Why is Vitamin K Essential for Health?
Like every other vitamins and mineral, Vitamin K has its own important role to play in the human body. Vitamin K is a type of fat-soluble vitamin. Our body needs this type of vitamin for complete synthesis of some specific proteins which are needed for blood clotting in our body. Whenever we get cut or blood vessel damage, blood coagulation happens at that site to prevent blood loss. This is why is vitamin K essential for health. Vitamin K is also essential for other bodily processes such as, building strong bones and preventing heart diseases.
Some recent studies suggest that vitamin K is an important companion to vitamin D, and if you are deficient in one, neither of the two works optimally in your body. And we all know that the need of Vitamin D for health is crucial.
Benefits of Vitamin K
Vitamin K is primarily known for its contribution in aiding blood clotting. It helps transport calcium throughout the body, which is needed for regulating blood clotting. It prevents you from problems like easy bruising, bleeding gums, nosebleed, or extremely heavy menstrual bleeding.
Vitamin K helps prevent from Osteoporosis which is a medical condition for brittle and fragile bones. It improves bone density and serves as biological “glue” that helps plug calcium and other important minerals into your bone matrix.
Vitamin K protects our heart. Vitamin K2 helps to prevent hardening of the arteries, which is a common factor in heart failure and coronary artery diseases. It prevents your artery linings and other body tissues from clustering of calcium.
Vitamin K helps fight different types of cancer, such as colon, stomach, nasopharynx, and oral cancers. With the anti-cancer effects, it helps modify the growth factors and receptor molecules in tumor cells and limits its growth and progression.
How do we get Vitamin K?
Vegetables like spinach, asparagus and broccoli are rich in vitamin K. Green leafy vegetables such as collards, green leaf lettuce, kale, mustard greens, parsley, romaine lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard and turnip greens are a great source of Vitamin K.
Fermented foods have the highest concentration of Vitamin K in them. Natto (fermented soy), pickles, kefir and fermented dairy products like yogurt and cheese are some of the fermented foods that can help you gain Vitamin K naturally. Other less rich in vitamin K sources include meats, fish, liver, eggs and cereals.