It’s green, it’s valuable, and it can vastly improve your quality of living. One more hint: It’s not money. No, this stuff actually does grow on trees. It’s called Vitamin K and although you don’t hear about it as often as the standard A-through-E vitamins, researchers are discovering more and more of its invaluable functions.  The truth is, Vitamin K is packed with nutrients and benefits for almost anyone who ingests it.

Vitamin K will provide you with health rather than wealth, but there’s no mistaking that it’s loaded with benefits. Aside from its many already proven functions, researchers now believe that Vitamin K prevents osteoporosis, the disease that weakens the bones, a function that until now seemed primarily in calcium’s hands.  Vitamin K + Calcium, in fact, might be your best bet in the fight against osteoporosis, some research suggests.

The fat-soluble vitamin is essential for many suffering health problems, particularly those experiencing birth complications or bleeding disorders. Vitamin K has been linked to growth and development of the new-born and has also aided those with intestinal malfunctions and those who suffer frequent nosebleeds and excessive bleeding.  Vitamin K supplementation should never be used with newborns, however (unless specifically directed by a physician).

Everybody needs Vitamin K in his or her system. Deficiency in this vitamin will affect the development process of infants, leading to problems like Hemorrhagic disease, which is characterized by abnormal bleeding through the intestines or umbilical cord. In adults, these deficiencies lead to severe blood clotting, particularly in the stomach, and can lead to considerable intestinal complications.  The lack of Vitamin K can seen as akin to Vitamin A through E deficiencies – all of the vitamins and minerals are necessary and essential to a healthy life  Vitamins K foods commonly include green leaf-like sources such as spinach, green tea, cabbage, turnip greens, and brussels sprouts. Other foods, like alfalfa, soybeans, cheddar cheese, oats, and cauliflower are also rich on the vitamin. So if you’re a big salad eater, chances are that you’re getting a very healthy dose of Vitamin K on a pretty regular basis.

While Vitamin K is important and beneficial to the system, it is possible to have too much.  Overdoses of Vitamin K, which are extremely rare, have been linked to brain damage in infants and toddlers, and liver malfunctions in adults. Aside from the aforementioned natural sources, Vitamin K is also available in tablets and should be taken with meals – or ingested an hour after the completion of a meal.

People that are on blood thinning or anticoagulant drugs after a stroke or surgery should limit intake of Vitamin K rich foods. Because Vitamin K primarily promotes blood clotting, you need to ask your doctor if you should eat more foods low in Vitamin K.

if you’re looking to restrict your daily of intake ofVitamin K rich foods, then you must avoid assorted green and leafy veg. If those foods are not on your favorite foods list, then you are all the better. 

the task of Vitamin K in coagulation or clotting of the blood was one of the 1st known functions. Because of lack of physical activity these patients are routinely at high risk for clotting particularly in the legs. As mentioned, Vitamin K essentially plays an integral role in the synthesis of several proteins that control both, coagulation and anti coagulation of our blood. 

As debated earlier, Vitamin K has been shown to increase bone density in the old. 

due to these hazards, people on anticoagulant drugs should see their doctors regularly. At first, it is critical the patient is monitored so the physician is able to pinpoint the correct dose. Patients also have to be monitored when the employment of the drug is abandoned, because it will take time for the body to revive the normal clotting capability. 

In addition, there are three artificial forms, delegated K3, K4, and K5. 

Because Vitamin K can be simply found in foods and is also naturally produced by bacteria that line the stomach tract, cases of Vitamin K deficiency are very rare. However, it does happen. If you bruise or bleed straightforward, you may be deficient. 

Vitamin k is such a vital part of proper clotting that many of the popular manufactures of rodent poisons have taken virtue of this data. The rodents simply die from Vitamin K deficiency and bleed to death. Some of the opponents are so effective, that a single feeding of the poison, can not only kill the rodent, but also cause bleeding in animals, like a moggy or dog, that eat the dead rodent. 

Our chief source of Vitamin K is actually the synthesis by the bacteria natural in our intestinal lining. , in humans it is very difficult to become deficient, even with a low intake of diet vitamin K. However, we will be able to become deficient if the vitamin does not make it from our digestive system to our blood stream. 

The liver produces bile acids that are secreted into the little intestines where they play a critical role in assimilation of lipids. These lipids are important because they’re the vehicles by which “Vitamin K” is absorbed into our blood stream. Liver sicknesses that decrease the production of bile greatly scale back the absorption of Vitamin K, which lead to Vitamin K deficiency. No matter how much Vitamin K is produce in the gastrointestinal lining or ingested through diet, without proper bile production and lipid assimilation, the body will become deficient. So that is another good reason to look after your liver. 

Antibiotics, that are ingested to treat bacterial infections, not only kill harmful bacteria in our bodies, but also dump the good bacteria in our intestines that produce our Vitamin K. To help reestablish the bacteria in you intestines after a course of antibiotics, it is sometimes recommended that you eat yogurt with active cultures. There are probiotic supplements that will be available at pharmacies and health food stores. 

Foods high in Vitamin K need to be steered clear of by folks taking blood thinners. Today, it is clear that Vitamin K is vital to our health. However, stay tuned as we continue to learn more about how precisely Vitamin K plays a role in our daily function and our long-term health.