If you’re looking for the best vitamin K supplements to buy this year, then you’ve come to the right place.
You can also get more info by jumping to our Vitamin K Supplements Guide.
Top 10 Vitamin K Supplements
| #1 |  |
Life Extension Super K | More Info |
| #2 |  |
NOW Foods Vitamin K-2 | More Info |
| #3 |  |
Doctor’s Best Natural Vitamin K2 MK-7 | More Info |
| #4 |  |
Solaray – Vitamin K | More Info |
| #5 |  |
Garden of Life Vegan Vitamin K Supplement | More Info |
| #6 |  |
Solgar Natural Vitamin K2 | More Info |
| #7 |  |
Nature Made Vitamin K2 Softgel | More Info |
| #8 |  |
Carlson Labs Vitamin K-2 | More Info |
| #9 |  |
Sonora Nutrition Vitamin K2 Natural MK-7 | More Info |
| #10 |  |
Country Life Vegan K2 | More Info |
Vitamin K Supplements Guide
What is Vitamin K?
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin stored in the liver and the fat tissue. It is used for blood clotting and proper coagulation. The “K” is derived from its German name, Koagulationsvitamin. It is also instrumental in improving bone health. Vitamin K is made up of a group of compounds. The most essential of these compounds are vitamin K1 and vitamin k2. Vitamin K1 is found in leafy green food while vitamin K2 is obtained from eggs, cheese, and meat.
Vitamin K1 is used as the only vitamin K supplement in the United States. Nonetheless, there is an on-going research on how vitamin K2 could be used to treat steroid-induced bone problems and osteoporosis. At this point, scientists do not have enough data to recommend the use of vitamin K2 for osteoporosis.
Besides being found in leafy green food, vitamin K can be made by bacteria in your intestine. As such, it is rare to have a vitamin K deficiency. However, excessive consumption of antibiotics kills the bacteria resulting in a mild deficiency. Extreme bleeding characterizes vitamin K deficiency. In most cases, it may begin as oozing from the nose or gums.
Factors that may lead to vitamin K deficiency
- Long-term hemodialysis
- Liver disease
- Health disorders that prevent the body from absorbing vitamin K such as celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, and gallbladder disease.
- Severe burns
Benefits of Vitamin K
Reduction of excessive bleeding
Vitamin K is used for the reduction of extreme bleeding in the liver. It also facilitates proper coagulation when the body fails to absorb enough vitamins K. In the UK, the US, and Canada, all infants receive vitamin K injections to prevent excessive bleeding in the brain. Although vitamin K deficiency is rare in children, it can be dangerous. Premature babies and those whose mothers had to take seizure medications are at greater risk for vitamin K deficiency.
Doctors give oral vitamin K for two weeks to mothers on seizure medications to prevent vitamin K deficiency in the infants. Doctors recommend oral vitamin K administration since babies are born without bacteria in their intestine; thus, they are susceptible to vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K supplements goes beyond improving blood clotting.
Improvement of bone health
The body uses calcium and vitamin K to build bone. High levels of vitamin K are associated with greater bone destiny. Contrary, low levels of vitamin K are associated with osteoporosis, a condition in which bones become fragile due to loss of tissue. Similar studies suggest that vitamin K deficiency is associated with a high risk of osteoarthritis, a chronic condition of joints pain.
Recent studies have found that vitamin K improves bone health and reduces the risk of osteoarthritis, especially among postmenopausal women. Furthermore, male and female athletes with high levels of vitamin K tend to have healthy bones. Nonetheless, some studies have found that vitamin K does not help in improving bone density.
Heart health
Vitamin K prevents the hardening of arteries, a condition that leads to heart failure and coronary artery diseases. There is increasing evidence that vitamin K2 may help eliminate calcium out of artery linings. In fact, vitamin K2 together with vitamin D helps prevent calcification, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Prevention of cancer
Several studies have shown that vitamin K is useful in cancer prevention. For example, a study published in the International Journal of Oncology in September 2003, found that vitamin K slowed the growth of cancer cells among lung cancer patients. In a study involving 30 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma cancer, the disease stabilized in six months for patients who took oral vitamin K.
