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http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2000/feb00-report.html

 

Vitamin K

Stunning new research shows that vitamin K may be one of the most extraordinary

anti-aging vitamins ever discovered. It has unique powers no other vitamin

possesses

 

by Terri Mitchell

 

Vitamin K never gets any press. It's just not very exciting. Other vitamins do

daring things like throw themselves in front of free radicals to keep you from

aging. Vitamin K's only claim to fame is that it helps blood coagulate. Big

deal. It comes from green vegetables. Ho-hum.

 

Well, that was then, and this is now. Put on your party hat because vitamin K is

about to throw the bash of the century. Vitamin K is a lot more exciting than

anybody ever dreamed. It may be a key anti-aging vitamin. It may prevent both

heart disease and osteoporosis. And it's a stronger antioxidant than vitamin E

or coenzyme Q10.

 

Vitamin K may be the future of treating certain kinds of cancer. And it may have

something to do with Alzheimer's disease. Stand back: this neglected vitamin is

stepping into the limelight.

 

Arteries, aging and vitamin K

 

Bad arteries kill more people in America than any other condition. The medical

term for hardened artery is " arteriosclerosis, " a dangerous condition that leads

to heart attack and stroke. A normal artery is pliable like an inner tube. Its

built-in muscle contracts to send blood through. A hardened artery loses its

muscle tone, and can't contract. Aging is the main cause of arteriosclerosis.

 

While doing autopsies in a public hospital in the early 1900s, a German

pathologist named J.G. Mönckeberg noticed that the middle layer of arteries from

people who died of heart attacks was calcified. This layer (the " media " ) wasn't

considered important in Mönckeberg's time. His colleagues focused on the

innermost layer of the artery where damage is visible. Mönckeberg's observations

went against the grain, but he dutifully recorded them in Virchow's Archives.

 

Although nobody paid much attention to him, Mönckeberg was later proven correct.

" Arteriosclerosis, " or hardening of the arteries, occurs in the middle of the

artery where it's not visible. " Atherosclerosis " occurs inside the artery, where

lesions are visible.

Arteriosclerosis is associated with aging, and has nothing to do with

cholesterol. Instead, it has to do with calcification.

 

Vitamin K protects the heart

 

Sudden death from heart attack is associated with calcification of the aorta,

especially in young men. In the Framingham Heart Study, 35 year-old men with

calcifications in the aorta had a 7 times increased risk of dying of a sudden

heart attack. The risk decreases with age, but the chance of suddenly dying of a

heart attack is doubled in people under 65 if their aortas are calcified.

 

Calcification is just as dangerous as fatty build-up. Researchers in Japan fed

rats a heart attack-friendly diet based on vitamin D and cholesterol. (Vitamin D

is used by researchers to create heart disease in animal models. It causes rapid

hardening of the aorta. Vitamin D, along with cholesterol, creates both aspects

of human-like heart disease, i.e., hardening of the arteries and lesions). Some

of the animals were given 100 mg/kg of body weight of vitamin K, along with the

heart attack diet. Others were fed 40 mg/kg of vitamin E.

 

After three weeks, the amount of calcium in the aorta was measured. In the

animals that didn't get the vitamins, calcium levels averaged 17.5 µ/mg. Vitamin

K reduced the level of calcium in the aorta to approximately 1 µ/mg, and vitamin

E reduced it even more. Valve damage from the heart attack diet was drastically

reversed by vitamins K and E .

 

Vitamin K and bones

 

The flip side of hardened arteries is softened bone. At the same time arteries

calcify with age, bone decalcifies. Bad bones, like bad arteries, are a big

problem for healthcare. Between them, they soak up billions of dollars.

 

The drug approach to bone loss in women is estrogen drugs with serious, even

life-threatening, side effects. The dairy industry approach to osteoporosis is

cow's milk. Neither approach gets at the underlying cause of bone and artery

deterioration.

 

Vitamin K regulates calcium

 

Imagine a vitamin that could keep calcium in bones and out of arteries. In so

doing, that vitamin could stop heart attack and osteoporosis at the same time.

Sound incredible? Maybe, but research shows that vitamin K does exactly that. It

works by regulating calcium. Bones need it, arteries can't stand it. Vitamin K

accommodates both.

