Vitamin K — What It Means in Your Blood Test
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Vitamin K helps your blood clot so cuts stop bleeding, and it also supports your bones.
A Vitamin K result gives you a picture of how much of this nutrient you carry. It earns attention because it lets wounds seal properly and lends quiet support to your skeleton.
Also known as: phylloquinone, phytonadione, vitamin K1, menaquinone, vitamin K2
This isn't a case where higher or lower is better. Your body keeps it in a narrow band, and both directions can matter.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-16
What does Vitamin K do in your body?
Your body uses this nutrient to switch on the clotting proteins that seal a wound and stop bleeding [Institute of Medicine, 2001]. The same nutrient also helps lay down healthy bone. A doctor looks at it when bruising or bleeding shows up without an obvious reason.
Vitamin K is the on-switch your blood-clotting proteins need to seal a cut.
What is Vitamin K?
Vitamin K is a vitamin stored in body fat. Your body needs it to make the proteins that let your blood clot and to keep your bones healthy. This test measures your level.
Why is Vitamin K tested?
Your doctor may order this test if you bruise or bleed easily without a clear reason, or if you have trouble absorbing fat.
What is a normal Vitamin K range?
- India
- No India-specific national reference interval is published for this parameter; your lab's printed range is the most reliable comparison.
- Global
- Normal (phylloquinone): 0.13–1.19 ng/mL (NIH / CLSI reference ranges)
Ranges vary by lab, method and equipment — the range printed on your own report is the one that applies to your result.
Source: [Institute of Medicine, 2001]
What does your Vitamin K value mean?
There is no widely-accepted set of value bands for this parameter. Compare your result with the reference range printed on your own report, and discuss it with your doctor.
What does a high Vitamin K result mean?
A high level is uncommon and usually follows heavy intake from food or supplements. If you take blood-thinning medicine, this is worth discussing with your doctor.
What does a low Vitamin K result mean?
A low level can make your blood slower to clot, so you bruise easily. In newborns it can raise the risk of bleeding.
What happens when your Vitamin K is low?
Your body uses vitamin K to switch on the proteins that let blood clot, so a shortfall makes clotting slower [Institute of Medicine, 2001].
Which foods are rich in Vitamin K?
- In India
- green leafy vegetables like spinach, methi and corianderICMR-NIN (2017)
- Internationally
- kale, spinach, broccoli, and vegetable oilsUSDA FoodData Central (2024)
What can affect your Vitamin K result?
- Leafy green vegetables
- Blood-thinning medicines
- Fat absorption problems
- Antibiotics affecting gut bacteria
- Being a newborn
Questions to ask your doctor
About this result
- What does my Vitamin K result mean for me specifically, given my age and health?
- Is my Vitamin K in the range that is right for me, not just the lab's general range?
What to do next
- Could anything I eat, do, or take have affected my blood clotting vitamin result?
- Is there anything I should do about my Vitamin K, or is it fine to leave as it is?
About retesting
- Does my Vitamin K need to be repeated, and if so, when?
- The typical range for Vitamin K can vary between labs — should I compare my result against my own lab's printed range?
The bigger picture
- Should my Vitamin K be looked at together with my Vitamin D (25-OH) and Vitamin B12 result?
- Does my Vitamin K connect to any condition I already have, or to anything I have noticed in how I feel?
Frequently asked questions
- What is Vitamin K?
- Vitamin K is a vitamin stored in body fat. Your body needs it to make the proteins that let your blood clot and to keep your bones healthy. This test measures your level. Your doctor may order this test if you bruise or bleed easily without a clear reason, or if you have trouble absorbing fat.
- What is a normal blood clotting vitamin range?
- A typical adult range is around Normal (phylloquinone): 0.13–1.19 ng/mL (NIH / CLSI reference ranges). No India-specific national reference interval is published for this parameter; your lab's printed range is the most reliable comparison. Ranges vary by lab, method and equipment — the range printed on your own report is the one that applies to your result.
- What does a high Vitamin K result mean?
- A high level is uncommon and usually follows heavy intake from food or supplements. If you take blood-thinning medicine, this is worth discussing with your doctor.
- What does a low Vitamin K result mean?
- A low level can make your blood slower to clot, so you bruise easily. In newborns it can raise the risk of bleeding.
- What can affect your Vitamin K result?
- Several everyday factors can influence it, including Leafy green vegetables, Blood-thinning medicines, Fat absorption problems, Antibiotics affecting gut bacteria, Being a newborn.
Sources
- Institute of Medicine (2001) — Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc
- ICMR-NIN (2017) — Indian Food Composition Tables (IFCT) Link
- USDA FoodData Central (2024) — USDA FoodData Central (National Nutrient Database) Link
Part of the Vitamins
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Related reading
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