Vitamins are essential to your body's ability to function. There are 13 essential vitamins that your body must get everyday. Vitamin K is one of the essential vitamins because your body uses it for important functions such as blood clotting. Vitamin K must be consumed each day through the foods that you eat because your body is not able to make the vitamin on its own.
Function of Vitamin K
Vitamin K is sometimes referred to as the clotting vitamin, because without it blood would not clot. The Harvard School of Public Health states that vitamin K helps your body make four of the 13 proteins needed for blood clotting. Vitamin K is so important to blood clotting, that people who take anticoagulants such as warfarin must be careful to keep their vitamin K intake stable or they interfere with how the medications work. Vitamin K is also used by your body in the maintenance of healthy bones and tissues.
Sources
Vitamin K is found in plants such as green vegetables and dark berries. Some good sources of green vegetables include kale, collard greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and parsley. The Harvard School of Public Health states that you should consume at least 120 mcg of vitamin K if you are male and 90 mcg if you are female. When you were a newborn baby, you may have received a vitamin K shot, because newborns are born with low levels of vitamin K.
Vitamin K Deficiency
If you do not get enough vitamin K then you will have trouble clotting your blood and you may notice bruising and bleeding. The deficiency is rare and it can occur if you do not eat enough foods that contain vitamin K or if your body has difficulty absorbing the vitamin from your intestinal tract. Vitamin K deficiency can also occur after long-term treatment with antibiotics.
Considerations
The best way to get enough vitamin K in your diet is to eat a balanced diet with a variety of foods. In some cases, you may need to take a daily multivitamin for optimal health. The Harvard School of Public Health states that some, but not all, multivitamins contain a small amount of vitamin K. If you are on blood thinning medication then you need to talk with your doctor about how much vitamin K you should consume each day.
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