7 Surprising Signs You Have a Vitamin K Deficiency, Doctors Say

As seen in Best Life

By Lauren GrayNov 23, 2024

Lacking the nutrient can cause a number of potentially serious health issues.

Vitamin K is an essential nutrient that your body needs in order to stop bleeding by helping to clot your blood. It also aids in wound healing, protecting against heart disease, and building strong bones.

The vast majority of vitamin K deficiencies are found in newborn babies and infants, and are especially likely to occur when a baby has not received a vitamin K shot at birth. In fact, these babies are 80 times more likely to develop late vitamin K deficiency—those occurring after the first six months of life—compared with infants who receive a vitamin K shot at birth, the Cleveland Clinic notes.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), vitamin K deficiency is very rare in adults, and is “usually limited to people with malabsorption disorders or those taking drugs that interfere with vitamin K metabolism,” such as long-term use of antibiotics and blood thinners. That’s because most people can get all the vitamin K they need through their diet by eating foods such as leafy green vegetables, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage. Additionally, your body can produce vitamin K using bacteria that’s found within your intestines.

However, some adults do develop a vitamin K deficiency, which is why it’s beneficial to know the signs. Read on to learn the seven surprising signs you have a vitamin K deficiency, according to medical experts.

1 | Increased bleeding

Because vitamin K is crucial to coagulation, those with a vitamin K deficiency may notice that they bleed more easily than others.

Oscar Coetzee, PhD, DCN, a doctor of clinical nutrition and senior director of medical education at Designs for Health, says this can take several forms, including heavy menstrual bleeding, gum bleeding, nose bleeding, and uncontrolled bleeding after an injury—big or small.

“Symptoms and signs of vitamin K deficiency further include bleeding within the digestive tract and blood in the urine,” he says.

2 | Increased bruising

Due to the same underlying defects in blood coagulation, increased bruising can also be a sign of a vitamin K deficiency.

“People with a vitamin K deficiency may bruise easily, even with minor impacts, due to impaired blood clotting,” explains Markus Ploesser, MD, an integrative medicine physician and psychiatrist at Open Mind Health. “Vitamin K is essential for activating clotting factors that help blood vessels heal. Without sufficient vitamin K, small blood vessels can break and cause discoloration under the skin,” he adds.

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