Vitamin
K intake cuts risk of diabetes in the elderly by 50 percent
Vitamin
K promotes the removal of calcium from the blood to prevent heart disease and
diabetes
A
team of Spanish scientists noted "The results of this study show that
dietary phylloquinone intake is associated with reduced risk of type-2
diabetes, which extends the potential roles of vitamin K in human health."
The researchers noted that vitamin K deficiencies are prevalent in western
diets due to a lack of leafy green vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, and
broccoli that provide vitamin K1, the most common isomer of the vitamin.
Vitamin K2 (from fermented foods and natto) is much less common in the typical
diet and can be synthesized in the gut by microflora.
Researchers
reviewed data on 1,069 men and women with an average age of 67 that were part
of the Prevention with the Mediterranean Diet trial in Spain. None of the
participants had diabetes at the start of the study. 131 had developed the
disease after five and a half years. The team determined that those with the
highest levels of vitamin K1 at the study's outset experienced the lowest risk
for developing Type II diabetes.
The
team concluded "An increase in the amount of phylloquinone intake during
the follow-up was associated with a 51 percent lower risk of diabetes in
elderly subjects at high cardiovascular risk after a median follow-up of 5.5
years." Though still to be determined, the researchers postulated that the
risk reduction was due in large part to the metabolism of osteocalcin, a
protein involved in bone mineralization and moving calcium from the blood into
the bone. Nutrition experts recommend supplementing with a full spectrum form
of vitamin K (1000 to 2200 mcg per day) to prevent diabetes and heart disease
as we age.
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