 

Vitamin K works through an amino acid called " Gla, " which stands for

gamma-carboxyglutamic acid. Gla is part of a certain kind of protein that

controls calcium. Fifteen such proteins have been found so far; and researchers

believe there are at least one hundred scattered throughout the body. Vitamin K

makes them work and it's the only vitamin that does.

 

Vitamin K performs a feat on the proteins called " carboxylation. " Carboxylation

gives the proteins claws so they can hold onto calcium. Once the protein grabs

onto calcium it can be moved around. Proteins that don't get enough vitamin K

don't have the claws. They're " undercarboxylated " and can't control the mineral.

Without a functioning protein to control it, calcium drifts out of bone and into

arteries and other soft tissue.

 

The most famous Gla protein is " osteocalcin. " You may have heard of osteocalcin

in connection with bone density. What you might not have heard is that it

requires vitamin K to work. Undercarboxylated osteocalcin (osteocalcin without

vitamin K) can't regulate calcium. When this happens, calcium leaves bone and

teeth. Women with " undercarboxylated osteocalcin " excrete calcium, and their

bones are porous. Vitamin K reverses this trend.

 

Vitamin D

 

You may be saying, " Wait a minute, I thought vitamin D was the bone vitamin. "

You are right. Vitamin D plays several roles in bone. One of them is provoking

the osteocalcin gene into action. Once synthesized, however, osteocalcin needs

vitamin K to function properly.

 

Vitamin D has dominated discussion on bone because it is a hormone that acts

swiftly and dramatically. But the slower-acting vitamin K is just as important.

And although it doesn't act as quickly on bone as vitamin D, new research

indicates that vitamin K may actually be more of a hormone than currently

appreciated.

 

The truth is that although vitamin D has gotten a lot of press as the bone

vitamin, bone maintenance requires many factors; among them, parathyroid

hormone, estrogen, calcium and calcitonin (another thyroid hormone). When all of

these factors plus vitamin K are present in adequate amounts, the skeleton will

be totally replaced every 8 to 10 years with good, dense bone. If not, problems

occur.

 

Eat lettuce, not burger

 

One of the most scrutinized groups in America is the 85,000 female nurses who

took part in The Nurse's Health Study. Researchers have been tracking the eating

habits and health histories of these women since 1980. One of the things they've

looked at is which participants are more likely to break a bone. Fractures are

the classic symptom of osteoporosis.

 

Since eating animal protein has been linked to osteoporosis, an analysis was

undertaken to determine whether meat-eating had an adverse effect on the nurses'

bone density. In 1996, the results were reported. Meat showed up as a factor in

the incidence of broken bones. Nurses who ate three ounces of meat or more per

day had a significantly increased risk of forearm fracture compared to those who

ate less than two ounces.

 

One explanation for the finding is that people who eat more meat eat less

vegetables, and vegetables are high in vitamin K. However, another group of

researchers decided to look at the possible relationship between vitamin K

intake and hip fracture in the same nurses. Using 10 years worth of data on

72,000 participants, they came to the conclusion that the nurses who got the

most vitamin K were about a third less likely to get a hip fracture. Those who

ate lettuce everyday slashed their risk of hip fracture 50% compared to those

who ate it once a week or less (lettuce is a source of vitamin K). The effect of

vitamin K was greater than synthetic estrogen which didn't protect the nurses'

bone density in this study. Nor did vitamin D. In fact, women who took a lot of

vitamin D, but had a low intake of vitamin K, doubled their risk of hip

fracture!

 

Most osteoporosis studies are done on postmenopausal women because this group

experiences a dramatic decline of bone density. Vitamin K shows remarkable

results against bone loss in this population. In a study from the Netherlands, 1

mg of vitamin K per day for two weeks increased carboxylated Gla 70-80% in

postmenopausal women, restoring it to premenopausal range. Another study shows

that vitamin K slows calcium loss by one-third in people who have a tendency to

lose it (including men). Men treated with prostate cancer drugs that block

androgens are a group that worries about osteoporosis.

 

Bone density predicts death

 

Osteoporosis may reflect serious health problems. If the Study of Osteoporotic

Fractures is correct, bone density is a striking predictor of death. In its

first report, every standard deviation from normal bone density equaled a 20%

greater risk of mortality in women age 65 or older. Think of it: two deviations

from normal bone density equals a 40% greater risk of mortality, according to

this study.

