VITAMIN K

Chemical formula/structure

- C21H42O2

Natural Sources of this nutrient in foods

- Vitamin K is found in cabbage, cauliflower, spinach and other green leafy vegetables, cereals, soybeans, and other vegetables. The main source of vitamin K comes from bacteria in the large intestine. We also get Vitamin K from meats, and fruits.

How is it used by the body?

- Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin. It is involved in creating the important prothrombin, a very important blood clotting factor. Vitamin K can be made in the intestines by bacteria. The ability to bind calcium ions (Ca2+) is required for clotting. Vitamin K makes it possible for calcium ions to bond. Vitamin K clotting factors are synthesized in the liver.

Effects if this Nutrient is not present

- Blood cannot clot, nosebleeds, internal hemorrhaging. Vitamin K is known as the clotting vitamin, because without it blood would not clot. Some studies indicate that it helps in maintaining strong bones in the elderly. If you take too much of it, flushing and sweating can occur. Vitamin K deficiency syndrome is more likely to occur in new born babies than in adults. Vitamin K deficiency in newborns is a disease known as hemorrhagic disease of the newborn.

SOURCES

http://www.whyvitamins.com/vitamins/vitamin-k-phytonadione.html

http://www.ecu.edu/fammed/resources/pdfs/nutrition/anticoagulants_%20vitamink.pdf

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002407.htm

http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/misc_topics/vitamink.html

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