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It's easy to get answers about health and nutrition! Just send your question by email to [email protected] and Dr. Harlan will respond to selected questions of general interest. Answers will be posted in the Ask Dr. Gourmet newsletter (sign up now!) and archived in the Ask Dr. Gourmet section of the website.

Please note that the Ask Dr. Gourmet feature is restricted to questions regarding food and nutrition. Due to the many questions we receive, not all questions may be answered. For more specific questions about your individual health, please contact your doctor. About Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy


 
 

Ask Dr. Gourmet

How much Vitamin K is in avocado oil?

I'm trying so hard to keep on an even amount of Vitamin K day to day as my heart doctor advised. Your site has been most helpful, however, I am unable to find an amount of K in the oil of avocado. I really need to know. I want to know the amount of K in a tablespoon of avocado oil. Please help me.

Dr. Gourmet Says...

avocados

The USDA database reports that avocado oil does not contain enough Vitamin K to be measured, so that shouldn't be a problem for you. If you are using a mayonnaise made with avocado oil, check to make sure that it does not also contain canola oil, which is comparatively high in Vitamin K, at 10mcg per tablespoon.

Here's the link to the USDA database so you can look up the amount of Vitamin K in various foods: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

Two things to keep in mind:

Vitamin K will only be reported in non-branded products (choose "standard reference" in the dropdown list when you do the search). Because companies are not required to report Vitamin K on the Nutrition Information label of their products, they do not test for Vitamin K and it will not be reported in the database. That does not mean that the product does not contain Vitamin K, however!

Vitamin K is usually the last entry under Vitamins (note that Vitamin K is not the same as potassium, which has the element symbol K and appears under Minerals.) You may need to click "Full Report (All Nutrients)" above the table of nutrients to make sure it is displayed. If Vitamin K does not appear on the list, it does not contain enough Vitamin K to be measured.

Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS
Dr. Gourmet