817 mcg of vitamin K1 making it the highest source of vitamin K in plant-sourced foods. While kale is not widely used in Indian cuisine, you can surely add it to salads, smoothies or look for healthy and easy ways to add this vegetable into your diet. Because it really is the powerhouse of nutrients and minerals.
5. Lettuce
A salad staple and a delicious crunch factor in your burgers and sandwiches, lettuce too is rich in protein, vitamins A, K and potassium. This wonderful leafy vegetable can be consumed in so many different ways. One cup of lettuce contains 61 mcg of vitamin K, which may not be a lot, but is surely a simple way to add to your diet. On days when you can’t get your hands on one of the higher sources of vitamin K, you could do with a few fresh leaves of lettuce.
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