Corn & Vitamin K

Vitamin K, or niacin, is important to the body's blood-clotting ability, to regulate digestion, promote healthy gums and teeth and assist cardiovascular function. If you're looking to increase your intake of vitamin K, corn is not a good option. For example, when corn was first used as a staple food in the late 19th century, an epidemic of pellagra, an often fatal disease with skin lesions, diarrhea and nerve deterioration, developed from a niacin deficiency.

Identification

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin important for regulating the coagulation of blood that prevents uncontrolled clotting and excessive bleeding or hemorrhage. Vitamin K is also associated with soft tissue and blood vessel health as well as mineralization of bone and cartilage. With its ability to metabolize calcium in bones and tissue, vitamin K may lower the risk of osteoporosis. Symptoms of vitamin K deficiency include easy bruising and nosebleeds, bleeding gums, blood in urine or stool and unusually heavy menstrual bleeding. According to Oregon State University, in infants, vitamin K deficiency may cause life-threatening bleeding in the skull.

Nutrition in Corn

Vitamin K is rapidly depleted from your body, so it requires adequate daily intake from food. The recommended Daily Value, or DV, for adult males is 120 mcg -- 90 mcg for women. Corn is not considered a major source of vitamin K. Per 100 g, sweet yellow and white corn contain .3 mcg, white cornmeal contains .4 mcg and creamed corn contains no vitamin K. Corn oil, used for salads and baking, contains 1.9 mcg per 100 g. Additional nutritional content of one cup of corn includes 16 g of protein, 7.9 g total fat, 123 g carbohydrates, 12 g fiber, minerals -- calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus -- and vitamins A and B, according to USDA National Nutrient Database. Although corn is very low in niacin, it was discovered that when cooked with lime, the body increased absorption of vitamin K from the corn, according to the reference volume of Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford.

Drug Interaction

Before beginning to supplement your diet with vitamin K -- or foods rich in vitamin K -- consult your doctor. Vitamin K can interact with some drugs including anti-coagulants or seizure medications. Vitamin K may interfere with warfarin and its ability to thin blood, according to the "Journal of Lipid Research," in 2001. Since corn is low in vitamin K, corn oil is a good substitute for fat and cooking oils that contain higher levels of the vitamin, such as margarine, olive oil or mayonnaise.

Bone Health

Some proteins depend on vitamin K for bone health, which may help prevent bone fractures and osteoporosis. The "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" reported a 10 year trial, beginning in 1984, by the Nurses' Health Study that investigated the association between high intakes of vitamin K in food and a lower risk of hip fracture in women. The study concluded that vitamin K plays an active role in bone health, resulting in improved bone density in middle-aged and older women.

Cancer

Vitamin K may prevent some types of cancer, especially in the lymphatic system. According to United Press International, Dr. James Cerhan from the Mayo Clinic reported that the risk of developing cancer of the immune system, or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, was reduced by approximately 45 percent with an increased intake of vitamin K. The study surveyed the diets of 603 non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients and 1,007 cancer-free controls.