Eat greens for vitamin K
Weight: 158 lb
Transgressions: none
Exercise: none
Comments
My nutrient analysis at NutritionData suggests that the un-supplemented Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet might be deficient in vitamin K. Here’s a summary of vitamin K physiology from UpToDate.com:
Roles
1) promotes blood clotting (coagulation) by working with key proteins such as carboxylase enzymes, 2) bone formation
Sources
1) green vegetables like spinach and broccoli provide vitamin K1 (phylloquinones), 2) intestinal bacteria produce K2 (menaquinone), which provides a portion of our K1
Note these vitamin K % Daily Values: iceberg lettuce (22%), romaine lettuce (60%), and spinach (181%).
Deficiency States
Deficiency causes easy bruising and bleeding. Rare in healthy adults, not uncommon in newborns. Occasionally seen in prolonged fasting or starvation, and after use of many antibiotics (which kill gut bacteria and reduce vitamin K activation in the liver).
Implications
Vitamin K deficiency seems unlikely to be an issue with the Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet, especially if the dieter is eating some leafy greens and taking a multivitamin daily. The days on which my vitamin K intake was low probably were my days heavy on iceberg lettuce or non-green veggies.
People on a very low-carb diet not uncommonly experience easy bruising. Could be related to vitamin K deficiency. I wonder also about capillary fragility from vitamin C deficiency.
One Centrum has 31% of the recommended % Daily Value of vitamin K.
-Steve
Diabetic Mediterranean Diet 