Vitamin K is an important factor for the growth, repair, and functioning of the human body. It helps with the formation of blood cells and plays an essential role in the process of blood clotting and working of the immune system.
Vitamin K can be found in the whole body including the brain, liver, bones, heart, and pancreas. It is fragmented very rapidly and discharged through stool and urine. This is why it rarely comes in contact with the toxin level of the body, even if someone takes vitamin K-rich foods in large amounts.
What is Vitamin K?
Vitamin K is one of the lipophilic vitamins. A lipophilic vitamin is a fat-soluble vitamin that is found in our food and stored in our bodies. The most significant compounds are Phylloquinone and Menaquinones.
Phylloquinone, which is also known as Vitamin K1, can be found in leafy veggies like spinach, kale, and collard greens. On the other hand, Menaquiones or Vitamin K2 is found in fermented foods and animal foods. Menaquinones are produced naturally in the human body by bacteria.
How to Understand the Need for Vitamin K?
Vitamin K deficiency is very rare in adults but it might occur if someone is on medications that obstruct producing vitamin K in the body like antibiotics. Those who suffer from conditions like malabsorption of nutrients might also experience vitamin K deficiency. A newborn child can also suffer from a deficiency because vitamin K fails to cross the placenta & breast milk does not contain vitamin K in large amounts.
Unless infants are given vitamin K supplements, they are at risk of suffering from bleeding. Here are some of the signs of vitamin K deficiency:
- Bleeding under the skin, from the nose, in the stomach, and sometimes with vomiting
- Haemorrhaging
- Blood in urine and stool
- Osteoporosis or osteopenia
Role of Vitamin K in Enhancing Immunity
Vitamin K is a very important vitamin that helps the immune system to work properly. Although there are a few Vitamin K-rich food items that we do not like, trying new foods and preserving them might help improve our daily eating habits and boost the diversity of gut bacteria in our bodies.
Vitamin K helps your body fight off viral and bacterial infections. For example, your body needs enough vitamin K to fight off viral infections such as influenza and herpes efficiently. Additionally, insufficient amounts of vitamin K prevent your body from effectively fighting off bacterial infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. Studies have shown that adequate amounts of vitamin K prevent inflammation while insufficient amounts promote inflammation in your body.
One of the most important aspects of vitamin K is that it helps the gut – an organ that is closely linked to our immune system. If your gut is not healthy, it can affect the workings of your immune system. The good news is that there are a number of sources of vitamin K that aid in restoring and balancing our gut and help reduce inflammation.
In addition to this, this vitamin supports the activation of Growth Arrest-Specific 6 protein (GAS6) in our body. This protein is responsible for influencing cell growth and enhancing cell communication as well as signaling. It also aids in supporting the healthy cells, keeping them from dying.
Apoptosis is a function in our body that helps in inducing the death of cells, especially those that are unwanted or damaged. Growth Arrest-Specific 6 protein binds and escorts the dead cells to phagocytes, which devour the dead cells. GAS6 also helps eliminate damaged cells without harming other cells or tissues.
This thing helps reduce pain and inflammation as well. The method of eliminating unwanted cells and producing new and healthy cells is essential for improving the immune system and keeping the tissues healthy. Therefore, by activating this protein in our body, vitamin K helps improve our immune system and allows our body to work efficiently.
Conclusion
Vitamin K is an essential vitamin as it regulates our immune system and makes us physically stronger. Lack of vitamin K in the body can lead to serious health issues like excessive bleeding, hemorrhage, increased blood clotting time, etc. Vitamin K functions miraculously when it comes to eliminating damaged and unwanted cells and activating the proteins in the body that contribute towards making our immune system strong.
