Vitamin K
Vitamin K or pass the broccoli, hold the beef
Sometimes with PLD polycystic liver disease our bilirubin rises, our bleeding time becomes prolonged, our platelets are diminished and our billirubin increases. These are all things that can increase our MELD score; these are things that make us more eligible for a liver transplant. Some of us have malabsorption as well as cystic organ disease or we bruise and bleed easily. This can come about by taking medication such as octreotide or another medication. Part of these can be a symptoms can be caused by decreased Vitamin K absorption. This value can be checked indirectly by a blood test of bleeding time and prothrombin time. Should you have a prolonged bleeding time here are a few dietary things to try to increase Vitamin K levels.
Vitamin K produced in Intestines
Normally Vitamin K is produced by bacteria in the intestines. Adequate gut flora is necessary to produce Vitamin K. Dark green vegetables are the best dietary source of vitamin K. This is associated with the chlorophyll in the chloroplasts of green plants. Vitamin K comes in three forms: plant based vitamin K1 and vitamin K2 , these have no toxicity a ssociated with them. Avoid using vitamin K3, the synthetic form, which can cause liver toxicity.
Vitamin K was discovered by Danish scientist Henrik Dam who named it the Koagulation vitamin. In 1920 he investigated the role of cholesterol by feeding chickens a cholesterol-depleted diet. After several weeks, the animals developed hemorrhages and started bleeding. These defects could not be restored by adding purified cholesterol to the diet. It appeared that together with the cholesterol a second compound had been extracted from the food, and this compound came to be called the Koagulation vitamin or vitamin K. The new vitamin received the letter K because the initial discoveries were reported in a German medical journal where coagulation is spelled with a K.
MELD Score
Dr.
Marie Hogan on Polycystic Liver Disease
Model for End-Stage Liver Disease
Numeric system ranks transplant individuals from 6 to 40
Based on three lab test results:
Bilirubin (how effectively the liver excretes bile)
INR (prothrombin time, ability to clot blood)
Creatinine (kidney function)
