Vitamin K2 Foods: Best Sources of MK-4 and MK-7 and How Much You Need

The richest vitamin K2 food by far is natto, a fermented soybean dish with 850 mcg of vitamin K2 as MK-7 in 3 ounces; animal foods such as rotisserie chicken breast (13 mcg), ground beef (6 mcg), chicken liver (6 mcg), ham, cheddar and hard boiled eggs (4 mcg each) supply smaller amounts of MK-4, and the Adequate Intake for all vitamin K is 120 mcg a day for men and 90 mcg for women (NIH ODS: Vitamin K).

It is educational, not medical advice.

Key Takeaways

• Natto is the only food in the NIH food table labeled MK-7, and its 850 mcg per 3 ounces is more than 60 times the next highest K2 food on the list.
• Chicken, beef, ham, cheese, eggs and milk supply MK-4 in single digit to low double digit micrograms per serving.
• Most vitamin K in the US diet is K1 (phylloquinone) from leafy greens and vegetable oils, not K2.
• No upper limit has been set for vitamin K, but people taking warfarin need a consistent vitamin K intake.

Top Vitamin K2 Foods at a Glance

These are the foods the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) marks as menaquinone sources in its vitamin K food table, ranked by micrograms per serving. ODS labels each one by form; every other food in its table is listed as phylloquinone (vitamin K1). The Daily Value (DV) is 120 mcg for adults and children age 4 and older (NIH ODS: Vitamin K).

1. Natto, 3 ounces: 850 mcg (as MK-7)
2. Chicken breast, rotisserie, 3 ounces: 13 mcg (as MK-4)
3. Ground beef, broiled, 3 ounces: 6 mcg (as MK-4)
4. Chicken liver, braised, 3 ounces: 6 mcg (as MK-4)
5. Ham, roasted or pan broiled, 3 ounces: 4 mcg (as MK-4)
6. Cheddar cheese, 1.5 ounces: 4 mcg (as MK-4)
7. Egg, hard boiled, 1 large: 4 mcg (as MK-4)
8. Mozzarella cheese, 1.5 ounces: 2 mcg (as MK-4)
9. Milk, 2%, 1 cup: 1 mcg (as MK-4)
10. Salmon (sockeye, cooked) and shrimp (cooked), 3 ounces each: 0.3 mcg (as MK-4)

MK-4 vs MK-7 Foods: Animal Foods and Fermented Foods

ODS explains where each kind comes from. Menaquinones are predominantly of bacterial origin. Natto has high amounts of menaquinones, and other fermented foods, such as cheese, also contain them, with amounts that vary by bacterial strain and fermentation conditions. Meat, dairy foods and eggs contain low levels of phylloquinone but modest amounts of menaquinones. MK-4 is unique in that it is produced by the body from phylloquinone, and poultry and pork products contain MK-4 if menadione is added to the animal feed (NIH ODS: Vitamin K).

Food and serving	Type of food	Form (as ODS labels it)	mcg	% DV
Natto, 3 oz	Fermented soybeans	MK-7	850	708
Chicken breast, rotisserie, 3 oz	Animal food (poultry)	MK-4	13	11
Ground beef, broiled, 3 oz	Animal food (meat)	MK-4	6	5
Chicken liver, braised, 3 oz	Animal food (poultry)	MK-4	6	5
Ham, roasted or pan broiled, 3 oz	Animal food (pork)	MK-4	4	3
Cheddar cheese, 1.5 oz	Animal food (fermented dairy)	MK-4	4	3
Egg, hard boiled, 1 large	Animal food (eggs)	MK-4	4	3
Mozzarella cheese, 1.5 oz	Animal food (fermented dairy)	MK-4	2	2
Milk, 2%, 1 cup	Animal food (dairy)	MK-4	1	1
Salmon, sockeye, cooked, 3 oz	Animal food (fish)	MK-4	0.3	0
Shrimp, cooked, 3 oz	Animal food (seafood)	MK-4	0.3	0

The one fermented plant food supplies MK-7 and the animal foods supply MK-4; ODS labels its cheddar and mozzarella rows as MK-4. The table has no separate egg yolk value, and ham is its only pork entry.

