Vitamin K, Vitamin K deficiency symptoms

Vitamin K is fat-soluble. The letter "K" derives from "koagulation”, also known as coagulation. It is the process of forming blood clot. Vitamin K is important for the functions of several proteins which involves blood clotting.

Vitamin K consists of two natural forms. Phylloquinone (K1 vitamin) is synthesized by plants. By utilizing repeating units of 5-carbon in the molecule side chain, a range of different forms of vitamin K is synthesized by bacteria.

These vitamin K forms are menaquinone-n. "N" is the representation of the no. of carbon units. K vitamin is also known as clotting vitamin. In the absence of vitamin K, blood cannot clot.
Studies have indicated that vitamin K helps the elderly maintain strong bones.

Foods that Contain Vitamin K

What are the foods that contain vitamin K? One of the foods that contain high vitamin K is green vegetables, such as spinach, brassica cauliflower, swiss chard, brussels sprouts, and broccoli.

Some fruits, such as kiwifruit and avocado, are high in Vitamin K as well. As a benchmark: two tablespoons of parsley has 153% of the daily vitamin K recommendation.

Certain vegetable oils contain vitamin K. An example is soybean oil. This will require large caloric consumption of vitamin K to meet the recommended levels of USDA.

Vitamin K Deficiency

Deficiency in vitamin K causes blood clotting impairment. Laboratory tests are demonstrated to measure the clotting time.
Deficiency in vitamin K symptoms include easy bleeding and bruising that are manifested as bleeding gums, nosebleeds, blood in urine, tarry black stools, blood in stools, or very heavy menstrual bleeding.

Vitamin K deficiency in infants can cause life-threatening bleeding in the skull.

Common Misconception of Vitamin K

Is vitamin K potassium? This is a common mistake that people often make. Vitamin K, also known as Phylloquinone, promotes blood clotting. In contrast, potassium is a periodic “K” symbol chemical element. Vitamin K and potassium are two different things.

External links
wikipedia: Vitamin K