When vitamin K was discovered back in 1929 it was initially believed to be required to insure healthy blood clotting. Only recently in the last ten years have other areas been researched that reveal that vitamin K has important contributions for bone and vascular health, apoptosis of cancer cells, immune support and suppression of chronic inflammatory factors. As we age one of the pathological processes that occurs is the calcification of tissues in the body. The risk of heart attacks is increased by arterial calcification. Vitamin K performs two important functions that benefit senior health. It regulates the calcium balance so that the calcium goes to our bones and not to our arteries. The good news is that vitamin K can assist in reversing arterial calcification which contributes to cardiovascular disease. In trials ingesting a higher amount of vitamin K reduced coronary artery disease by over 55%.
Vitamin K is found in two forms, K1 and K2. Foods such as organ meats, eggs and dairy provide K2. K1 is found in green leafy vegetables. The K2 in foods is much more easily absorbed into our system than is K1. Fortunately for seniors supplements containing both vitamin K1 and K2 are available at affordable prices. A caution for folks who are on anticoagulant drugs; they need to work with their physicians to achieve the optimal therapeutic INR range between the drugs and vitamin K. In conclusion vitamin K has been shown to assist getting the calcium into the bones which stops the slide into osteoprorosis. In the trials used to evaluate fracture risk vitamin K reduced hip fractures by over 70%.