 

Forty-six deaths occurred in women with the highest bone density compared to 78

in the lowest. But the surprise is that people with osteoporosis didn't die from

broken bones, or complications from broken bones. Falling accounted for only 3%

of the mortalities in this osteoporosis study. They died, instead, from heart

attack, cancer and stroke. What could be the connection? According to this

study, osteoporosis is a warning sign that the calcium that's supposed to be in

bone is lodged in arteries instead.

 

In 1999, the study was updated. Eight year's worth of data was evaluated. Again,

there was a strong relationship between bone density and mortality related to

bad blood vessels. Just to give you an idea of the statistics, there was a 1.23

greater risk of dying if a woman had one or more back fractures. Severe humpback

increased the risk of dying from a lung-related disorder, such as blood clot, by

2.6 times.

 

Vitamin K and stroke

 

Stroke is the brain's version of heart attack. The underlying cause is the same:

bad blood vessels. Millions of dollars have been spent trying to prove that

eating too much salt raises blood pressure, and causes strokes. After decades of

trying, researchers still can't find a definitive link. A review of 58 studies

published in JAMA concludes, " These results do not support a general

recommendation to reduce sodium intake. "

 

The reason why has been ignored for decades. Salt is not the only mineral that

controls blood pressure. Calcium is also important. In 1985, Dr. David A.

McCarron pointed out that calcium intake is more likely to cause blood pressure

problems than salt. He's right. Calcium is so important that doctors looking for

stroke-prone patients would do well to put down the blood pressure cuff and

order a bone scan. One standard deviation from the norm of bone density equals a

three times increased risk of having a stroke compared to 1.7 times increased

risk for blood pressure.

 

Could vitamin K help regulate calcium and prevent stroke? In 1988 Dr. Louis

Tobian of the University of Minnesota hypothesized that the high rate of

hypertension in African Americans might be caused by vitamin K deficiency. Dr.

Tobian noted that diets high in K prevent the thickening of arteries in

stroke-prone rats.

 

Although the hypothesis was ignored, scientific studies show that Dr. Tobian is

probably right. A recent report from the " Dietary Approaches to Stop

Hypertension " (DASH) study indicates that it makes no difference how much salt

you eat, or how much you weigh. What does make a difference is whether you eat

fruits and vegetables. One of the important nutrients in vegetables is the

calcium-regulating vitamin, vitamin K. Vitamin K may stop hypertension and

reduce the incidence of stroke.

 

Vitamin K's anti-aging effects: stalking the killer cytokine

 

It has been said that a person need not fear aging itself, but the diseases of

aging. Researchers have made tremendous progress in the last decade in

understanding why age brings with it certain diseases. One thing they've

discovered is that aging causes the body to downregulate some of its hormones

and other biofactors while at the same time upregulating others.

 

One of the substances that age upregulates is Interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is a

cytokine, a biochemical messenger for the immune system. In the aging body, IL-6

increases at the expense of other cytokines. This imbalance in the system

creates inflammation. IL-6 has been discovered in arthritic joints and diseased

blood vessels. In a striking study done at the National Research Institute in

Italy, people with the highest amount of IL-6 were almost twice as likely to

develop a disability related to mobility. It also turns out that people with

Alzheimer's-like dementia have elevated IL-6.

 

Surprisingly, Vitamin K also inhibits both IL-6 and inflammation. Researchers

don't know how it works yet, but some are suggesting that vitamin K could have

major implications for degenerative diseases involving inflammation, not to

mention aging itself.

 

Vitamin K and Alzheimer's Disease

 

Dr. Martin Kohlmeier of the University of North Carolina discovered several

years ago that hemodialysis patients who are prone to broken bones are more

likely to have a certain form of apolipoprotein E (apoE). Those broken bones

were a tip-off to the doctor that vitamin K might be dysregulated in people with

the E4 form of the protein.

 

The E4 form was subsequently connected to Alzheimer's Disease (AD). People with

E4 are more prone to AD. They also have lower vitamin K levels. Kohlmeier

believes it's no coincidence. He thinks there's a connection between the lack of

vitamin K, apoE4 and the ability to regulate calcium in the brain.

 

Here's why: remember osteocalcin? It's one of the calcium-grabbing proteins in

bone. But bone is not its only location. It's also found in the brain, along

with other vitamin K-dependent proteins. People with the E4 protein have

undercarboxylated osteocalcin not only in their bone, but also in their brains.

