Blood is a liquid tissue whose function is to fight
disease and to transport materials around the body.
Blood is the fluid of life, transporting oxygen from the lungs to body
tissue and carbon dioxide from body tissue to the lungs. Blood is the
fluid of growth, transporting nourishment from digestion and hormones
from glands throughout the body. Blood is the fluid of health,
transporting disease fighting substances to the tissue and waste to the
kidneys.
The average adult has about five liters of blood living inside of their
body, coursing through their vessels, delivering essential elements, and
removing harmful wastes. Without blood, the human body would stop
working.
Approximately 55% of blood is plasma a straw-colored clear liquid-with
red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets floating in it.
Blood plasma:
Is the liquid part of
the blood ,he carries the solid cells and the platelets which help blood
clot. Without blood platelets, you would bleed to death.
It also contains useful things like glucose, amino acids, and nutrients
such as minerals, vitamins and hormones, as well as waste materials like
urea. Most of the useful things come from our food and are carried to
our tissues to keep us healthy, give us energy, or for growth and
repair. Hormones carry chemical messages around the body. Waste
materials like urea are carried in the blood to our excretory organs.
Red blood cells: Contain hemoglobin,
a protein which picks up oxygen molecules in the lungs - becoming
oxyhaemoglobin - thus enabling oxygen to be carried round the
circulatory system.
White blood cells: White blood cells, or leukocytes, are cells of the immune
system defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign
materials by making antibodies and fighting germs.. Several different
and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and
derived from a multipotent cell in the bone marrow known as a
hematopoietic stem cell. Leukocytes are found throughout the body,
including the blood and lymphatic system.
Platelets: Are cell fragments.
Together with a substance called fibrinogen they form clots to repair
cuts or tears in nearby tissue.
When the human body loses a little bit of blood through a minor wound,
the platelets cause the blood to clot so that the bleeding stops.
Because new blood is always being made inside of your bones, the body
can replace the lost blood. When the human body loses a lot of blood
through a major wound, that blood has to be replaced through a blood
transfusion from other people.
The body contains a natural process to stop bleeding
from minor cuts in a matter of several minutes.
When a small artery is cut, the collagen fibers in its tissue are
exposed, which signals clotting process to begin.
As platelets begin to adhere to the cut edges, they release chemicals to
attract even more platelets.
Eventually a platelet plug is formed, and the external bleeding stops.
Clotting factors in the blood cause strands of blood-borne material,
called fibrin, to stick together and seal the inside of the wound.
Eventually, the cut blood vessel heals, and the blood clot dissolves
after several days.
Phytonadione is present in a number of dietary sources
that includes: green leafy vegetables such as
spinach; green tea;
cabbage; turnip greens;
Brussels sprouts; alfafa; eggs; soybean oil; canola oil; olive oil;
soybeans; cheddar cheese; oats;
cauliflower;
asparagus; coffee; cow milk; and bacon.
Vitamin K is required in only
small amounts and little of the vitamins are lost from these dietary
sources with ordinary cooking.
In instances of Vitamin K deficiency,
Phytonadione supplements are available e.g.
Phytonadione SEDICO.
Vitamin K is essential in blood clotting and if it were
absent, a small cut would cause continuous bleeding in the body to the
point of death. The process of blood clotting begins automatically when
a tear in a blood vessel is present. When a tear in a blood vessel is
present, a collection of molecules assemble rapidly to form a blood
clot. Clotting is dependent on proteins such as Factor II, Factor VII,
Factor IX, and Factor X that require Vitamin K for synthesis in the
body.