Vitamin K1 vs K2 Explained

Vitamin K is a group of compounds. Vitamin K1 is phylloquinone, and ODS says it is present primarily in green leafy vegetables and is the main dietary form of vitamin K. Food sources of phylloquinone include vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, vegetable oils and some fruits. ODS names spinach, broccoli, iceberg lettuce, and soybean and canola oil as common sources in the US diet (NIH ODS: Vitamin K).

Vitamin K2 is the menaquinones, designated MK-4 through MK-13 based on the length of their side chain. ODS notes that bacteria in the human gut also produce menaquinones. On absorption, ODS reports that one study found both phytonadione (a form of K1) and MK-7 supplements are well absorbed, but MK-7 has a longer half-life, and that limited research suggests long-chain menaquinones may have higher absorption rates than phylloquinone from green vegetables. Our guide to vitamin K2 vs K1 compares the two forms side by side, from food sources to what each one does.

For scale, here are the top K1 foods from the same ODS table, per serving:

Food and serving (K1, phylloquinone)	mcg	% DV
Collards, frozen, boiled, ½ cup	530	442
Turnip greens, frozen, boiled, ½ cup	426	355
Spinach, raw, 1 cup	145	121
Kale, raw, 1 cup	113	94
Broccoli, chopped, boiled, ½ cup	110	92
Soybeans, roasted, ½ cup	43	36
Soybean oil, 1 tbsp	25	21
Edamame, frozen, prepared, ½ cup	21	18
Blueberries, raw, ½ cup	14	12
Olive oil, 1 tbsp	8	7

Our vitamin K2 reference page sets out how MK-4 and MK-7 are built, the amounts used in studies and the safety notes.

How MK-4 and MK-7 Differ

Our full guide to vitamin K2 MK-4 vs MK-7 covers the research in detail. The short version:

• MK-7 is made by bacteria during fermentation, and natto is its main food source. In a comparison with vitamin K1, MK-7 stayed in circulation much longer and built up to 7 to 8 times higher levels with daily intake (Schurgers et al., 2007). In another study, a single 420 mcg dose of MK-7 peaked at 6 hours and was still measurable at 48 hours (Sato et al., 2012). Women in a 3-year trial took 180 mcg a day (Knapen et al., 2013).
• MK-4 is made by your body from vitamin K1 without the help of bacteria, and it is also found in animal foods such as chicken, eggs, cheese and beef. It moves out of the blood within hours, so it is used in larger amounts, up to 45 mg a day in Japan (NIH ODS: Vitamin K).

How Much Vitamin K You Need

ODS lists these Adequate Intakes (AIs) for vitamin K in micrograms a day (NIH ODS: Vitamin K). They cover vitamin K as a whole; ODS does not give a separate target for K2.

Age	Male	Female	Pregnancy	Lactation
Birth to 6 months	2.0	2.0
7 to 12 months	2.5	2.5
1 to 3 years	30	30
4 to 8 years	55	55
9 to 13 years	60	60
14 to 18 years	75	75	75	75
19 years and older	120	90	90	90

On upper limits, ODS says the Food and Nutrition Board did not establish ULs for vitamin K because of its low potential for toxicity.

Vegan and Vegetarian Sources of Vitamin K2

For vegans, natto is the one food in the ODS table that supplies K2, at 850 mcg of MK-7 in 3 ounces. Every other plant food in the table is listed as K1.

Vegetarians who eat dairy and eggs have more options: a large hard boiled egg and 1.5 ounces of cheddar give 4 mcg of MK-4 each, mozzarella gives 2 mcg and a cup of 2% milk gives 1 mcg. Those amounts are small next to natto. If you are building a plant based routine around vitamin D too, our guides to vegan vitamin D3 and foods high in vitamin D cover the other half of the pairing.

A Sample Day of Vitamin K From Food

This day uses only ODS table values and shows K2 and K1 separately, with a running total of all vitamin K.

Meal	Foods	K2 (MK-4)	K1	Running total
Breakfast	1 large hard boiled egg (4), 1 cup 2% milk (1)	5 mcg	0 mcg	5 mcg
Lunch	3 oz rotisserie chicken breast (13), 1.5 oz cheddar (4), 1 cup raw spinach (145)	17 mcg	145 mcg	167 mcg
Dinner	3 oz ground beef (6), 1.5 oz mozzarella (2), ½ cup boiled broccoli (110), 1 tbsp olive oil (8)	8 mcg	118 mcg	293 mcg

The arithmetic: K2 is 5 + 17 + 8 = 30 mcg, K1 is 145 + 118 = 263 mcg, and total vitamin K is 30 + 263 = 293 mcg. That clears both adult AIs, but almost all of it comes from spinach and broccoli. Without natto, even a day full of meat, cheese and eggs gives only about 30 mcg of K2.

