Vitamins are essential for our health and well-being. Indeed, they play an important role in many aspects of the proper functioning of our body, and this is true for each of them. If vitamin A and vitamin C are the vitamins that we know the most, vitamin K is among the most important for our body. It is therefore important to know more regarding it.
An essential vitamin for blood clotting
Vitamins are organic compounds that people need in small amounts to stay healthy. As far as human beings are concerned, most vitamins must come from food, because the body does not produce them or produces very little of them. Vitamins can generally be classified into two groups: water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins are those that cannot be stored by the human body and are naturally eliminated in the urine.
For this reason, people need a more regular supply of this type of vitamin. These include vitamins C and B. Fat-soluble vitamins, on the other hand, are stored in fatty tissue and the liver, and stores of these vitamins can remain in the body for days and sometimes months. The vitamin K is part of this group. Although this vitamin is not as well known as vitamins A, C and D, it is no less important. In fact, vitamin K plays an essential role in blood clotting and therefore in the prevention of bleeding.
Moreover, if this vitamin is called so, it is because the K in vitamin K stands for Koagulation, the Danish word for coagulation. The body needs vitamin K to produce prothrombin, an important protein for blood clotting. This protein also plays a role in bone metabolism and heart health. For a person who is healthy and lives under normal living conditions, there is no need to take vitamin K supplements, as the diet provides enough to maintain good health.
A vitamin easily found in our diet
But it’s not always the case. Generally, humans do not need a lot of vitamin K in their body, but a deficiency can be dangerous. Anyway, vitamin K deficiency is quite rare, and occurs especially following the administration of certain drugs that inhibit the growth of bacteria synthesizing this vitamin. Specific conditions, such as Crohn’s disease or severe malnutrition, can also lead to vitamin K deficiency. This deficiency also tends to be more common in children. It is important to note that before taking a vitamin K supplement, it is best to check with a doctor beforehand.
You should know that there are two types of vitamin K, vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. The main difference between these two types is their origin. Vitamin K1 comes mainly from vegetables leafy greens, while K2 is more abundant in fermented foods and some animal products. While vitamin K2 can be better absorbed by the body, K1 is more often used in medicinal vitamin K supplements.
