Maintain healthy bones and arteries with Vitamin K

In 1929 a Danish researcher discovered that a certain substance would cause clotting of the blood which helped prevent people from bleeding to death. This substance became known as the "coagulation vitamin".  This blood clotting vitamin became known as vitamin K.  However, it is just one of the many roles played by vitamin K in promoting our health.

Vitamin K is a fat soluble vitamin and can be stored in the liver for only a short period of time by the body. It is important we get proper food and vitamin supplementation on a regular basis. Foods found to be a beneficial source of K vitamins which includes K1, K2 and K3 are soybean products, egg yolk, cheeses, cow liver and broccoli.

Vitamin K and bone health

Bone growth and health is dependent largely on a protein known as osteocalcin. There has to be sufficient amounts of vitamin K in the blood to activate this protein such that bone density can be improved and maintained. Insufficient vitamin K supplementation can lead to osteoporosis and other related diseases associated with low bone mineral density in both men and women. It has proved to be such an important vitamin that since 1995 vitamin K supplementation has been used as an accepted and approved treatment for osteoporosis in Japan.

Vitamin K and arteries

The arteries carry blood throughout the body and nourish our tissues. As we age the artery walls become less pliable and stiffen as the body begins to deposit calcium. If this process continues long enough coronary disease begins to occur and the risk of stroke or heart attack dramatically increases. Recent research indicates that vitamin K activates a protein known as matrix G1. This protein acts as a powerful inhibitor of calcification in the arteries and helps channel calcium into the bones.

A deficiency in vitamin K can be caused by or related to any of the following:

• Crohn's disease can interfere with vitamin and nutrient absorption
• liver disease can prevent or diminish vitamin K storage
• intake of certain drugs such as antibiotics, aspirin, blood thinners and cholesterol lowering agents
• extreme diets or very poor diets

In summary, Vitamin K not only attracts calcium to the bones it also keeps it out of arterial walls. It has also exhibited some antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It also enhances skin health and may be helpful in combating cancer cells.