Vitamin K, often overlooked, is vital for blood clotting, bone strength, and heart health.
About Vitamin K:
It is a fat-soluble vitamin that comes in two forms.
The main type is called phylloquinone (Vitamin K1), found in green leafy vegetables like collard greens, kale, and spinach.
The other type, menaquinones (Vitamin K2), are found in some animal foods and fermented foods.
Menaquinones can also be produced by bacteria in the human body.
Vitamin K helps to make various proteins that are needed for blood clotting and the building of bones.
Prothrombin is a vitamin K-dependent protein directly involved with blood clotting.
Osteocalcin is another protein that requires vitamin K to produce healthy bone tissue.
Vitamin K is found throughout the body, including the liver, brain, heart, pancreas, and bone.
It is broken down very quickly and excreted in urine or stool.
Because of this, it rarely reaches toxic levels in the body even with high intakes, as may sometimes occur with other fat-soluble vitamins.
Why Do Modern Diets Often Cause Vitamin K Deficiency?
Many people fall short of Vitamin K not because food is scarce but because daily diets lack greens and fermented foods.
Over-frying or overcooking vegetables also destroys much of the vitamin.
Long-term antibiotic use, liver disease, or fat-absorption disorders can further lower Vitamin K levels since it is fat-soluble and requires dietary fat for absorption.
Vitamin K deficiency can contribute to significant bleeding, poor bone development, osteoporosis, and increased cardiovascular disease.
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