VITAMIN K

Compared to vitamins A and D, very little is known about the role of vitamin K in embryonic and fetal development. The enzyme that uses it to activate vitamin K-dependent proteins first shows up in the skeletal and nervous tissue of the embryo.³⁶ Two vitamin K-dependent proteins, bone Gla protein and matrix Gla protein, are present in the first trimester.³⁷ These proteins help lay down calcium salts in bone tissue and keep calcium out of the soft tissues where it does not belong.

In 1997, an infant was born to a mother who took Warfarin during pregnancy. This drug interferes with the normal clotting mechanism of the blood by creating an effective vitamin K deficiency. During the early development of the middle third of her face, the cartilage of her septum calcified; at birth, her nose was a stub. Since only twenty percent of the septum protrudes from the face, a mere ten percent reduction in its length can cut the length of the nose in half. She also had cavities and plaques in her spinal cord; she required oxygen due to respiratory distress at birth; and she was quadriplegic by twenty months.³⁷

This tragic case of severe deficiency illustrates the essential role of K vitamins in the development of proper facial proportions and the much more important and fundamental development of the nervous system.

Vitamin K₂ has a higher rate of transport across the placenta than vitamin K₁.³⁸ When mothers receive injections of vitamin K₂, the placenta rapidly accumulates it and then releases it slowly to the fetus over time.³⁹ Vitamin K₁ is found in leafy greens while vitamin K₂ is found in fermented foods and grass-fed animal fats—especially natto, goose liver, cheese, and to a lesser extent butter and egg yolks.⁴⁰