9 silent signs of a vitamin K deficiency
When it comes to nutrients, vitamin K isn’t one we hear a lot about, but it’s an important one. There are two primary types of vitamin K: vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. “Vitamin K1 plays an important role in blood clotting, while K2 is more important for bone health, regulation of cell growth, and prevention of calcification of the arteries—a contributing factor to heart disease,” says Erica Julson, MS, RDN, CLT, a dietitian in Los Angeles.
Up to 31 percent of the general adult population may be insufficient in vitamin K, according to a study in Nutrients. To avoid a vitamin K deficiency, eat foods high in vitamin K1, including leafy green veggies, broccoli, edamame, pumpkin, and pomegranate juice and those high in vitamin K2, including dark-meat chicken, goose liver, beef liver, butter, and cheese (from grass-fed cows), egg yolks, and pork if the animals’ feed had a synthetic form of vitamin K added to it. It can also be found in certain fermented foods like hard aged cheeses and natto, a Japanese food made from fermented soybeans. Get your fill of vitamin K by whipping up a vanilla smoothie, a healthy broccoli slaw salad, or liver and onions.
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, so you’ll best absorb it in a fat-containing meal. Don’t overlook the 10 vitamins that should always be taken with food. Women ages 19 and older need 90 micrograms of vitamin K per day, and men ages 19 and older require 120 micrograms daily.
Most people get enough vitamin K daily, per the National Institutes of Health (NIH). But it is possible to become deficient in vitamin K, depending on what you’re eating. Here are the top nine signs of vitamin K deficiency.
Read on to discover the 10 ways your body is trying to tell you you’re low on key vitamins.
Amy Gorin is a freelance writer, registered dietitian, and owner of Amy Gorin Nutritionin the New York City area. Connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
The post 9 Silent Signs of a Vitamin K Deficiency appeared first on Reader's Digest.
