The sKinny on vitamin K!

Going into this course I really had no real previous knowledge or education on Vitamin K. When going over the options for possible blog topics it just kept standing out to me. Then I went for and decided that the whole idea for these blogs is to get to know more about the topic we choose and fill others in as well.

Now it probably would have been easier to find topics on calcium or protein in relation to Optimal Bone and Muscle development, but ti wouldn't be, at least for me much of a learning experience. So hear is the sKinny on Vitamin K to get you all started!



What is vitamin K many may be asking? Well first of all there are two main forms. Those forms are phylloquinone and menaquinone. Phylloquinone is where most of us get about 90% fo our vitamin K, according to Nutra-Ingredients USA, and the other 10% comes from menaquinone.

Phylloquinone is also known as phytonadione or vitamin K1. This is found mostly in green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, lettuce and more. Vitamin K1 is found in chicken, egg yolk, cheese, and cow liver. Now menaquinones are vitamin K2 and come from the gut where they are synthesized by micro flora. They can also be found in things we consume in our diets like animal meat, fermented foods like cheese and fermented soy products called natto.

Why do we need vitamin K in our diets? Well lets put it in terms of detriment. If you have a vitamin K deficiency it could lead to cartilage calcification, massive and uncontrolled internal bleeding, as well as malformation of developing bone.

According to everyone's wonderful source of quick information, Wikipedia, our daily intake of vitamin K is easily obtained. The U.S Dietary Reference Intake for Adequate Intake for a male 25 years in age is approximately 120 micrograms each day. However, it is not necessary to consume a daily intake because of the body stores it on its own. Too make it more understandable just how easy it is too get your daily intake look at this following comment :

Two tablespoons of parsley contains 153% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin K.

Just a little bit to get you all thinking...