Important benefits of vitamin K for the body, blood clotting and bone health

Vitamin K reveals a group of fat-soluble vitamins that play an important role in blood clotting, bone metabolism, and regulating calcium levels in the blood. Read the following article to learn more about the benefits of vitamin K.

Vitamin K facts

• The body needs vitamin K to produce prothrombin, an important vascular-clotting factor for blood clotting and bone metabolism, and people who take blood-thinning medications such as warfarin or Coumadin should not take vitamin K without consulting a doctor.
• Vitamin K1 or phylloquinone comes from plants and is the main form of vitamin K in food. Vitamin K2, or menaquinone, is found in some animal and fermented foods.
• Phylloquinone, also known as vitamin K1, is found in plants, and when taken up by bacteria in the large intestine, it is converted to the form of vitamin K2, which is absorbed in the small intestine and stored in fatty tissue and the liver.
• Vitamin K deficiency is rare, but in severe cases it can increase clotting time, causing hemorrhage and excessive bleeding.
• Vitamin K deficiency is more likely to affect newborns who have malabsorption problems due to short bowel syndrome, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease or ulcerative colitis.
• Newborns are usually injected with vitamin K to protect them from bleeding into the skull, which can be fatal.

Recommended Adequate Intake of Vitamin K: Depending on age and gender: Women 19 years of age or older should take 90 mcg per day and men 120 mcg.

Vitamin K benefits

bone health

There appears to be a connection between low intake of vitamin K and osteoporosis . Several studies have shown that vitamin K supports bone health, improves bone density, and reduces the risk of fractures, but research has not confirmed this.

Psychological health

High levels of vitamin K in the blood have been linked to improved memory in older adults, and in one study, healthy people over the age of 70 with high levels of vitamin K1 had the highest memory performance.

heart health

Vitamin K can help keep blood pressure low by preventing mineralization, as minerals build up in the arteries. This allows the heart to pump blood throughout the body unimpeded.

Mineralization occurs naturally with age and is a major risk factor for heart disease, and getting enough vitamin K has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke.

Vitamin K sources

Vitamin K1 is found in large amounts in green leafy vegetables such as kale and Swiss chard. Other sources are vegetable oils and some fruits.

Here are some food sources of vitamin K:

• parsley.
• cabbage.
• spinach;
• Soy oil.
• grapes;
• egg.

Dangers of Excess Vitamin K and Drug Interactions

Vitamin K can interact with many common medications such as blood thinners, anticonvulsants, antibiotics, cholesterol-lowering medications, and weight-loss medications.

Blood thinners work by reducing or delaying the ability of vitamin K to clot, and increasing or decreasing the amount of vitamin K can affect the way these medications work.

Anticonvulsants, if taken during pregnancy or breastfeeding, may increase the risk of vitamin K deficiency in the fetus or newborn.

In the end, after knowing the benefits of vitamin K, be careful not to take it in high doses so as not to expose yourself to the risk of excess.