October
2007
Vitamin K (Phylloquinone)
Vitamin who? Are you sure your not talking about a cereal? These are actual replies from questions when asked about Vitamin K. Its no wonder this highly beneficial but often overlooked vitamin has been often referred to as the forgotten vitamin. With that in mind its no surprise that Vitamin K is lacking in most diets today. Though primarily known for its important role in blood clotting Vitamin K offers many more benefits that have just begun to surface. Dark leafy greens like spinach and collard greens supply the largest doses of Vitamin K but they do have their drawbacks since they may contain enough Vitamin K to satisfy the RDA recommendation they do not come close to supplying enough for optimal health. Vitamin K is usually measured in micrograms (mcg) instead of milligrams (mg) with 80 to 100 mcg being considered enough to satisfy the RDA. However, with optimum health benefits being the goal the RDA values are considered much to low with 1 to 5 mg daily being recommended for optimum health. That is a lot of spinach.
There are three basic types of Vitamin K. Phylloquinone is known as Vitamin K1 and is found naturally in the plants we consume. Vitamin K2 is called Menaquinone and is produced by the beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal system. Vitamin K3 is a manmade synthetic called Menadione and not recommended since toxicity has been reported in infants given K3 by injection. Vitamin K1 (Pyhilloquinone) is available in supplement form but not always present in the multi-vitamins on the market so check the label and check the amount offered, chances are it will be in the low MCG area. From natural sources Vitamin K is poorly absorbed and is fat soluble needing the fat, good or neutral, to bind with for absorption. In supplement or pill form Vitamin K is reported to have a much higher absorption rate but still needs the fat and should be ingested with a meal or food.
Besides the role in blood clotting, Vitamin K helps prevent the arteries from hardening which is the most common factor in coronary heart disease and heart failure. Known as atherosclerotic calcification, an abundance of evidence supports Vitamin Ks involvement in preventing calcium from entering the artery linings and a host of other tissues that may become damaged. Vitamin K is involved in synthesizing Matrix Gla-protein (MGP) which turns out to be a very strong inhibitor of the calcification of the arteries and joint cartilage. Higher levels of Vitamin K, by far higher than what the RDA suggests, are necessary for the proper amount of MGP to become fabricated in order to be effective against arterial and cartilage calcification. Plenty of calcium is vital for strong bones and teeth but is not wanted wandering around into artery walls and the cartilage of the joints. Proper amounts of Vitamin K, changed into MGP in a biological way, will prevent just that.
Though it sounds as if Vitamin K defeats calcium, this is not exactly the case. While preventing calcification in the arteries and joints Vitamin K actually is one of the most important vitamins for actually improving bone density. While working with calcium, Vitamin K could actually be considered the adhesive, or nuts and bolts, that adheres the calcium into bone. Okay, call it a control issue that Vitamin K has over calcium, its beneficial, stay out of the artery walls and joints, and get into the bone and make yourself useful. In comparative tests between some prescription osteoporosis drugs and Vitamin K no difference in an increase of bone fractures occurred. The results indicated that the Vitamin K group incurred the same results of those on popular prescription drugs designed towards bone density and osteoporosis sufferers. The price of Vitamin K in comparison to the prescription drugs equaled pennies per dose while the prescribed medication could not come close to matching.
Other anti-oxidant properties of Vitamin K have demonstrated to being effective in the prevention and treatment of lung cancer. Though not enough evidence has been gathered to satisfy certain organizations, many doctors agree that Vitamin K slows lung cancer growth and has been effective in treating leukemia. Other studies show Vitamin K effective in treating liver cancer. All but a few apparently showed at least a partial improvement and positive results with several patients stabilized, many with improved liver function, and others where the abnormal thrombosis normalized.
Vitamin K supplementation is also used for treating Alzheimers disease and it is heavily speculated that Vitamin K deficiency may actually contribute to the disease. The levels of toxicity for Vitamin K1 (Phylloquinone) have reached 500 times of the RDA without toxic effects. The synthetic Vitamin K3 (Menadione) has shown toxic effects in infants as mentioned before and is not recommended. With half of the newborns showing indications of low Vitamin K despite the mothers meeting the RDA levels should also be taken into consideration when considering supplementing, but any expectant mother should discuss this and any supplementation with their doctor or other qualified health professional.