While our fuel largely comes from three major groups: carbs, fat and proteins, there is no way we can neglect other major players in our body’s sustenance: vitamins. In the category of vitamins, the most underrated vitamin, as statistics show, is Vitamin K. Let’s learn more about it today.
There are 2 types of Vitamin K: K1 and K2. Structurally, both vitamin are almost identical but vary in their absorption rates and food sources. While K1 is more abundantly available in leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, etc.), K2 is more richly present in products of bacterial fermentation like yogurt. Human body absorbs only 10% of all available vitamin K1 from ingested food but can absorb almost all available vitamin K2 during digestion. Why is vitamin K important?
Like any other vitamin, vitamin K has a long list of benefits for the human body. It is an essential vitamin and its deficiency can not only cause your system to be unbalanced, but also cause diseases. Here are some noteworthy benefits of vitamin K:
Vitamin K regulates the coagulation cascade of your blood, and maintains a balance between blood fluidity and coagulability. Without sufficient vitamin K, your coagulation profile can shift drastically and enough vitamin K is required to ensure that your blood’s clotting factors are activated when needed.
- Vitamin K is extremely important for your bone health: it activates and improves the function of bone proteins called ‘osteoclastin’ to inhibit and regulate calcification of bones to maintain a critical balance between bone formation and bone resorption.
- Research has shown that vitamin K, in fact, reduces risk of cardiovascular events in late life. It does so by minimizing arterial calcification by mobilizing calcium into the bones instead of blood. Ample vitamin K can also reduce risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease by discouraging plaque formation in the brain.
From the benefits above, it is evident that vitamin K is an important part of human health, and must be taken optimally in daily meals. Vitamin K1 should be consumed at least 200 grams and 350-500 micro-grams of vitamin K2 must be consumed per day. Of course, efforts should be made to gain maximum vitamin supply from food itself, but if you are deficient, you can talk to your doctor about supplementation. If you’re taking special medications, such as aspirin or quinine, you daily requirement of vitamin K may be altered, and you should check this with your doctor.If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take vitamin K supplements after your physician’s consultation as their might be some considerations in special cases.
