Vitamin K Benefits: Its Uses and Everything You Need To Know

Team AckoJan 17, 2024

Did you know that Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that is present in the intestines.

One of its most important functions is its role in blood clotting. However, it also has many other advantages and uses. Keep reading to learn more about Vitamin K benefits!

Contents

• What are the Advantages of Vitamin K?
  • 1. It improves heart health and blood flow
  • 2. It regulates blood clotting
  • 3. It regulates blood flow during periods 
  • 4. It prevents internal bleeding
  • 5. It can reduce menstrual pain
  • 6. It promotes skin health
• What are the Uses and Health Benefits of Vitamin K? 
  • 1. Helps maintain and regulate blood sugar levels
  • 2. Helps maintain and promote healthy bones
  • 3. Helps prevent and protect against easy bruising 
  • 4. Contributes to brain health and cognitive function
• Plan for Your Healthcare
• FAQs

What are the Advantages of Vitamin K?

Vitamin K helps prevent and reduce blood loss when the body undergoes injury. It also helps the body absorb the calcium present in food, which forms bones and keeps them healthy. Here is the range of advantages that Vitamin K offers:

1. It improves heart health and blood flow

Vitamin K prevents and reduces the risk of calcification in the arteries. This helps with blood flow and also prevents calcium from building up on the walls of the heart. This, in turn, reduces the risk of a heart attack or a stroke.

In general, increased intake of Vitamin K could lower health risks that occur from calcium build-up and deposits. It also reduces and regulates blood pressure by promoting healthy blood flow. 

2. It regulates blood clotting

One of the primary Vitamin K benefits is that it regulates blood clotting. It does so by helping with the process of transporting calcium around the body. It thus plays an important role in the clotting process when an injury leads to blood loss.

Further, it aids in the production of prothrombin, a protein that has a pivotal role in blood clotting. It contributes to the collection of prothrombin at the site of injury when there is a rupture in the blood vessels.

This helps with the action of the protein during clotting, which helps promote molecules in the cell membranes to come together.

Vitamin K also promotes blood circulation, which helps the blood clotting agents to travel to the site of injury. Besides, it is linked with platelet aggregation (collecting together), which is a part of the blood clotting process. 

3. It regulates blood flow during periods 

Vitamin K helps regulate the flow of blood during periods. Lack of adequate amounts of Vitamin K can cause excessive menstrual bleeding, leading to heavy blood loss, dizziness, weakness, and nutritional deficiency like anaemia. 

4. It prevents internal bleeding

One of the major Vitamin K benefits is that it helps reduce the risk of internal bleeding in various organs. By improving blood clotting and organ health with better nutrient absorption, it helps guard against the risk of organ bleeding.

This is especially the case with the liver, which can undergo internal bleeding due to various conditions (like jaundice), and long-term consumption of certain medications.

Additionally, lack of enough Vitamin K can lead to various problems in the digestive system, like:

- blockages,

- Crohn's disease

Colitis (which affects the intestines)

5. It can reduce menstrual pain

Vitamin K regulates the menstrual cycle and ensures that the hormones function well. It also manages the blood flow and reduces the risk of complications like excessive bleeding. In this way, it helps reduce menstrual pain. 

6. It promotes skin health

Vitamin K aids with skin issues that can occur due to the build-up of minerals in the body. This mineralisation leads to complications that damage the skin cells, resulting in reduced elasticity, wrinkles, and other skin issues.

Sufficient levels of Vitamin K help regulate the calcium levels in the body, keeping the skin wrinkle-free and protecting elasticity.

Vitamin K also contributes to the production of certain proteins that promote skin health and reduce issues like skin acne. 

What are the Uses and Health Benefits of Vitamin K? 

Vitamin K offers various health benefits and uses. Here are some of the main Vitamin K benefits: 

1. Helps maintain and regulate blood sugar levels

Vitamin K helps regulate blood sugar levels by supporting healthy pancreatic function, blood flow, and nutrient balance. It can also reduce the risk of developing diabetes. 

2. Helps maintain and promote healthy bones

Vitamin K plays an important role in bone health and the production of proteins that contribute to healthy and strong bones. These include osteocalcin (a Vitamin K protein).

Vitamin K is one of the major factors that affect the mineralisation of calcium, and the turnover of minerals in healthy bones.

Adequate amounts of Vitamin K are required to keep up the building, maintenance, replacement, and repair of bones and keep them strong.

Did you know that Vitamin K affects the enzymes that play a role in the formation of bone proteins? Higher levels of Vitamin K are associated with a lower risk of bone injuries like fractures.

3. Helps prevent and protect against easy bruising 

Vitamin K helps prevent and reduce the risk of easy bruising.

A deficiency of Vitamin K can lead to symptoms like increased bleeding and internal bleeding, resulting in bruising. It is considered to play a role in healthy bruising and prevent excessive or unusually long bruising. 

4. Contributes to brain health and cognitive function

Vitamin K benefits the brain by contributing to healthy brain development and cognitive function. It plays an important role in preventing degenerative conditions in older people by improving and preserving the memory function. 

Plan for Your Healthcare

Vitamin K plays an integral role in blood clotting and preventing internal bleeding. It helps maintain bone health and regulate calcium in the body. In addition to this, Vitamin K benefits your body in many other ways that help it stay healthy. 

For your current and long-term health, it's important to get the right nutrition. Additionally, it's important to ensure that you plan for your healthcare.

The best way to do this is with health insurance to help you with your medical expenses. The right health insurance can support you while also being affordable and accessible. ACKO offers health insurance plans with great premiums and hassle-free claims. Get started with ACKO today!

FAQs

What are the symptoms of Vitamin K deficiency?

The primary symptom of Vitamin K deficiency is unusually excessive bleeding. This bleeding may not always show just as a cut or wound. It may also take place in the form of easy bruising, blood clots, bleeding in the stools, and blood in the urine.

Vitamin K deficiency can also result in internal bleeding, such as bleeding in the mucous membranes in the lining of organs. Other symptoms include heavy and painful menstrual periods. It can also affect bone health, resulting in weak or brittle bones and loss of bone density.

Which vegetables are a source of Vitamin K?

Vegetables rich in Vitamin K include:

Green leafy vegetables

These are the best dietary source of Vitamin K. You can consume spinach, kale, mustard greens, asparagus, parsley, and other leafy greens like beet greens and turnip greens.

Other vegetables

Vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and celery are rich sources of Vitamin K.

What are some natural sources of Vitamin K?

Different kinds of food naturally contain Vitamin K. These include:

Soy products: Various soy products contain Vitamin K, like soybean and soya products like tofu or fermented cheese.

Grains: Grains like wheat germ, wheat bran, and oats are great sources of Vitamin K. 

Meat and Dairy Products: Certain kinds of meat (like chicken leg and breast) contain Vitamin K, as do dairy products like yoghurt and milk.

How to improve Vitamin K absorption?

Getting enough healthy fat in your diet helps your body to absorb Vitamin K better.

Along with natural sources of Vitamin K, it's a great idea to consume foods that are rich in healthy fats since it is a fat-soluble vitamin. This will help with the absorption of the Vitamin K you consume.

Can Vitamin K help with nausea during pregnancy?

Vitamin K benefits pregnant women and can help prevent issues like nausea and morning sickness. It can also help relieve symptoms of morning sickness if you are already facing it. Besides, Vitamin K keeps your blood and nutrients flowing to where they are needed, which is especially helpful during pregnancy.

Disclaimer: The content on this page is generic and shared only for informational and explanatory purposes. It is based on several secondary sources on the internet. As this content piece is not vetted by a medical professional, please consult a doctor before making any health-related decisions.

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