Echinacea & Vitamin K

Echinacea is a perennial herb, and its leaves and roots have been used for over 400 years as a general "cure-all" by some Native Americans. Vitamin K plays an important role in your body and it is an essential nutrient. Echinacea and vitamin K have little in common. Echinacea is an optional addition to your diet that is used to boost immunity, while vitamin K is an essential vitamin that does not target your immune system but is required to sustain life.

Echinacea Active Ingredients

Phytochemicals are potent antioxidant chemicals that are found naturally in plants and are thought to help trigger immune system activity and prevent disease in humans. The active ingredients in echinacea are thought to be volatile oils as well as the phytochemicals -- glycoproteins, flavanoids and polysaccharides.

Echinacea and Immunity

Echinacea is most commonly taken for its immune boosting properties. According to Phyllis Balch in her book "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" echinacea has antiviral and antibacterial properties and helps to prevent and treat a variety of infections such as urinary tract, yeast and ear infections. It is also commonly used to prevent, shorten the duration of, and reduce the symptoms of, colds and flu.

List of Purported Echinacea Benefits

Echinacea was traditionally used to treat scarlet fever, syphilis, malaria, blood poisoning and all types of infections and wounds. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that echinacea relieves pain, reduces inflammation and prevents free-radical induced damage in your body. Other uses for echinacea include the treatment of allergies, athletes foot, colic, sinusitis and snakebites. Many of these uses are based on anecdotal evidence, however, and not solid scientific research.

Vitamin K Basics

Vitamin K is found in foods such as asparagus, molasses, broccoli, green leafy vegetables, egg yolk, oats, soybeans and yoghurt. Vitamin K is also synthesized in your gut, by health bacteria. It is best known for its role in helping the blood to clot and therefore prevent hemorrhaging, which is a fatal conditioned characterized by uncontrolled bleeding. In addition, vitamin K is required for the proper absorption of calcium and it therefore plays an important role in bone health and may help to prevent osteoporosis.

Vitamin K Deficiency, Dosage and Precautions

Vitamin K deficiency is uncommon and supplementation is rarely required, however antibiotics can kill the bacteria that synthesize vitamin K and may therefore cause a deficiency. People with gallbladder disease, liver disease, inflammatory bowel disorders, serious burns, and individuals on blood thinning medications may also become deficient and benefit from vitamin K supplements. A deficiency of vitamin K can result in easy bruising, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, blood in the stool or urine, tarry black stools or very heavy menstrual bleeding. The recommended dose of vitamin K is 120 mcg for male adults and 90 mcg for female adults. Vitamin K and echinacea supplements can both cause side effects and may interact with certain medications, so talk to your doctor before supplementing with them.