Vitamin K comes from the German word “koagulation.” Coagulation is a process that allows the blood to clot. In this sense, vitamin K is used to thicken the blood and maintain the proteins necessary to cause blood clotting. Deficiencies can cause bleeding issues and vitamin K has been given to infants in order to prevent hemorrhagic disease, or vitamin K deficient bleeding.
What is Vitamin K?
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin stored in the liver and the body’s fat tissue. Its main functions are in blood clotting and thickening of the blood, as well as bone health. Vitamin K is acquired through a diet that includes such foods as beef liver, green tea, broccoli, kale, spinach, asparagus and dark green leaf lettuce. The chlorophyll within plants provides vitamin K. It also comes in supplement form and infants are given an injection of vitamin K at birth. However, as with any vitamin supplementation, consult your physician before taking vitamin K supplements to determine just how much you might need.
What Does It Do?
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, vitamin K reduces the risk of bleeding in liver disease, long-term antibiotic use and in some malabsorption conditions. When it comes to blood coagulation, or blood thickening and clotting, vitamin K works with coagulation proteins factors and is also essential with anticoagulation proteins. Vitamin K plays a role in proper bone health and low levels are usually found in people with osteoporosis. It works in correlation with the bone proteins osteocalcin and matrix-Gla, as well as certain ribosomal proteins.
Vitamin K Deficiency
Vitamin K deficiency can interfere with blood clotting and result in nosebleeds, bleeding gums, easy bruising, blood in the urine and stool, or extremely heavy menstrual periods. When your body is deficient in vitamin K, your blood is thinner and the chance of bleeding is higher. A severe condition known as intracranial hemorrhage, or bleeding within the skull, can also be a result in infants that are vitamin K deficient. In adults, vitamin K deficiency is uncommon, since a variety of foods contain it. If you take anticoagulant medication or have malabsorption conditions, you are at a higher risk for vitamin K deficiency.
Vitamin K and Infants
In infants, vitamin K is usually administered by injection at birth as a prophylaxis to prevent what is known as Hemorrhagic Disease of the Newborn, or vitamin K deficient bleeding where the blood is thin and the clotting factors are low. Due to a deficiency in vitamin K, intracranial bleeding occurs in the newborn and can result in death. This can happen as early as hours after birth, known as early onset hemorrhagic disease of the newborn, and is usually the result of the mother being on Coumadin or anti-seizure drugs. Classic Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn happens within the first week after birth and is most common in infants who are breastfed exclusively. Late onset hemorrhagic disease of the newborn is seen in infants that are between the ages of two weeks and two months. It is most common in infants who do not receive a prophylaxis dose of vitamin K at birth or infants who are from Asian descent. Treatment of this condition, according to Stanford School of Medicine is 1 mg of vitamin K administered by a subcutaneous injection or by IV in order to thicken the blood and aid in clotting.
References
- Metametrix Institute Blogs; Importance of Vitamin K Assessment; J. Alexander Bralley, PhD; August 17, 2009
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin K; Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD; June 18, 2009
- Colorado State; Vitamin K; R. Bowen; July 2, 2009
- Linus Pauling Institute; Vitamin K; Jane Higdon, PhD; May 2004
- Stanford School of Medicine; Guidelines for Vitamin K Prophylaxis; May 2006
- Medicine Plus; Hemorrhagic Disease of the Newborn; January 28, 2010
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