An essential nutrient for the body, vitamin K is another one of the fat soluble vitamins that must be provided through the diet or in supplemental form.

The primary function of vitamin K is to help with the clotting of the blood as well as playing a side role in the elderly of maintaining strong bones.

The main food sources where you can find vitamin K include cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, cereals, soybeans and other vegetables, both green leafy and otherwise. Parsley is a particularly great source with 2 tbsp giving you 153% of your daily intake.

You can also find an alternate form called phylloquinone in chicken, egg yolks, cow liver and most cheese and cheese products. Being sure to take in a mixed diet is the best way to ensure that you are meeting your needs.

Having a deficiency of this nutrient is really quite rare in today's world unless very poor nutrition is happening in an individual or there are problems with absorption in the intestinal tract. Those who do show a deficiency will usually also begin to bruise very easily and will find that they bleed a great deal when a small cut or injury is seen.

It is important to note that if you currently take any type of blood thinner such as warfarin, you should talk to your doctor about how this will react with this nutrient. You may need to adjust how much you take in through your diet so that you do not get a reaction with the medication.