Vitamin K Deficiency And Its Effect On Bone Health

Most of us are completely unaware of what vitamins do for our body, how they are important and what the deficiency of each type does?

Vitamins are substances that the body needs to work and develop properly. If Vitamins are deficient in the body, then they body will not function as it should and will develop certain disorders. Vitamins are found everywhere, you can find them in fruits, vegetable, meat and dairy and these days there are even vitamin supplements available.

Why is Vitamin K important for the body?
Every Vitamin is important for the body’s normal functioning. Vitamin K helps the body make a bone protein called osteocalcin fully functional. Osteocalcin is then carboxylated with the help of Vitamin K and this helps calcium in the body to bind into bones and make them stronger. Vitamin K also plays a vital role in preventing calcification of arteries and it helps regulate blood sugar levels in the body.

How much Vitamin K does the body need?
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin and for the body to function everyday, it needs 80mg per day for men and 65mg per day for women. Infants also need some amount of Vitamin K even though this is a nominal amount of 5mg per day.

What are the best sources of Vitamin K?
Leafy vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts and spinach are rich in Vitamin K. you can also find this Vitamin in cabbage, cauliflower, kale and soybeans. Cows milk is a great way to drink your way to health with its richness of Vitamin K. Bacteria in the intestine of the body are a great source of Vitamin K.

What is Vitamin K deficiency?
When the body doesn’t get the required amounts of a particular Vitamin it leads to deficiencies, which can be detrimental to the body, and it’s functioning. When a person fails to consume and absorb from the intestines, the required amount of Vitamin K, it leads to Vitamin K deficiency. More often than not, it is the later, the inability of the body to absorb the Vitamin from the intestinal track that leads to deficiency rather than the lack of consumption.

Vitamin K deficiency also occurs when a person has been consuming antibiotics, which destroy the Vitamin K producing bacteria in the body. Newborn infants are at risk for this type of Vitamin K deficiency because their body and digestive track does not have this kind of bacteria.

How Vitamin K affects bone health, bone density and osteoporosis?
Did you know that Vitamin K plays a vital role in bone health, bone density and osteoporosis? Lets understand how. In simple terms, Vitamin K helps in binding calcium to the bones and thus improving overall bone health, bone density and preventing osteoporosis.

This is important in postmenopausal women, who are at the highest risk of osteoporosis. Vitamin K and its supplements improve bone health and reduce the risk of fractures, especially hip fractures.

The need for Vitamins cannot be denied. Every vitamin is important in its own right, but wouldn’t it be fair to say that bones are the basis of your body, and hence Vitamin K is extremely important?