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What it does for you
Vitamin K helps your blood clot. It also plays an important role in producing the proteins that keep your teeth and bones healthy.
Which foods have vitamin K?
Broccoli, brussels sprouts, yoghurt, green cabbage, alfalfa, egg yolk, oils such as soya bean oil and fish liver oil, and kelp.
How much vitamin K do you need?
The adequate intake (AI) for vitamin K is 120 microgram per day for male adults and 90 microgram per day for female adults.
This vitamin is seldom found in supplements as your body makes its
own. The only people that need supplementation are those who’ve had
large sections of their bowel removed, or people with digestive
absorption problems.
How much vitamin K is too much?
Massive doses of vitamin K
in supplements (at least 1000 times the RDA) can lead to a build-up in
the body, causing liver damage and problems such as jaundice in infants
and children.
Signs of vitamin K deficiency
Heavy blood loss during
menstruation can be alleviated by taking vitamin K. Post-menopausal
women who lose calcium in their urine can halt the loss by taking
vitamin K. It can also alleviate nausea during pregnancy. Blood-thinning
drugs can inhibit the absorption of vitamin K.
Research on vitamin K
Vitamin K can help patients recover from
surgery. Newborn babies are now given vitamin K injections as a matter
of course, to improve their blood clotting abilities.