Kohlmeier believes that people with E4 clear vitamin K too fast from their

bodies. This leaves too little vitamin K for the brain proteins. Calcium can't

be regulated properly and may cause some of the damage seen in AD. Studies show

that AD patients have severely dysregulated calcium in their brains.* Kohlmeier

believes that this has to do with their lack of vitamin K-the vitamin necessary

for controlling calcium in both the brain and bone.

 

Vitamin K and blood sugar

 

The pancreas has the second highest amount of vitamin K in the body. This

suggests the vitamin may have something to do with controlling blood sugar. In

the first study of its kind, researchers in Japan looked at vitamin K's effect

on glucose and insulin. In a study on rats, they found that vitamin K deficiency

initially impedes the clearance of glucose, then causes too much insulin to be

released. This can be plotted on a graph that looks very similar to what occurs

in diabetes.

 

Mega antioxidant

 

Some studies show that vitamin K is more powerful than vitamin E and coenzyme

Q10 for scavenging free radicals. In a study on animals subjected to oxidative

stress, vitamin K by itself completely protected the liver from free radicals

(but not muscles). In another study, vitamin K was 80% as effective as vitamin E

in preventing the oxidation of linoleic acid (a polyunsaturated fatty acid).

According to researchers in the Netherlands, warfarin (a blood thinner)

abolishes the antioxidant effect of vitamin K. Vitamin E and glutathione protect

vitamin K's antioxidant effect.

 

Vitamin K and anticoagulants

 

Anticoagulant drugs work by interfering with vitamin K. Therefore, people taking

" blood thinners " such as warfarin or heparin should not take vitamin K.

 

People who chronically take these drugs are, in effect, vitamin K deficient. Do

such people show effects on bone and blood vessels? The answer is yes. Studies

show that long-term anticoagulant users have osteoporosis and a tendency to

hemorrhage. One study shows that long-term anticoagulant use doubles the risk of

stroke. Occluded arteries have been documented in people taking heparin, and

some researchers conclude that the drugs work no better than aspirin in

preventing heart attacks.

 

Vitamin K prevents blood clots

 

Those taking ginkgo, aspirin, garlic or ginger to prevent blood clots and

increase blood flow needn't worry that vitamin K will undo the effects. Vitamin

K also prevents blood clots! It works by preventing " platelet aggregation, " a

process that is different from coagulation. Aggregation has to do with oxidative

stress and free radicals, whereas coagulation is about the calcium level in

cells.

 

Vitamin K gets away with its dual personality because blood aggregation is

different from coagulation, and coagulation is such a complex process. Although

it's not commonly appreciated, coagulation involves at least 13 factors, some of

which can function in dual roles as either promoting or preventing coagulation.

Strangely enough, vitamin K also plays a role in activating two factors that

reverse clotting: proteins S and C. Studies show that people who have a

deficiency of protein S and C get blood clots.

 

Why you never heard this before

 

Unfortunately, vitamin K's role in blood coagulation has seriously dampened its

career as a vitamin that does anything else. Because the focus has been on how

much K it takes to make blood clot, the issue of how much a person needs to

maintain solid bone and clear arteries hasn't been adequately researched.

 

The RDA of 85 micrograms is roughly based on how much vitamin K is required to

maintain clotting factors. According to evidence we have obtained, this amount

is dangerously inadequate for bone and arteries. Far more may be required to

maintain brain function, and more still may be required for general anti-aging

effects.

 

Why take vitamin K?

 

Dr. Kohlmeier believes that vitamin K may have major importance in aging. He

points out that it has powerful effects in the brain, where it acts more like a

hormone than a vitamin. He also notes that vitamin K is very hormone-like in its

appearance and disappearance during growth and development. Newborns have almost

no vitamin K. It kicks in later, reaches a zenith, and then begins to recede

with age. This pattern is similar to the pattern of sex hormones.

 

About 25% of the population has the E4 form of apoE associated with Alzheimer's

and a lack of vitamin K. But they don't know it. Testing for E4 is not routine

for many reasons-including the fear that people who test positive might become

the victims of discrimination. Although no one knows at this point whether the

lack of vitamin K plays a role in Alzheimer's, it makes sense to assume that it

might.

