Vitamin K is crucially important in enabling our blood to clot. It was originally identified by a Danish scientist who called it “koagulationsvitamin” referring to its ability to coagulate (clot), the blood.

Vitamin K is synthesized in three ways. Firstly, it occurs in plants and those people who take warfarin (Coumadin) every day, know all about the effects of eating too many greens on their clotting time. Since warfarin is an anticoagulant used to treat or prevent blood clots which can occur with prosthetic heart valves, irregular heart rates or deep vein thrombosis, eating too many greens high in Vitamin K can counter the effects of the medication.

Vitamin K is also made in our bodies by the microbes that live in our colon. Without it, our liver would not be able produce the necessary clotting factors to stop bleeding in the event of a wound. Since it is also important in bone formation, its absence would prevent calcium from being absorbed.

Finally, Vitamin K can be manufactured. This synthetic version is used when it’s important to reverse the effects of bleeding caused by hemorrhagic disease or simply too much warfarin. It is also used to manufacture other clotting factors.

For those interested in more information, follow this link about Vitamin K.

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