Vitamin K fosters blood clotting and strengthens bones but is not included in all multivitamins for health reasons. Someone with a medical condition may want to consult a physician first before selecting a multivitamin, say experts with Cooper Complete, a Cooper Aerobics Company.
The Dallas-based firm offers Cooper Complete multivitamins with Vitamin K and without in Basic One. “Since folks on blood thinners Coumadin or Warfarin shouldn't take Vitamin K, a multivitamin like Basic One without K may be right for them,” says Jill Turner, vice president of operations.
Vitamin K is found in different forms, including K1 or phylloquinone, which occurs in green, leafy vegetables like lettuce, broccoli and spinach and in olive oil. K2 or menaquinone is contained in raw eggs, fermented soybeans, many cheeses and liver. K3 or menadione is a synthetic form seldom used in human vitamin supplements in Western countries, but sometimes included in pet food and livestock feed.
K1 accounts for about 90 percent of the Vitamin K consumed in a typical Western diet. K2 is beneficial to the body, but is far more expensive that K1 in supplement form. K2 comprises about 10 per cent of K intake in developed nations.
Very little Vitamin K is stored by the body, but small amounts are deposited in the human liver and bones to supply needs for a few days. Most Americans get enough or almost enough K in their diet, and daily requirements are not fully established.
Vitamin K's primary function is to regulate blood clotting, a process that begins when an injury tears a blood vessel. The body uses K to synthesize the protein that controls clotting. A severe lack of K can lead to improper blood clotting and blood loss – including frequent noses bleeds.
K is used to reduce risk of bleeding stemming from liver disease and long-term use of aspirin or antibiotics. K supplementation helps when gastrointestinal problems like colitis, sprue, cystic fibrosis or Crohn's disease have reduced vitamin absorption. When someone is deficient in K, it may be because of a physical condition that has prevented synthesis or absorption. Reasons include anti-coagulant therapy or high antibiotic dosages that have killed intestinal bacteria.
People with liver disorders and alcoholics tend to lack enough K.
“Vitamin K is involved in bone repair, and indications are that K supplements reduce the risk of fractures, particularly in postmenopausal women,” says Todd Whitthorne, president and CEO for Cooper Complete supplements. “Higher K levels correspond to greater bone density.”
Physicians sometimes recommend that pregnant women and patients prone to bruising take more Vitamin K. But in the last stages of pregnancy, K should be consumed with caution because too much can be toxic for a developing baby.
And adults who have consumed an excess of Vitamin K can suffer from thickened blood, coronary heart disease, other artery problems and brain stroke.
So it's important to choose a multivitamin with the health of one’s blood, heart, stomach and bones in mind, experts at Cooper Concepts advise.
For more information online, see http://www.coopercomplete.com/store. To order Cooper Complete supplements by phone, call Cooper Complete at 877-2-HEALTH or 888-393-2221. Customers in Dallas can call 972-560-2702 or online at http://www.coopercomplete.com.
Follow Cooper Complete on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#!/CooperAerobics), Twitter – (http://twitter.com/cooperaerobics) and their blog (http://cooperwellness.blogspot.com).
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Media Advisory:
For more information on Cooper Complete vitamins, or to arrange an interview with Todd Whitthorne, president and CEO of Cooper Concepts, contact Jo Trizila at 972-247-1369 or jo@trizcom.com.
About:
Cooper Concepts, Inc. oversees Cooper Complete nutritional supplements from creation to distribution. Dr. Kenneth Cooper, founder of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, has long believed in supplementation and introduced his own line of multivitamins and supplements to consumers in 1998. Today, Cooper Complete is sold in retail stores across the nation and online.
