Vitamin K Foods

Vitamin K is primarily known as the blood clotting vitamin. It is a fat-soluble vitamin that is stored in the body’s liver and fatty tissues. It presents itself in two natural forms K1 and K2. Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone or phytonadione) is found in plants and Vitamin K2 (a menaquinone) is found from animal sources and is synthesized by bacteria found in naturally in the intestines. Vitamin K3 (menadione) is a synthetic version of Vitamin K. People using blood thinners such as Coumadin need to carefully monitor their Vitamin K because the drug is designed to inhibit the blood clotting function of the vitamin.

More Parents Nixing Anti-Bleeding Shots for Their Newborns

Vitamin K injections, given after birth, can prevent potentially fatal hemorrhaging in infants, but anti-vax parents are extending their fears into a general rejection of all shots.

Oral Vitamin K versus Vitamin K Shot for Newborns

At first blush, allowing the vitamin K shot seems to be a no brainer. Safety of this precious, helpless little being is of paramount importance and questioning the necessity of this shot seems ludicrous. Since questioning the unquestionable is something I seem to have a knack for, let’s have at it. Is the vitamin K shot really of any value?

Should your baby get a vitamin K shot at birth? Absolutely.

Misinformation and 'vaccine fears' are causing parents to forgo a safe solution to a dangerous newborn vitamin deficiency.

The Anti-Vaccination Movement Has Become an Anti-Vitamin Movement, and Babies Are Suffering

It’s hard to believe it was possible, but anti-vaccination fanaticism has taken a darker turn, as Chris Mooney reports for Mother Jones: Now, it's not just vaccines that parents are foolishly rejecting for their children, but also a simple injection of vitamin K that has been a standard part of newborn care since the 1960s.

The Littlest Victims of Anti-Science Rhetoric

Vitamin K deficiency is rare in adults, but it doesn’t cross the placental barrier except in limited amounts, so newborn babies are generally low in it. That’s why it’s been a routine injection for infants for more than 50 years—while vitamin K deficiency is not as big a risk as other problems, the shot is essentially 100 percent effective, and is quite safe. Mind you, this is not a vaccine, which contains minuscule doses of killed or severely weakened microbes to prime the immune system. It’s a shot of a critical vitamin.

Vitamin K and Natto - What's the Connection?

Natto is one of the richest sources of vitamin K2, which is important for bone and heart health. Here's what you need to know about this little-known nutrient and even lesser-known food source

Vitamin K Deficiency

Vitamin K is found in green leafy vegetables and oils, such as olive, cotton seed, and soya bean. Other foods rich in vitamin K are green peas and beans, watercress, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, oats and whole wheat. Vitamin K is also synthesised by colonic bacteria. Vitamin K is an essential lipid-soluble vitamin. It is a co-factor in the synthesis of clotting factors II, VII, IX and X.

Vitamin K Deficiency and How to Reverse Naturally

Vitamin K is an essential fat-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in bone and heart health. It is one of the main vitamins involved in bone mineralization and blood clotting, but also helps to maintain brain function, a healthy metabolism, and to protect against cancer.

Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding

Vitamin K is a substance that our body needs to form clots and to stop bleeding. We get vitamin K from the food we eat. Some vitamin K is also made by the good bacteria that live in our intestines. Babies are born with very small amounts of vitamin K stored in their bodies, which can lead to serious bleeding problems if not supplemented.

Vitamin K: The “Forgotten Vitamin”

Vitamin K plays an incredibly important role in helping your body with blood clotting, along with its heart and bone benefits. The good news is, most healthy people get plenty of Vitamin K directly through their diet. But, it is often referred to as “the Forgotten Vitamin” because it doesn’t seem to get talked about nearly as much as the rest of its vitamin family.

Vitamin K: Which Foods It Is In And Why It's Important

Vitamin K's main role in our body is in blood coagulation (clotting), but it is also involved in bone metabolism, cell growth and vascular health, which is the health of our arteries and veins." And like so many of the other vitamins, the main source is the green leafy stuff. Popeye was really onto something.

Where We Stand: Administration of Vitamin K

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends: 1.Vitamin K should be given to all newborn infants as a single, intramuscular dose of 0.5 to 1 mg. 2.Additional research should be conducted on the efficacy, safety, and bioavailability of oral vitamin K to prevent late vitamin K deficiency bleeding. 3.Health care professionals should promote awareness among families of the risks of late vitamin K deficiency bleeding associated with inadequate vitamin K prophylaxis from current oral dosage regimens, particularly for newborns who are breastfed.

Why are people buying Vitamin K supplements?

Dr Sarah Jarvis, a general practitioner and regular guest on the BBC's The One Show, says there is no evidence to suggest that people aren't getting enough Vitamin K. "I can see no reason why normal healthy people would need a Vitamin K supplement or any supplement - with the exception perhaps of Vitamin D - it's far better to have a balanced healthy diet," she says.