 

Unlike other fat-soluble vitamins, the body does not store vitamin K. Although

the body recycles it, deficiency is common according to the latest research.

This is probably due to inadequate diet, a lack of co-factors, drugs and

environmental stress that place unusual demands on vitamin K reserves.

 

Vitamin K in food

 

Tufts University tests the vitamin content of foods for the U.S. Department of

Agriculture which maintains a database. Not too long ago, new technology allowed

a more precise determination of the vitamin K content of food. Using the new

technology, Tufts researcher Dr. Sarah Booth discovered that the vitamin K

content of most foods is lower than researchers previously thought.

 

Green leafy vegetables supply 40-50% of vitamin K for most Americans. Vegetable

oils are the next highest source. Hydrogenated oils (margarine, for example)

create an unnatural form of K that may actually stop the vitamin from working.

 

There are three different types of vitamin K: K1 which is from plants, K2 which

is made by bacteria and K3 which is synthetic. Vitamin K3 is generally regarded

as toxic because it generates free radicals. This version shows promise in the

treatment of cancer. K2 specifically keeps calcium and phosphorus out of the

aorta, and reverses the effects of heart-unfriendly diets. The body converts K1

to K2.

 

Taking vitamin K

 

How much vitamin K people should take is still in question. It partly depends on

diet, age and what stressors are present. Vitamin K is not toxic in high doses,

and unlike other fat-soluble vitamins it does not accumulate in the body.

 

High amounts of vitamin K will not cause your blood to overcoagulate.

Coagulation proteins only have a certain number of spaces for vitamin K. Once

those spaces are filled, vitamin K cannot affect coagulation proteins. Dr. Cees

Vermeer of Maastricht University in the Netherlands compares it to what happens

when you take vitamin C. Vitamin C is required for the hydroxylation of collagen

(hydroxylation is similar to carboxylation). If you take too much vitamin C,

however, you don't get too much collagen in the same way that if you take too

much K you don't get too much coagulation. The processes are self-limiting.

 

Vitamin K is one of the most exciting vitamins of this decade. By keeping

calcium bone where it belongs, vitamin K may help prevent heart disease, stroke,

osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease and more. Researchers are just now focusing on

its potential roles in the pancreas and brain. Vitamin K is exciting bacause it

seems to act like a hormone, but shows no toxicity.

 

Recently it was shown that foods have less vitamin K than previously thought.

Most multi-vitamins don't contain any vitamin K at all. The ones that do don't

contain enough for optimal health. Considering the importance of this vitamin,

it's reasonable to ask yourself if you're getting enough.

 

Dosage and precautions

 

Vitamin K is not stored in the body, and is therefore nontoxic in high amounts.

Forty-five milligrams a day were used in osteoporosis studies without any ill

effect. Vitamin K has been approved in Japan for the treatment of osteoporosis

since 1995. Several thousand times more than what people are currently getting

in their diet has been taken without any toxicity. Dosage depends on an

individual's diet, age, whether they are taking drugs, and what stressors are

present. Generally, 10 mg/day is recommended.

 

If you want to get your vitamin K level tested, request the osteocalcin test. It

is much more reliable than coagulation tests. The osteocalcin test measures how

much carboxylated osteocalcin you have. Since carboxylation is dependent on

vitamin K, this test will give you a good idea of your vitamin K status, and

whether or not you're headed for osteoporosis and possibly heart disease.

 

Caution: people who take blood thinners such as Coumadin or heparin should not

take vitamin K without consulting their doctor.

 

References

 

Booth SL et al. 1998. Dietary intake and adequacy of vitamin K1. J Nutr

128:785-88.

 

Blackwell GJ, et al. 1985. Inhibition of human platelet aggregation by vitamin

K. Thromb Res 37:103-14.

 

Browner WS, et al. 1991. Non-trauma mortality in elderly women with low bone

mineral density. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Lancet

338:355-58.

 

Buerger T, et al. 1999. Heparin-induced vascular occlusion in vasculosurgical

patients. An evaluation of the disease in 13 cases. J Cardiovasc Surg 40:237-42.

 

Cappuccio FP, et al. 1999. High blood pressure and bone-mineral loss in elderly

white women: a prospective study. Lancet 354:971-75.

 

Ferrucci L, et al. 1999. Serum IL-6 level and the development of disability in

older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc 47:639-46.

