Cucumbers are a versatile vegetable known for their cool flavor and crunchy texture. Not only do they add zing to dishes; cucumbers also provide a fair amount of nutrients, including vitamin K. Although cucumbers aren't an exceptional source of vitamin K, they do offer some of this important nutrient necessary for normal blood clotting and bone health.
Vitamin K
Proteins essential to blood clotting and bone health rely on the body's adequate supply of vitamin K. Without enough vitamin K, the risk for excess bleeding from injury increase and so does the risk for death. Vitamin K plays a role in protein function required for bone health, too, and without enough, you are more susceptible to bone fractures. The primary sources of vitamin K are green vegetables.
Cucumber Nutrition and Vitamin K
One large, unpeeled, raw cucumber provides 49.4 mcg of vitamin K, while a raw, peeled cucumber of the same size provides less at 20.2 mcg. Cucumbers are an excellent diet choice, not only for their vitamin K content but also because they are low in fat and calories and provide healthy doses of vitamin C, potassium, fiber, folate and vitamin A.
Other Sources of Vitamin K
Compared with other vegetables, such as kale, spinach and turnip greens, cucumbers pale in comparison in vitamin K content. One cup of cooked, frozen kale contains 1,146 mcg of vitamin K, and one cup of cooked, frozen spinach provides 1,027 mcg. All types of greens provide a lot of vitamin K, too -- including mustard, collard, turnip, dandelion and beet greens, to name a few. In general, the darker green and leafier the vegetable, the more vitamin K they contain.
Vitamin K Deficiency
A lack of vitamin K may affect three of every four Americans, notes the Harvard School of Public Health. And studies cited by this source show that the risk of bone fracture decreases with adequate vitamin K consumption. Recommended daily intakes of vitamin K are 120 mcg for adult men and 90 mcg for adult women.
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