Which Vegetables Don’t Have Vitamin K?

Why Vitamin K Is Important

Vitamin K is essential for the synthesis of four of the 13 proteins your body uses to clot blood, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This is important because it allows your body to stop bleeding when you experience a cut or wound.

Who Should Watch Their Vitamin K Intake

If you take blood-thinning medications (such as heparin or warfarin), it’s important to keep track of the vitamin K in your diet because it can sometimes counteract the effects of these medications, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

According to the Office of Dietary Supplements, adult men need 120 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin K per day, whereas adult women need 90 mcg of vitamin K daily. However, if you’re taking a medication that could interact with vitamin K, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about how much vitamin K you can safely consume.

Veggies That Don’t Have Vitamin K

If your healthcare provider recommends that you eat foods with less vitamin K due to an underlying condition, you won’t find many vegetables that contain absolutely no vitamin K. The following vegetables may be more suitable for you if you have this dietary restriction. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Nutrient Database, these veggies don’t have any vitamin K:

• 1 cup of canned corn
• 1 cup of bamboo shots
• 1 cup of white, shiitake, and portabella mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon of shallots
• 1 tablespoon of frozen, chopped onions

The USDA database also shows that several other veggies have less than 1 mcg of vitamin K, but not completely zero. This list includes:

• 1 cup of turnips
• 1 cup of parsnips
• 1 cup of rutabaga
• 1 cup of canned beans
• ½ cup of baked potato