In the fall of 2008, a German research group found that vitamin K protected the body against prostate cancer. According to the study, men with high levels of vitamin K2 were less likely to contract prostate cancer. Vitamin K also protects the body against colon, oral, and stomach cancer.
Are There Any Side Effect?
Even though scientists have not determined the tolerable upper limit for vitamin K, toxicity may occur when taking any supplement. Nonetheless, toxicity is less likely to occur by taking oral vitamin K. Recent studies have found that vitamin K can interact with medications such as weight-loss drugs, antibiotics, blood thinners, and anticonvulsants.
Blood thinners are used as warfarin to prevent blood clots that may block blood flow to the heart and brain. In other words, blood thinners reduce the clotting ability of vitamin K. An increase or decrease in vitamin K intake may interfere with other medications. Therefore, maintain a consistent intake of food containing vitamin K to avoid interference with the effects of other drugs.
Breastfeeding mothers under anticonvulsants medication are at a higher risk of vitamin K deficiency. Furthermore, cholesterol-lowering drugs affect fat absorption. As such, there is a high risk of vitamin K deficiency because vitamin K absorption depends on dietary fat. Therefore, consult your physician about your vitamin K intake if you are on any of these medications.
Those on prescription anticoagulants, which interfere with vitamin K need to monitor their intake of vitamin K and should never consider taking supplemental vitamin K. It is worth noting that supplemental vitamin K during pregnancy increases the risk of jaundice in infants.
Therefore, doctors consider vitamin K ingested through breastfeeding as the safest mode of vitamin K intake among children. Furthermore, high aspirin doses may increase vitamin K requirements. Consequently, antacids may decrease vitamin K intake resulting in blood thinning effects of several herbs such as red clover, celery, and alfalfa.
How to Take Vitamin K
Adults and children who eat a balanced diet containing enough vitamin K do not need supplementation. Supplemental vitamin K is recommended for babies and those with digestive diseases. Children are born without bacteria in their intestine; thus, they lack enough vitamin K at birth. Young infants receive vitamin K1 injection to prevent vitamin K deficiency, as they cannot get enough vitamin K from breast milk.
For adults, Vitamin K is abundant in leafy green food such as kale, spinach, and Swiss chard. Vitamin K2, which helps in reducing the risk of bone fractures and increasing bone density, can be obtained from cheeses, fermented dairy, fermented soy, and yogurt. Those with osteoporosis eat foods rich in vitamin K and supplement 50 to 100 micrograms of vitamin K2.
What to Look for in a Good Vitamin K Supplement
Choose for a vitamin K supplement that best suits your age, sex, and other factors such as pregnancy. For example, men vitamin k supplement contains little or no iron. Additionally, vitamin K supplements for adults provide more calcium and vitamins B12 and D and less iron than for children. Prenatal vitamin K supplements often contain vitamin A for pregnant women.
Therefore, consult a physician to help you figure out whether you should take vitamin K supplement and, if so, which suits you. Consider multivitamin supplements, as their amount of vitamins and minerals are unlikely to be toxic. Most multivitamin supplements have little magnesium and calcium; thus, you may be required to take them separately. When choosing a vitamin K supplement, make sure that it does not contain too much iron.
Maximizing your vitamin K level is instrumental in improving your health. The best way you can maximize your vitamin K level is eating fresh vegetables and fermented foods. You can also take vitamin K supplements, but it is much easier to get vitamin K by taking fermented dairy.
For vitamin K2, a supplement with cheese curd can be a good source. If you have cardiovascular disease, choose a supplement with a high-quality of vitamin K2. Remember to take your supplement with fat, as it cannot be absorbed without it. The bare minimum is 45 micrograms per day, but you can take as high as 500 micrograms.
The post 10 Best Vitamin K Supplements – Ranked & Reviewed for 2017 appeared first on Supplement Hound - Supplement Reviews for 2016.
from Supplement Hound – Supplement Reviews for 2016 http://supplementhound.com/best-vitamin-k-supplements/
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