Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone)

What role does it play in the organism?
Vitamin K1 is essential for particular blood coagulation factors and the calcium bond of the bone tissue.

What foodstuffs contain it?
Good dietary sources of vitamin K are diary products, cabbages, salads, spinach, broccolis and liver. Vitamin K can get into the organism not only via food; intestinal bacteria also synthesise a portion of the requirement.

Who are exposed to vitamin K deficiency and what does this deficiency state cause?
Babies fed with mother’s milk are especially exposed to vitamin K deficiency, because of its low vitamin K content, and because the microflora producing the vitamin is not yet present in the intestines. This is why nowadays babies receive vitamin K in the first weeks of their lives. At later stages of life, mainly decreased dietary intake and particular medicines (e.g. anti-coagulants) might cause vitamin K deficiency that may result in blood coagulation and bone formation disorders.

What is the recommended intake for vitamin K?
The daily requirement is 5-50 microgram for children depending on age and 60-80 microgram for adults.

What are the health risks of excessive vitamin K1 intake?
Vitamin K causes symptoms of overdose only in very high doses. No overdose is to be reckoned with in the case of a daily intake not exceeding 1-2 mg (which is 12-25 times the daily requirement).