Health care specialists classify calcium and vitamin K as essential nutrients. Your body requires such compounds to work correctly and remain healthy, just as it needs food and water. Although essential nutrients do not supply your body with energy, unlike food, they do contribute to numerous crucial biological processes. Some processes help your body meet energy needs. Others -- including those involving calcium and vitamin K -- promote normal growth, development and functioning.
Features
The human body contains more calcium than any other mineral. Most abundant in bones and teeth, calcium also exists in your blood, bodily fluids, nerves and tissue. Dietary sources of the mineral range from dairy products to beans, green vegetables, nuts and foods fortified with the nutrient. Vitamin K occurs in certain foods, and your body produces it through bacterial activity in the intestines. Foods containing ample vitamin K include cheddar cheese, green tea, oats, soybeans and vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and spinach. Instead of relying on dietary supplements to meet the daily requirements for each nutrient, health care professionals recommend consuming foods with substantial calcium and vitamin K.
Calcium Functions
Your bones and teeth would not become strong and well-formed without calcium. An adequate amount of the mineral is especially crucial for children and teenagers as their bodies grow. Adults require calcium as well to maintain sturdy bones and prevent osteoporosis and osteopenia, two conditions that weaken bones and increase their risk of breaking. Pregnant women need the mineral to produce breast milk and help their unborn children develop properly. In addition, calcium helps your heart beat normally, your glands release chemicals such as hormones, your muscles contract and relax, and your nerves receive and send impulses.
Vitamin K Functions
Although calcium is best known for its prominent role in bone and tooth health, it shares an important function with vitamin K: Both nutrients enable your blood to clot, or coagulate, normally. In fact, your blood requires vitamin K to clot, and health care providers use the nutrient to treat conditions that interfere with coagulation. People who have such disorders can develop abnormal bleeding and bruise easily or frequently, as can individuals with insufficient levels of vitamin K in their body. Further proven uses of vitamin K include preventing newborns from bleeding excessively and treating individuals fed intravenously or prescribed oral antibiotics for long periods.
Potential Uses
Some medical specialists believe vitamin K and calcium may have yet another function in common: contributing to strong bones and impeding the development of osteoporosis, particularly in elderly people. Yet, this potential benefit of vitamin K requires confirmation through additional investigation as of 2011, notes the National Institutes of Health. Various scientists suspect vitamin K may decrease your chances of developing cancer, as well. The need for further research applies to this possible use of the nutrient also, according to St. John Providence Health System.
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