Vitamin K and Covid

[maria40]

I know quite a few people on this site take Vitamin K2 and they might be interested to read this. Think I may pause it for a while.

medscape.com/viewarticle/93...

[SnazzyD]

I may be getting the wrong end of the stick but I think they are talking about warfarin and other vitamin K agonist drugs, not vitamin K per se and it is K1 that is the main clotting factor not K2. They are warning that acute infection can cause drugs that stop vitamin K working ie warfarin, to work too much resulting in bleeding.

[maria40 in reply to SnazzyD]

Thanks. I did reread it a few times and still wasn't quite clear. But I knew someone on here would know more than me. Perhaps I should go on taking it then?

[Mary63 in reply to maria40]

Yes I would Keep using K2. . Vit K2 directs calcium into bones and teeth, whereas Vit K (1) has to do with blood clotting.

[alvertta in reply to Mary63]

Thanks. Good to know.

[SnazzyD in reply to maria40]

The road to making a clot is a long one, needing a number of factors and for many who form clots too easily that process needs to be slowed down. Vitamin K makes just one step and warfarin and other drugs (called vitamin K agonists) block the activation of some of the vitamin K. Therefore, there is less of it to help form a clot. Anyone taking warfarin is walking a tightrope between too much warfarin (risking harmful bleeding) or not enough (life threatening clots). The dose is calculated according to regular blood tests that show how quickly or slowly people are clotting. Many things can make the balance go screwy like antibiotics, illness (eg Covid), change in intake levels of foods with vitamin K1, lots of other medicines and who knows what sometimes.

Unless you are taking drugs that stop clotting it should be fine and besides K2 has different actions. This explains the difference

healthline.com/nutrition/vi...

[HeronNS]

If you are on warfarin you may wish to be careful about taking Vitamin K2, although it does not affect blood clotting to the extent that Vitamin K1 does. It is really hard for me to find definitive information about this online as so much of what's available conflates Vitamin K1 and K2 although they actually perform different functions in the body.

Some doctors have been saying people should be careful not to take too much Vitamin D as this can lead to too much calcium and then kidney stones and other problems. As far as I know, taking Vitamin K2 (not K1) helps prevent this problem. There appears to be a correlation between both Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 deficiencies and increased mortality from covid, but no one knows yet whether this is a cause. Having sufficient amounts of these vitamins correlates to lower mortality. Again, no one knows if there is a direct cause, or if it's just part of the whole profile of a patient, and unrelated. I don't think it can harm anyone to make sure they maintain healthy, not excessive, levels of these (and other) nutrients.