The world of vitamins and nutrients can be overwhelming. What to eat, how much, what does it contain? These are all common questions that may run through your mind. Fortunately, there are many foods available that provide you with multiple vitamins and nutrients that are essential to your overall health. Although they are sometimes found in the same foods, vitamin K and potassium serve very different functions in your body. Without these two nutrients your body wouldn't have the ability to grow, function, maintain strength or repair itself.
Vitamin K Function
Without vitamin K your blood would not have the ability to clot. The clotting aspect is probably the most important function vitamin K serves, however; it is also important to the structure and cells of your body. Vitamin K helps to maintain strong bones and teeth. Vitamin K is also found throughout the nervous system and aids in the growth of cells. A deficiency in vitamin K will result in an impaired ability to clot. Symptoms can be nosebleeds, easy bruising and blood in urine or stool.
Potassium Function
The element potassium's primary function is growth and maintenance in your body. Potassium is required to keep a healthy water balance between cells and bodily fluids. In addition, it also plays a role in heart function and muscle contraction. You can develop conditions from having either too much or too little potassium in your body. The goal is to maintain a healthy potassium balance. The right balance of potassium is associated with how much sodium and magnesium is in your blood. Too much sodium increases your need for potassium.
Vitamin K Rich Foods
For healthy adults about 90 mcg of vitamin K are recommended per day. Vitamin K is most frequently found in food sources such as cabbage, cauliflower, leafy vegetables, cereals, soybeans and a number of other vegetables. Eating a few of these sources every day can help you achieve proper vitamin K levels. One cup of spinach has about 145 mcg and broccoli has 220 mcg of vitamin K. As you can see, incorporating a serving can be enough to meet your daily needs.
Potassium Rich Foods
The average adult needs about 2,000 mg of potassium a day. If you consume a sodium-rich diet, you may need even more. You can find the most potassium in a number of different fruits and vegetables. Bananas, potatoes, oranges, tomatoes, raisins, spinach and almonds are all potassium-rich food sources. A banana contains about 422 mg and an ounce of almonds contains about 200 mg of potassium. You will need to consume several sources of potassium throughout your day to get your required amount. Have a glass of orange juice with breakfast or top your cereal or oatmeal with banana slices to get an added serving of potassium.
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