A baby girl, about one and a half months old, was hospitalized last week in a serious condition at the Sheba Children's Hospital, with extensive cerebral bleeding and a severe coagulation disorder as a result of her parents' refusal to allow the obstetrics team to give the baby a dose of vitamin K. In this article, we include a chapter from the book "The Complete Guide to Nutritional Supplements" that deals with vitamin K
A baby girl about one and a half months old was hospitalized last week in a serious condition at the Children's Hospital in Sheba, with extensive cerebral bleeding and a severe disorder of coagulation functions. She arrived in a vague state of consciousness and a CT scan revealed that she was suffering from bleeding in her brain. An examination of the coagulation functions revealed that the case was due to vitamin K deficiency.
These symptoms aroused the suspicion of Prof. Zeev Feldman, director of the pediatric neurosurgery unit, that it is a deficiency in vitamin K, which participates in the blood clotting process. After a short investigation of the parents, it turned out that they refused to give the baby vitamin K immediately after birth, which has been given in a routine way for decades.
The phenomenon of refusing vitamin K among parents of newborns was common in the XNUMXs, due to fear of a connection between the vitamin and serious diseases. All the studies and of course the reality test showed that there is no connection. This refusal resulted in an increase in the number of cerebral hemorrhage cases in infants.
In recent surveys in the US, it was found that the risk of severe bleeding in babies who did not receive vitamin K is almost a hundred times higher than in babies who were treated."
The Israeli Association of Pediatrics recommends giving the vitamin to newborns, including those born at home to protect them from the risk of cerebral hemorrhage.
The book "The Complete Israeli Guide to Dietary Supplements" by Dr. Yaffe Shir-Raz and Dr. Udi Bar (Keter Publishing, 2007) refers to vitamin K, among other things. We are citing the relevant chapter herewith.
Vitamin K
The name vitamin K is derived from the Danish word Koagulation, which means coagulation. Indeed, the vitamin discovered by the Danish researcher Henrik Damm in the thirties of the 20th century, is one of the vitamins necessary for the blood clotting mechanism in our body and to prevent bleeding. It is essential for the production in the liver of several substances that participate in the blood clotting process, including prothrombin, a substance found in the blood plasma, and is an inactive form of the enzyme thrombin, which is released in the blood clotting process). In addition, in recent years it was discovered that vitamin K (also called phylloquinone) is also used to build bone, and that it may also help prevent osteoporosis (bone depletion). Most of the necessary amount of the vitamin for the body is produced by the intestinal bacteria, and the other part comes from the food.
► Food sources
The best sources of the vitamin are green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, grains and seeds, liver, egg yolk, soy, wheat, algae and alfalfa sprouts, as well as vegetable oils.
► Lack situations
Due to the absence of the bacteria that produce the vitamin in the intestine in newborns, the risk of its deficiency and the formation of bleeding increases, so it is routinely added to the nutrition of newborns. As a result, a deadly disease called "the blood disease of the newborn", which caused disabilities and death from bleeding, disappeared from medical history.
In adults, the levels of the vitamin are usually normal, but surveys conducted in the United States found that a significant proportion of children and adolescents lack a sufficient amount of it.
Prolonged use of antibiotics or sulfonamide-type antibacterials, which destroy the "friendly bacteria" in the intestines, may cause a deficiency of vitamin K. Conditions in which absorption from the intestine is impaired may also cause a deficiency - for example, cystic fibrosis (CF, Crohn's disease (chronic inflammation of the intestine) ), ulcerative colitis (- UC ulcerative inflammation of the large intestine), celiac disease (in which the small intestine is unable to digest and absorb food), and more.
► Deficiency symptoms
Vitamin deficiency leads to too low levels of prothrombin and other anticoagulants in the blood. As a result, there is a delay in blood clotting, a fact that can cause a tendency to bleed and bleed. In severe and rare cases, bleeding in the brain may occur.
► The effectiveness of the supplement
Vitamin K and osteoporosis
Recently, research evidence is accumulating that proves that vitamin K is also involved in bone building. It was found that low levels of vitamin K are associated with low bone density, and that taking the vitamin as a supplement helps to achieve higher bone density.
Vitamin K and prominent subcutaneous capillaries
Recently, studies have been published showing that external application of medical preparations containing vitamin K can be useful in reducing the appearance of cuprosis - blood capillaries that protrude under the surface of the skin and give a red and stained appearance to the face. This problem is especially common among fair-skinned people who are often exposed to the sun, as well as among alcohol drinkers and those taking medications such as prednisone (for the treatment of inflammatory conditions).
► Recommended dosage
The recommended daily allowance according to age is:
• Babies: 0-5 months – 5 micrograms; 5–12 months– 10 micrograms; 1-3 years - 15 micrograms
• Children: 4-6 years - 20 micrograms; 7-10 years – 30 micrograms; 11-14 years - 45 micrograms; Boys: 15-18 years - 65 micrograms; Girls: 15-18 years - 55 micrograms
• Adults: men: 19-24 years - 70 micrograms; Women: 19-24 years - 60 micrograms; Men: 25 years and older - 80 micrograms; Women: 25 years and older - 65 micrograms
• Pregnant and lactating women: 65 micrograms
Side effects, overdose risks and various interactions
Do not take a vitamin K supplement without consulting your doctor. It is important to know that taking an excess dose of vitamin K may cause hemolytic anemia, a condition in which increased destruction of red blood cells occurs.
People taking a preparation called Coumadin as an anticoagulant are advised to avoid taking vitamin K and eating foods high in vitamin K, in order not to impair the effectiveness of the medicine. In fact, Coumadin's activity as a blood "thinner" is based on inhibiting the activity of vitamin K, and therefore, consuming foods rich in vitamin K, such as green leaves and avocados, impairs the activity of the essential drug.
The vitamin was discovered in a study in chickens
Danish researcher Henrik Dam conducted studies in chickens that were fed an extremely low-fat diet. He noticed that after a while, the birds suffered hemorrhages in different parts of their bodies, and that their blood sample clotted more slowly than usual. He tried to give the chickens all the vitamins that were known, but to no avail. Only when he added some cannabis seeds to the diet did the symptoms disappear. Then the thought came to his mind, that maybe this is a new type of vitamin.
