Did you know that everyone is born with a vitamin K deficiency? Read about the function of vitamin K, which symptoms occur with a vitamin K deficiency and how to prevent such a deficiency.
What does vitamin K do to your body?
Vitamin K is very important. This vitamin helps in the production of clotting factors. These are proteins in your blood plasma that are necessary for your blood to clot. There are also indications that vitamin K is involved in the production of strong bones, but exactly how that is is still unclear.
How do you get vitamin K?
Vitamin K exists in two forms, K1 (phyloquinone) and K2 (menaquinone). K1 is in food and drink. Vitamin K2 is produced by your body itself. As soon as you are about three months old, bacteria in your large intestine start to produce vitamin K. Usually that is not enough, so you also need vitamin K from your diet. Vitamin K is found in vegetables, fruit, milk and dairy products, meat, eggs, grains, liver and cheese. Read our piece here in which we tell you everything about what vitamin K is in.
Babies and vitamin K deficiency
Babies are born with a vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K cannot cross the placenta, so the expectant mother does not pass this vitamin on to her baby during pregnancy. Babies do not yet have enough intestinal bacteria to make their own vitamin K, that is only possible after about three months. Newborns who are breastfed therefore need drops containing vitamin K. Vitamin K is already added to formula.
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What are the symptoms of a vitamin K deficiency?
A vitamin K deficiency can arise if you have an absorption disorder. Or if you take antibiotics for a long time, because antibiotics can destroy the gut bacteria that normally produce vitamin K. With a vitamin K deficiency, you can suffer from delayed blood clotting, resulting in a greater risk of bleeding and wounds that continue to bleed for a long time. Fortunately, a vitamin K deficiency is rare.