The Forgotten Vitamin
Over 80 years ago, a vitamin was discovered that proved very important to our health. However, that vitamin has been forgotten by most of the health community, hidden within piles of dusty paperwork - until now.
It’s hard to say why vitamin K has been overlooked for so long, especially when some experts say that as many as 99% of the population is deficient in vitamin K.
How was Vitamin K discovered?
In 1929, Danish scientist Henrik Dam 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 was called the coagulation vitamin. The new vitamin received the letter K because the initial discoveries were reported in a German journal, in which it was designated as Koagulationsvitamin.
However, since that time this vitamin has been forgotten by many, especially those in mainstream medicine. The exception is that many patients are placed on the blood thinner coumarin. This is potentially a very dangerous medication. Too much coumarin and your blood will not clot. This can lead to uncontrolled hemorrhages and potentially death. These patients have their clotting times checked frequently. The Vit K level in some foods can vary widely. As this can make it almost impossible to monitor and control the coumarin, most of these patients are told to avoid any foods that contain Vit K.
Why is vitamin K important?
Vitamin K is necessary for many functions like:
- Building strong bones/bone density
- Boosting your vascular (artery and vein) health
- Promoting a healthy heart
- Enhancing memory function
Mainly, vitamin K unlocks the door from your bloodstream to let calcium flow into your bones and bone marrow. It works hand in hand with vitamin D to utilize the calcium in your body to build strong, dense bones.
What’s the best way to get vitamin K?
There are three basic forms of vitamin K: K1 (phylloquinone), K2 (menaquinone), and K3 (menadione).
The form most recommended is Vitamin K2, because it is natural, non-toxic, and naturally found in our bodies.
Vitamin K3 is the least recommended because it is synthetic and considered to potentially be harmful.
Some good food sources for vitamin K are:
- Kale
- Collard Greens
- Spinach
- Turnip Greens
- Mustard Greens
- Brussels Sprouts
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
On an unrelated note, remember to cross check your vegetables for toxins. We will continue to emphasize the need to stay organic. If you go to the Environmental Working Group website (http://www.ewg.org) you can look at potential toxin loads for vegetables. There is a list of “the dirty dozen”. You will be surprised to see kale high on the list. It is a great nutrient loaded vegetable. Unfortunately, it is grown with a great deal of pesticides. Look for organic with this one especially.
Resources:
Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 1997, Y. Koshihara and K Hoshi
Journal reference: “The results proved that vitamin K2 increased Gla-containing osteocalcin, which accumulatedosteocalcin in the extracellular matrix, and facilitated mineralization in vitro.”
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 2001, ZJ Ma and M Yamaguchi
Journal reference: “These results suggested that MK-7 (K2-7) has a suppressive effect on osteoclasts.”
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 2001, M Yamaguchi et al1
Journal reference: “This study demonstrates that MK-7 (K2-7) has an anabolic effect on bone tissue and osteoblastic(MC3T3-E1) cells in vitro, suggesting that the compound can stimulate osteoblastic bone formation.”
“Dietary vitamin K intake in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: results from the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg),” Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, et al, Am J Clin Nutr, 2010 March 24; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: J Linseisen, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Ingolstadter Landstr. 1, D-85746 Neuherberg, Germany. E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) ).
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