What Does Vitamin K Do and Why is it Important to Know?

So you may have heard about a Vitamin and know you want to know what does Vitamin K do? Properly, 1st let's define what a vitamin is. A Vitamin is actually a key nutrient that the body needs in little amounts to grow and remain powerful. Vitamin K is actually a fat soluble vitamin (it truly is stored within the body), obtainable in foods and manufactured by intestinal bacteria.

It consists of a group of compounds called vitamin K1, K2, K3 or K4.

 K1 (phylloquinone) is present naturally in plants.
 K2 (menaquinone) is made by bacteria within the intestinal tract of humans and animals.
 K3 (menadione) is man made.
 K4 (menadiol) is man made. It is usually used by intestinal bacteria to make K2.
 In contrast to the fat-soluble compounds K1, K2 and K3, K4 are water-soluble.

Vitamin K is required for

 Appropriate bone growth
 Blood coagulation, accomplishing this by helping the body transport calcium
 To treat overdoses of the drug warfarin
 Protects the heart

So what precisely does Vitamin K do? It protects us from excessive bleeding when we get cut. It protects us when we get hit or are injured to not bleed internally. It really is used by the body within the formation of prothrombin and other blood clotting proteins. Vitamin K is also required for the biosynthesis of some proteins found in plasma, bone and kidneys

If you have had a stroke or are high risk for strokes then you could be on a drug called Coumadin (Warfarin) which is referred to as a blood thinner. For anyone who is on this medication you should avoid blood thickening foods high in Vitamin K. Vitamin K will decrease the action of Coumadin for that reason its value as a stroke preventer will probably be decreased.

Most vitamin K from food sources is obtained from leafy green vegetables (including those in the accompanying chart) and from four vegetable oils, including olive oil and soybean oil. Beef liver and green tea is also sources of vitamin K.

So now you know the answer to "What does Vitamin K do and why is it vital to know?" This is just a little component of what are body needs to be properly. The key to well becoming would be to research and to apply what you know.