Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting to repair injuries. When a person has a bleeding wound, is vitamin K which is present in the blood that stops the bleeding and enables most minor cuts to heal quickly.

There are three different forms of vitamin K. The first variant of the vitamin K is vitamin K1, also known as phylloquinone. This is the form of vitamin K which is in the types of plant foods. Vitamin K found in plant foods. The second form of vitamin K is vitamin K2, or menaquinone. This type of vitamin K is made up of friendly bacteria in the intestines. Thirdly, there is vitamin K3 which is also known as menadione and is actually an artificial form of vitamin K. These three types of K vitamin end up in the liver where it is used to create the blood clotting substances.

The best natural sources of vitamin K are green leafy vegetables like spinach. However, because the friendly bacteria in the intestine makes one form of vitamin K is very rare that a person has a deficiency of vitamin K and vitamin K supplements are not needed by most people.

Besides the main function to help the blood clot, vitamin K, especially vitamin K1, has an important role to play in the process of bony consolidation. This vitamin K is needed to keep calcium in bones and redistribute it to where it is needed.

Although a vitamin K deficiency is relatively rare there are certain groups of people who suffer from it. Newborns may not have enough vitamin K and to have enough bacteria in their intestines to produce it. Most babies in developed countries, therefore, is given an injection of vitamin K through the tide until the natural process takes over. That is the only time that a vitamin K is taken by most people throughout their lives. However, a long course of antibiotics may lead to a deficiency of vitamin K, because the antibiotics kill the intestinal bacteria, as well as being taken to cure. Once again, a vitamin K can be given if the course of antibiotics has to continue for a long time.