Vitamin K - The Misunderstood Vitamin

Ask doctors what vitamin K does, and most will tell you it is involved in the clotting process... period!

As early as 1984, however, scientists reported that patients who suffered fractures caused by osteoporosis had vitamin K levels that were 70% lower than age-matched controls. These findings were confirmed in later studies showing diminished bone mineral density in the presence of low serum vitamin K levels. The most frightening statistic showed that women with the lowest blood levels of vitamin K had a 65% greater risk of suffering a hip fracture compared to those with the highest vitamin K levels.

One might wonder why vitamin K has such a powerful impact on bone density. The answer is quite simple. In order for calcium to bind to the bone matrix, a protein called osteocalcin is needed. Without adequate vitamin K, osteocalcin is unable to transport calcium from the blood and connect it to the bones. Tens of millions of Americans ingest calcium supplements to reduce their risk of osteoporosis and fractures. These vitamin K studies, however, show that people could still suffer the crippling effects of osteoporosis if they are vitamin K deficient because the calcium would remain in their blood and not bind to bone. The next question is what happens to calcium if it is not taken up to form bone mass. Regrettably, in a vitamin K deficient state, the body takes calcium that is meant to form strong bones and instead deposits it into the arterial wall, thereby contributing to the process of atherosclerosis. In fact, in response to a vitamin K deficiency, the body naturally accumulates enormous amounts of calcium in the arterial wall. This explains why so many aging individuals suffer from hardened calcified arteries, yet have brittle bones that are markedly depleted of calcium.

In a huge European human clinical trial (The Rotterdam Study), doctors evaluated vitamin K intake of 4807 subjects over a 7-10 year period. After adjusting for other risk factors, coronary heart disease risk was reduced with increased intake of vitamin K2. Those who consumed the most vitamin K2 had a 57% reduction in cardiac disease compared to those who consumed the least K2.

Vitamin K controls calcium-regulating proteins that are present in vascular tissue. These vitamin K-dependent proteins (including osteocalcin and matrix G1a protein) have been shown to specifically inhibit vascular calcification, i.e. keep calcium out of the arteries.

Increasing evidence shows that the same calcification process involved in normal bone formation also occurs in the linings of arteries when there is not enough vitamin K available to activate calcium-regulating proteins (such as matrix G1a protein, a powerful inhibitor of arterial calcification). This means that the same biological mechanism used by bone to attract and bind calcium can also pathologically occur in the linings of the arteries in the presence of inadequate vitamin K.8 This explains why patients with advanced atherosclerosis have both occluded and calcified (hardened) arteries that have lost their youthful elasticity. The inability of arteries to readily expand and contract with each heartbeat is a hallmark characteristic of hypertension.

Since vitamin K was discovered in 1930, it was only thought to contribute to the liver's maintenance of healthy blood coagulation. Over the past 15 years, scientists have found that vitamin K plays a crucial role in arterial and bone health.

Recent studies indicate that vitamin K intake that is substantially above the government's recommended reference range can slow bone loss, reduce arterial stiffening, prevent heart attack, and reduce death rates in adult human populations.

Related product: Super K with K2.