Human intake of vitamin K comes from two main sources - our diets and synthesis from intestinal bacteria. Vitamin K deficiencies can be caused by a variety of factors. These include:
*Not consuming enough vitamin K from one's diet can contribute to a deficiency. Dietary vitamin K is highest in leafy green vegetables such as lettuce, kale, broccoli and collard greens. These are foods that many people don't eat frequently.
*A diet with high intakes of salicylates can block vitamin K. Salicylates are found in foods such as nuts, fruits, spices and mints. Aspirin is a salicylate. Blocking vitamin K is why aspirin can "thin" the blood - it basically keeps blood from coagulating. This is why too much aspirin can cause stomach and intestinal bleeding.
Antibiotics can cause bleeding problems from vitamin K deficiencies.
*Antibiotics destroy not only harmful digestive tract bacteria, but also the beneficial intestinal bacteria that is needed to create vitamin K. In order to replace the beneficial intestinal bacteria after a course of antibiotics we have found that we have to take probiotic supplements containing acidophilus. You can usually get these at most drug stores or health food stores. The refrigerated kind is often best because the cultures last the longest when they have been kept cold.
Many health books also recommend eating yogurt with active cultures instead of taking probiotic supplements, but I've personally not found this to be as effective. Foods like yogurt or ranch dressing made from buttermilk with active cultures seem to be somewhat effective for us in increasing vitamin K levels, but for significant bleeding problems after a course of antibiotics, probiotic supplements containing acidophilus seem to help us the most. Replacing beneficial bacteria after antibiotics is standard conventional medical advice in many European countries, but does not seem to be common medical advice in the United States.
*Candida (systemic yeast) infections have been linked to vitamin K deficiencies. An overgrowth of candida albicans or other kinds of yeast can crowd out the helpful bacteria in the digestive tract that make vitamin K. People who eat a lot of sugary foods, an unusually high proportion of alkaline foods and/or take antibiotics tend to be at high risk for Candida infections.
*Malabsorption syndromes that prevent the proper absorption of nutrients can cause vitamin K deficiencies. Celiac disease, an intolerance to gluten, can cause deficiencies of a wide variety of nutrients, especially vitamin K. Crohn's disease can also cause vitamin K and other deficiencies.
*Anticoagulants like Warfarin block the action of vitamin K. In turn, vitamin K blocks the action of anticoagulants. This is why people taking these types of medications have to limit how much vitamin K they get in their diet.
*High amounts of vitamin A and/or vitamin E can also block vitamin K. I get nosebleeds whenever I take a multivitamin or eat one of the popular nutrition bars, even if I choose one with vitamin K. I think it may be at least in part because the multivitamins and nutrition bars always contain high amounts of vitamin A and E--probably too much for someone like me who bleeds easily.
*The bacteria that synthesize vitamin K thrive in an acidic digestive environment. Antacids, if taken in sufficient quantity, may cause a vitamin K deficiency, as well as irritable bowel syndrome and various nutritional deficiencies, because they neutralize the hydrochloric acid in a person's stomach. Hydrochloric acid is needed to digest food and create the acidic environment in which the beneficial bacteria thrive.
*One study found vitamin K deficiencies to be common in male alcoholics. (Perhaps not coincidentally, children born with fetal alcohol syndrome share many overlapping borth defects linked to vitamin K deficiencies.)
*In rats, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a food preservative, was shown in tests to induce vitamin K deficiencies. BHT is a common preservative. Many commercial cereal boxes are sprayed with BHT to extend the shelf life of the product.
Vitamin K Deficiencies
