Vitamin K is a group of fat-soluble vitamin abundant in leafy greens. Two types of vitamin K—K1 and K2—are important assets to several health functions.
K1 is the type you find in spinach, kale, collard greens, chard, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. Your body can covert K1 to K2 in the intestines—but this process is very inefficient.
K2 is available in foods like butter, egg yolk, liver, and some cheeses. But it needs to come from pasture-raised, grass-fed animals for k2 amounts to be adequate.
You might hear about K3—it is a synthetic vitamin not used in humans.
Here are 4 things you might not know about Vitamin K.
1. Blood Clots
Some cosmetic companies claim that Vitamin K can help reduce redness and repair broken blood vessels visible on the skin. Others promote it as a sunburn and scar treatment.
The real importance of Vitamin K is from a nutritional standpoint. It’s an essential part of the body’s blood clotting process. Without appropriate levels, the factors that allow your blood to clot when you get cut no longer work.