 

Feskanich D, et al. 1996. Protein consumption and bone fractures in women. Am J

Epidemiol 143:472-9.

 

Feskanich D, et al. 1999. Vitamin K intake and hip fractures in women: a

prospective study. Am J Clin Nutr 69:74-79.

 

Frank J, et al. 1997. Interaction of vitamins E and K: effect of high dietary

vitamin E on phylloquinone activity in chicks. Int J Vitam Nutr Res 67:242-7.

 

Furie B, et al. 1988. The molecular basis of blood coagulation. Cell 53:505-18.

 

Graudal NA, et al. 1998. Effects of sodium restriction on blood pressure, renin,

aldosterone, catecholamines, cholesterols, and triglyceride: a meta-analysis.

JAMA 279(17):1383-91.

 

Jie KSG, et al. 1996. Vitamin K status and bone mass in women with and without

aortic atherosclerosis: a population-based study. Calcif Tissue Int 59:352-6.

 

Julian DG, et al. 1996. A comparison of aspirin and anticoagulation following

thrombolysis for myocardial infarction (the AFTER study); a multicentre

unblinded randomised clinical trial. BMJ 313:1429-31.

 

Kado DM, et al. 1999. Vertebral fractures and mortality in older women: a

prospective study. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Arch Intern

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osteocalcin (bone Gla protein) and urinary calcium excretion. Ann Internal Med

111:1001-5.

 

Lipsky JJ. 1994. Nutritional sources of vitamin K. Mayo Clin Proc 69:462-66.

 

Matschiner JT, et al. 1967. Mechanism of the effect of retinoic acid and

squalene on vitamin K deficiency in the rat. J Nutr 91:303-6

 

McCarron DA. 1985. Is calcium more important than sodium in the pathogenesis of

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Mönckeberg JG. 1903. Über die reine mediaverkalkung der extremitätenarterien und

ihr verhalten zur arteriosklerose. Virchows Arch [A] 171:141-67.

 

Mukai K, et al. 1992. Stopped-flow kinetic study of vitamin E regeneration

reaction with biological hydroquinones (reduced forms of ubiquinone, vitamin K,

and tocopherolquinone) in solution.

J Biol Chem 267:22277-81.

 

Mukai K, et al. 1993. Kinetic study of free radical-scavening action of

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4:281-337.

 

Ronden JE, et al. 1997. Modulation of arterial thrombosis tendency in rats by

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Sakamoto N, et al. 1999. Low vitamin K intake effects on glucose tolerance in

rats. Int J Vit Nutr Res 69:27-31.

 

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experimental arteriosclerosis. Internat J Vit Nutr Res 69:23-26.

 

Svetkey LP, et al. 1999. Effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure: subgroup

analysis of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) randomized

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Vervoort LM, et al. 1997. The potent antioxidant activity of the vitamin K cycle

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Yamaguchi M, et al. 1999. Effect of vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7) in fermented

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Vitamin K Stressors

 

o Very high amounts of vitamin E can interfere with vitamin K. The oxidized form

of E known as tocopherylquinone interferes with vitamin K's ability to

carboxylate coagulation proteins. But, it takes thousands of IUs a day to create

this effect. Supplemental vitamin E into the normal range of up to 1200 IU/day

will not affect vitamin K or blood coagulation, unless vitamin K is perilously

low.

 

o Antibiotics wipe out intestinal flora, which are the source of vitamin K2.

 

o Cholesterol-reducing drugs, low-fat diets, Olestra, and anything else that

interferes with fat reduces vitamin K. Vitamin K is carted around the body by

lipoproteins-the same proteins that carry cholesterol. In order for vitamin K

to be absorbed, there must be some fat present.

 

o Mineral oil laxatives interfere with the absorption of vitamin K. BHT, the

synthetic food preservative, interferes with the ability of vitamin K to

function.

 

o Liver disease, gastrointestinal diseases, gallstones, synthetic estrogens and

anything else that interferes with the gut or bile can cause vitamin K

deficiency.

 

o Dietary restriction or dieting. Don't forget that dietary restriction only

enhances longevity if all nutrients are maintained at high levels. And watch out

for low-fat diets. It's the oil in the salad dressing that enables the vitamin K

in your salad to be absorbed. Also be careful about diets such as high-protein

meat diets that are devoid of green vegetables.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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