Key Facts about Vitamin K

About Vitamin K:

• It is a fat-soluble vitamin that comes in two forms.
  • The main type is called phylloquinone (Vitamin K1), found in green leafy vegetables like collard greens, kale, and spinach.
  • The other type, menaquinones (Vitamin K2), are found in some animal foods and fermented foods.
    • Menaquinones can also be produced by bacteria in the human body.
  • Function:
    • Vitamin K is known as the clotting vitamin.
    • The body needs vitamin K to make certain proteins in the liver that cause blood to clot. These proteins are called clotting factors.
    • Prothrombin is a vitamin K-dependent protein directly involved with blood clotting.
    • Vitamin K helps maintain strong bones in older adults. Osteocalcin is a protein that requires vitamin K to produce healthy bone tissue.
    • Researchers suggest that this vitamin has other benefits too, such as easing morning sickness and protecting cognitive functions, including thinking, memory, learning, and organizing skills.
    • It may also help protect heart health.

What is Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding (VKDB)?

• It is also known as haemorrhagic disease of the newborn.
• This is a bleeding disorder caused in babies when they don't have enough vitamin K to help their blood to clot.
• Newborns have low levels of vitamin K due to low amounts being transferred across the placenta during pregnancy, low amounts in breast milk, and not having enough gut bacteria to create vitamin K initially.
• The limited amount of blood clotting proteins at birth increases the risk of bleeding in infants if they are not given vitamin K supplements.