I do apologize as I realize it has been a few days since my last post. But I have geared up this week to send out a few posts on some fun nutrition information. I feel food should be fun, and enjoyable and there really is no good food or bad food. I know in my posts I highlight a lot of foods that have been deemed the “good” foods, the foods you find in your boxes each week, but I truly do believe to have a healthful relationship with food all foods need to fit into the nutrition plan that is right for you!
Let’s start this week with some vegetables that are plentiful early on in the spring and the summer harvest. That’s the Greens! Swiss Chard, Kale, Spinach, Lettuce of all varieties and Peas to name a few. What do all of these vegetables have in common, other than there obvious color? That is they are all good sources of Vitamin K!
Vitamin K is a fat soluble vitamin. What does that mean? That means vitamins like K, A and D are taken into the body in a similar manner to how fat is digested. Vitamin K acts in the body as a coagulant, or blood thickener. It is needed for the formation of seven blood clotting factors that the liver produces. The body activates Vitamin K readily, which is good for us. Anytime you have a cut or a bruise, vitamin K is there thickening your blood so that you do not continue to bleed.
Now Vitamin K is good for most, but for those with heart conditions which require blood thinning medications Vitamin K intake must be consistent in order for their doctor to dose the medication correctly.
The darker the green vegetable, the greater the Vitamin K content. Kale, Swiss Chard and Spinach are some of the greens with the highest amount. Lettuce and Peas do have the vitamin but in smaller amounts.