Vitamin K and newborns
About VKDB
History of vitamin K
Safety of vitamin K
Effectiveness of vitamin K
How is it given?
FAQ's
What is vitamin K for?
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that is needed for our bodies to form a substance called 'prothrombin'. Prothrombin is one (of many) essential blood components required to create our normal blood clotting mechanism, used to prevent and control excessive bleeding. If the Vitamin K levels in our body are low, the person is said to have a 'Vitamin K Deficiency', giving them a tendency to bleed.
Our bodies obtain vitamin K in two ways:
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A small amount comes from the foods that we eat, such as green, leafy vegetables and other green vegetables, cauliflower, vegetable oils, diary products, Soya beans and eggs. This is known as vitamin K1 (or 'phylloquinone'). |
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However, most of our vitamin K is obtained through the synthesis of normal bacteria present inside our bowel, and then stored in our liver. This is called vitamin K2 (or 'menaquinone') and is produced in more than adequate amounts to protect us from bleeding, even if our diet is inadequate. |