Add natto: swapping 3 ounces of natto (850) in at breakfast raises the day's K2 to 30 + 850 = 880 mcg.

Vegan version: 3 oz natto (850 MK-7) at breakfast; 1 cup raw kale (113) dressed with 1 tbsp soybean oil (25) at lunch; ½ cup edamame (21) as a snack; and ½ cup blueberries (14) after dinner. K2 is 850 mcg, K1 is 113 + 25 + 21 + 14 = 173 mcg, and total vitamin K is 850 + 173 = 1,023 mcg.

Food vs Supplements for Vitamin K2

Food is the place to start: K1 from greens plus small amounts of MK-4 from animal foods. Meaningful MK-7 from food comes down to whether you eat natto, which is one reason K2 supplements use MK-7, MK-4 or both.

K2 is most often paired with vitamin D. To read why, see vitamin D3 and K2, our vitamin D3 supplement guide and our vitamin D3 page. Magnesium and zinc often come up in the same conversation; see vitamin D and magnesium, foods high in magnesium and foods high in zinc, or browse the learning center.

From Synchronicity

Our Vitamin D3 + K2 Drops pair vegan vitamin D3 from lichen with vitamin K2 as MK-4 and MK-7 in an MCT oil base, one drop a day with a meal. Each bottle holds about 180 drops, about 6 months at one drop a day.

Safety Note

ODS warns that vitamin K can have a serious and potentially dangerous interaction with anticoagulants such as warfarin. People taking warfarin and similar anticoagulants need to maintain a consistent intake of vitamin K, because sudden changes in vitamin K intakes can increase or decrease the anticoagulant effect (NIH ODS: Vitamin K). Researchers have noted that 50 mcg a day or more of MK-7 may affect warfarin in a meaningful way (Schurgers et al., 2007), and a single serving of natto has far more than that. If you take warfarin or another blood thinner, talk with your healthcare provider before changing how much vitamin K you get from food or supplements. For the full safety picture, see our guide to vitamin K2 side effects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What food is highest in vitamin K2?

Natto, with 850 mcg of MK-7 in 3 ounces. The next highest K2 food in the ODS table is rotisserie chicken breast at 13 mcg of MK-4.

Which foods contain MK-7?

In the ODS food table, natto is the only food labeled MK-7. ODS also says cheese and other fermented foods contain menaquinones, with amounts that vary by bacteria and fermentation conditions.

Which foods contain MK-4?

Chicken breast, ground beef, chicken liver, ham, cheddar, hard boiled eggs, mozzarella, milk, salmon and shrimp, from 13 mcg down to 0.3 mcg per serving.

Is there vitamin K2 in vegetables?

Leafy greens, broccoli and vegetable oils supply K1 (phylloquinone). The fermented soybean dish natto is the plant food that supplies K2.

How much vitamin K do you need per day?

The adult Adequate Intake is 120 mcg for men and 90 mcg for women, including during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It covers K1 and K2 together.

Can you get too much vitamin K2 from food?

ODS says no upper limit was set for vitamin K because of its low potential for toxicity. People on warfarin are the exception to plan around, since they need a steady intake.

Do eggs and cheese have vitamin K2?

Yes, in small amounts: 4 mcg of MK-4 in a large hard boiled egg or 1.5 ounces of cheddar, and 2 mcg in 1.5 ounces of mozzarella.

Is vitamin K2 better from food or supplements?

Start with food. Unless you eat natto, food gives modest amounts of K2. Check with a provider first if you take a blood thinner.

Sources

• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin K: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.
• Schurgers et al., 2007. Comparison of vitamin K1 and MK-7 from natto. DOI 10.1182/blood-2006-08-040709.
• Sato et al., 2012. Blood levels after single doses of MK-4 and MK-7. DOI 10.1186/1475-2891-11-93.
• Knapen et al., 2013. Three-year trial of 180 mcg a day of MK-7 in postmenopausal women. PMID 23525894.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is for education and is not medical advice. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Talk with a healthcare provider before starting a new supplement if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication.