Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin stored in your liver and fatty tissues. You need vitamin K to make proteins for healthy bones, tissues, blood and kidney function. Vitamin K also is instrumental in clotting blood. The recommended daily allowance of vitamin K for adults is 90mcg for women and 120mcg for men. Whenever the body stores vitamins, the risk of toxicity or overdose must be considered.
Blood Clots
Blood clot formation, or thrombosis, is a symptom of vitamin K toxicity. Since vitamin K helps to form clots that protect from profuse bleeding, too much of it could cause excessive clotting. Blood thinners---anticoagulants---are often prescribed for people who are at risk for clots. People taking these medicines must watch their intake of vitamin K, as it could interfere with their medication's ability to work properly. Thrombosis is considered a medical emergency. A blood clot in a leg for example, can break off and travel to the lungs, heart or brain and cause severe injury or death.
Kidney Tubal Degeneration
The kidneys rid the body of waste products in blood. They are the primary filters for sifting out unused by-products of the foods you eat and the vitamins you ingest, and this waste is combined with extra water to make urine, which is discarded from the body. If the kidneys are not functioning properly and cannot process high levels of vitamin K, it may be retained and cause K toxicity. This can lead to kidney damage, especially to the cells lining the urinary tubes. These cells can degenerate, clog the tubes and cause serious damage.
Jaundice
Jaundice of the newborn is sometimes caused by high doses of vitamin K, according to Giving Birth Naturally, a website administered by Catherine Beier, who serves on the Advisory Board of the International Academy of Baby Planner Professionals. Jaundice stains the skin and the whites of the eyes a yellowish color, and is a sign of poor liver function, which can be the case with newborns. As the baby begins to process food and waste on his own, the liver will begin to eliminate waste. Until then, too much K can overpower the liver and cause the chemical, billirubin to elevate, which will cause the jaundice.
Damage to Cell Membranes
Vitamin K is broken down into three different categories. K1 and K2---phylloquine and menaquinone---are not responsible for toxic effects of vitamin K. Synthetic vitamin K3, or menadione and its derivatives, can interfere with a natural, essential antioxidant in your body. According to Oregon State's Linus Pauling Institute, damage of cell membranes will occur with high levels of vitamin K: "Menadione injections have induced liver toxicity, jaundice and hemolytic anemia due to the rupture of red blood cells in infants."
Hemolytic Anemia in Infants
Newborns have very little vitamin K in their bodies at birth. This is a danger, as any significant bleeding could cause life-threatening effects. It is common practice to give newborns a shot of vitamin K within several hours of delivery. The amount of injectable vitamin K must be carefully monitored. According to the National Institutes of Health, "Excessive amounts of vitamin K supplementation in newborns may lead to serious complications, including hemolytic anemia," which is the destruction of red blood cells that carry oxygen and iron to the bloodstream.
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