Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin and plays an important role in blood clotting. Deficiency is Vitamin K can result in blood clotting and internal bleeding. Vitamin K helps the blood to coagulate or to become solid.

Vitamin K, unlike other fat-soluble vitamins, is not stored in the body. Therefore it is important to get it from food. Vitamin K also activates certain proteins which help calcium to build strong bones. It also even may keep calcium out of arteries and in the bones.

The two main forms of vitamin K are Vitamin K1 (phytonadione) and Vitamin K2 Vitamin K2 compounds (menaquinones). K1 is the natural form of vitamin K, which is found in plants, and provides the primary source (up to 90%) of vitamin K to humans through dietary consumption. Vitamin K2 is made by good bacteria in the human gut, and provides about 10% of the human vitamin K requirement.

Vitamin K1 is found in dark green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, and broccoli. Cooking or freezing does not greatly alter the amount of the vitamin in the food. Vitamin K2 can be found in fermented foods.

Japanese medical researchers recently conducted several clinical studies on vitamin K2 regarding bone loss in post-menopausal women. Vitamin K2 reduced bone loss in these women by up to 80 per cent. The vitamin also provided impressive bone mineral density increases. The vitamin K2 was derived from fermented soy beans.

Other medical research showed that vitamin K2 reduced death rates through cardiovascular disease by 50 per cent. Vitamin K2 showed better and longer absorption and higher potency than vitamin K1.

People at risk for vitamin K deficiency are those with chronic malnutrition, alcohol dependency, or environmental stress. Antibiotics destroy flora, the source of vitamin K in the body. Other medications that reduce vitamin K levels are anti-seizure medications, cholesterol lowering drugs, some laxatives and other drugs.

Individuals on blood thinners such as Warfarin should not take vitamin K2 supplements. Always consult first with your doctor or natural health practitioner before starting a supplement program. Natural food sources are typically the safest way to provide the body with the needed vitamins and nutrients.