About Vitamin K

Signs of Vitamin K Deficiency:

• Abnormal and/or internal bleeding
• Easy bruising, appearance of ruptured capillaries, etc.

Health Concerns – What Vitamin K Is Used For:

• Excessive menstrual bleeding
• Hemorrhagic disease of newborns
• Osteoporosis

What Vitamin K Does:

• Acts as an antiparasitic for intestinal worms
• Aids in converting glucose into glycogen for storage in the liver
• Aids in promoting longevity
• Bone formation and repair
• Helps prevent cancers that target the inner linings of the organs
• Helps prevent osteoporosis
• Helps heal broken blood vessels in the eye
• Helps in cirrhosis and jaundice of the liver
• Important role in the intestines
• May increase resistance to infection in children
• Necessary for blood clotting
• Necessary for the synthesis of osteocalcin, the protein in bone tissue on which calcium crystallizes
• Reduces excessive menstruation

FOOD SOURCES for Vitamin K:

• Asparagus
• Blackstrap molasses
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Dark green leafy vegetables
• Egg yolks
• Green peas
• Green beans
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Liver
• Oatmeal
• Oats
• Rye
• Safflower oil
• Sea vegetables
• Seafood
• Soybeans
• Spinach
• Sprouts
• Turnip greens
• Watercress
• Whole wheat

Herb Sources for Vitamin K:

• Alfalfa
• Green tea
• Kelp
• Nettle
• Oat straw
• Shepherd’s purse

Other Sources and Name Brands for Vitamin K:

Thompson brand makes a 100 IU Vitamin K capsule that I use most commonly for perimenopausal women who can’t stop bleeding. I also carry injectable vitamin K as a veterinarian for animals that have gotten in to warfarin, rat poisoning, d-CON, have eaten rodents that have ingested d-CON products, and for pet who have gotten into and eaten birth control pills, blood thinners or coumadin. It is essential that exposed animals be seen by a veterinarian to get this injection (at least to start off) and then give the animal Vitamin K pills until the danger time has passed and the animal is safe from bleeding to death internally.

Cautions & Comments Regarding Vitamin K: 

• Vitamin K exists in three forms:
• Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone or phytonactone)
• Vitamin K2 (a family of substances called menoquinones) occurring naturally and
• Vitamin K3 (menadione), a synthetic substance
• Antibiotics interfere with the absorption of vitamin K
• Do not take large doses of synthetic vitamin K during the last few weeks of pregnancy.  It can result in a toxic reaction in the newborn
• Megadoses of this vitamin can accumulate in the body and can cause flushing and sweating
• Vitamin K interferes with the action of some prescription blood thinners.