You're cooking your favorite pasta dish, and you happen to cut your finger. Hurriedly you wash the blood off, but the blood keeps flowing out of your finger. What could go wrong? Maybe it's because you need more vitamins in your body, specifically Vitamin K, your blood clot vitamin.
Vitamin K is one of the fat-soluble vitamins together with Vitamin A, D, and E. Vitamin K plays a key role in helping the blood clot and preventing excessive bleeding. Unlike many other vitamins, vitamin K is not typically used as a dietary supplement. The body needs vitamin K to produce prothrombin, a protein, and clotting factor that is important in blood clotting and bone metabolism. People who use blood-thinning medications, such as Warfarin, or Coumadin, should not start consuming additional vitamin K without first asking a doctor. Vitamin K is actually a group of compounds. The most important of these compounds appear to be vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. Vitamin K1 is obtained from leafy greens and some other vegetables. Vitamin K2 is a group of compounds largely obtained from meats, cheeses, and eggs, and synthesized by bacteria.
According to R. Morgan Griffin, low levels of vitamin K can raise the risk of uncontrolled bleeding. While vitamin K deficiencies are rare in adults, they are very common in newborn infants. A single injection of vitamin K for newborns is standard. Vitamin K is also used to counteract an overdose of the blood thinner Coumadin. While vitamin K deficiencies are uncommon, you may be at higher risk if you have a disease that affects absorption in the digestive tract, such as Crohn's disease or active Celiac disease, take drugs that interfere with vitamin K absorption, are severely malnourished, or drink alcohol heavily.
There are various benefits of Vitamin K in the body. Here are some:
- Bone health. There appears to be a correlation between low intake of vitamin K and osteoporosis. Several studies have suggested that vitamin K supports the maintenance of strong bones, improves bone density, and decreases the risk of fractures. However, research has not confirmed this.
- Cognitive health. Increased blood levels of vitamin K have been linked with improved episodic memory in older adults. In one study, healthy individuals over the age of 70 years with the highest blood levels of vitamin K1 had the highest verbal episodic memory performance.
- Heart health. Vitamin K may help keep blood pressure lower by preventing mineralization, where minerals build up in the arteries. This enables the heart to pump blood freely through the body. Mineralization naturally occurs with age, and it is a major risk factor for heart disease. Adequate intake of vitamin K has also been shown to lower the risk of stroke.
The richest sources of vitamin K1 are dark, leafy green vegetables. For example, just half a cup of Kale provides about 443% of the daily value. To get the most out of the vitamin K in kale and other plant foods, consider eating them with some fat or oil. This is because vitamin K is fat-soluble and may be better absorbed when combined with fat. Vitamin K2 is only found in animal-sourced foods and certain fermented dishes. Small amounts are also produced by your gut bacteria.
So next time you got a cut on your finger, blood clotting and healing will be much faster because vitamin K probably has done its work in your body!
NO I Zamubec Alomar C. Adlawan, RND
References:
- VITAMIN K
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/supplement-guide-vitamin-k
- Health benefits and sources of vitamin K
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219867
- How Do You Meet Your Vitamin K Requirements?
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-high-in-vitamin-k#TOC_TITLE_HDR_8
- Vitamin K
