Your body performs countless chemical reactions each day that require certain vitamins and minerals in order to take place. Vitamin K is one of the 13 vitamins that your body must get each day in order to function properly. The advantages to consuming vitamin K each day include the ability to create healthy bones and tissues in your body.
Function
You need vitamin K because your body uses it for many important functions. The major function of is in the clotting of your blood. Vitamin K is responsible for making several proteins that your body uses to clot your blood. If you do not have vitamin K in your system, your body will not be able to stop the bleeding in your body. Vitamin K is also involved in building bone, and low levels of circulating vitamin K have been linked with low bone density.
Sources
Vitamin K is found in many foods and should be consumed each day. These foods include green, leafy vegetables such as kale, collard greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and parsley. Vitamin K is also found in dark berries, cereals, soybeans and commonly used cooking oils. The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) states that the current recommended daily intake for vitamin K is 120 micrograms for men and 90 micrograms for women.
Deficiency
One major problem related to a vitamin K deficiency is the inability to clot your blood, which could result in your bleeding to death. Other symptoms include low bone density, which could lead to fractures of the hip or other bone-related problems. The HSPH reports that up to 75 percent of Americans do not get enough vitamin K from food.
Considerations
It is important to get vitamin K from food, but you can also get some from a daily supplement. If you are on blood-thinning medications, you need to talk with your doctor before you start a supplement, because vitamin K may interfere with your medication. If you are taking a multivitamin, be sure to check the contents, because not all multivitamins contain vitamin K.
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