Table of Contents
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.
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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.