Vitamin K1
Vitamins
The vitamin K of plants, made in green leaves, which serves in clotting.
Not to be confused with the K2 of ferments: same family, different sources and fate. Fat-soluble, so take it with a little fat.
Effects and benefits
The clotting vitamin, made in green leaves: the K comes from the German Koagulation. It also contributes to the maintenance of normal bones. And every newborn receives a dose at birth.
In 1929, the Dane Henrik Dam noticed that chicks fed without fat bled without stopping; he named the missing factor vitamin K, and received the Nobel Prize in 1943. It activates, in the liver, the clotting proteins, and elsewhere those that fix calcium in bone.
It contributes to normal blood clotting and to the maintenance of normal bones (Regulation 432/2012).
By age: newborns have very little, as the placenta lets little through and breast milk contains little; all babies therefore receive some at birth, to prevent rare but serious bleeding. For adults, EFSA sets the adequate intake at 70 µg a day (EFSA, 2017). With a vitamin K antagonist treatment, what matters is steady intake, to discuss with your doctor.
Sources: Dam, 1935 · EU Regulation 432/2012 · EFSA, 2017 · HAS
Where to find it (32)
- Arugula
- Basil
- Beet greens
- Bok choy
- Broccoli
- Broccoli rabe / Cima di rapa
- Brussels sprout
- Carrot tops
- Cauliflower leaves
- Chinese cabbage
- Cilantro / coriander
- Collard greens
- Dandelion
- Kale
- Kohlrabi leaves
- Lamb's lettuce
- Lettuce
- Mizuna
- Mustard greens
- Nettle
- New Zealand spinach
- Parsley
- Purslane
- Radish greens
- Red mizuna
- Red tatsoi
- Sorrel
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Tatsoi
- Turnip greens
- Watercress