What Can Vitamin K Do For You?

Consuming an adequate amount of vitamin K is essential in helping prevent bone fractures. In a review of vitamin K studies that appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers showed evidence that indicates hip fractures were reduced by 77% and vertebral fractures were reduced by 60% for people using vitamin K supplements. In a seven-year study on elderly men and women, participants who consumed the highest dietary amounts of vitamin K had a 65% lower risk of hip fracture than those who consumed lower amounts of the vitamin.

The scientific community is increasingly interested in vitamin K’s impact on some forms of cancer. In a study released last year, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota discovered that people who consume higher dietary levels of vitamin K had a 45% lower risk of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system involving tumors that develop in a specific type of white blood cell. The authors of the study believe vitamin K may block inflammatory cytokines, which are chemicals released from immune system cells and are involved in the growth of this type of cancer.

Vitamin K and diabetes is also on the radar among medical researchers. The Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center conducted a study on insulin resistance – a condition that causes the body to stop using insulin properly (this problem often develops into diabetes). When researchers gave the test group multivitamins containing 500 micrograms of vitamin K, men in the group saw a slower progression of insulin resistance compared to the control group. As a reminder, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, kale, citrus fruits, milk and eggs are good sources of this vitamin.