Vitamins help your body perform numerous vital functions. There are 13 essential vitamins that your body needs but is unable to produce. Most commonly you obtain these vitamins from your diet, but some people will need to take vitamin supplements in order to meet their daily recommended allowance. Vitamin K is one of the essential vitamins you need as it is very important to the body.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble compound that can be stored in the liver and the body's fatty tissue. Your body needs vitamin K so that blood will clot properly, the American Cancer Society reports. There are three basic forms of vitamin K. Vitamin K-1, also known as phylloquinone, is the natural form of vitamin K found in many vegetables. Vitamin K-2, or menaquinones, are found in fermented products. Vitamin K-3 is a synthetic form of vitamin K that is not given to humans. Only vitamin K-1 is currently being marketed in the United States as a dietary supplement.
Function in the Body
Vitamin K gets its name from its German name, Koagulationsvitamin. As the name implies, vitamin K plays an important role in helping the blood clot, or coagulate, according to MedlinePlus, a service of the National Institutes of Health. The liver is responsible for producing proteins that enable blood to clot. These proteins cannot be made unless the body has an adequate supply of vitamin K. Thus, vitamin K can be used to decrease the risk of bleeding in patients suffering from liver disease or vitamin K deficiency.
Furthermore, some patients undergoing treatment with anticoagulants, such as warfarin, may need vitamin K treatment. In these patients, warfarin was given to prevent excessive blood clots. However, if the dose of warfarin is too large, these patients will develop excessive, sometimes fatal, bleeding. Vitamin K is given to prevent this complication of warfarin use.
Vitamin K Deficiency
As a fat-soluble vitamin, vitamin K is stored in large amounts within the body. This makes vitamin K deficiency a rare occurrence. Those at risk of vitamin K deficiency include people with liver disease, problems absorbing fat and newborns. Some symptoms of vitamin K deficiency include easy bruising, bleeding gums, frequent nosebleeds, blood in the urine or stool and heavy menses. Some newborns may experience profuse bleeding within the skull, which can lead to death, the Linus Pauling Institute warns. The treatment for vitamin K deficiency is high doses of vitamin K. In fact all newborns in the United States receive an injection of vitamin K soon after birth.
Sources of Vitamin K
Aside from supplements containing vitamin K, you can get the vitamin from certain foods. Beef liver, turnips, broccoli, kale, spinach, green tea and lettuce all contain vitamin K. Dark green vegetables are abundant in vitamin K due to their chlorophyll content, the University of Maryland Medical Center reports.
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