holistic complementary and alternative health an medicine
Article by Howard Cliff
Vitamins, as most people know, are substances which in very small quantities are absolutely essential to support life. That is the official medical definition. However most people do not realise that in larger quantities they do not only maintain life but actually contribute to overall health and enhance it. Here in the west we probably get enough in our food for the former but not the latter. Recent research into vitamin K has shown that this vitamin is probably as important as vitamin D.Vitamin D is probably the most researched of all the vitamins and it is now accepted that it is hugely important in almost every process within the body. So vitamin D gets all the publicity. Vitamin K is the Cinderella here but some researchers consider it as important as vitamin D. It has long been known that vitamin K is involved in the normal clotting of blood but now research has shown it to be involved in many more processes within the body and the prevention of diseases. The list includes heart disease and cancer and osteoporosis. Vitamin K regulates the metabolism of calcium in the bloodstream and prevents the slow depositing of calcium in the arteries leading to arteriosclerosis as well as preventing the leaching of calcium from the bones in osteoporosis.According to the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition people who have the highest intake of vitamin K 2 may significantly lower their risk of mortality by cancer. They also found that it reduced the risk of prostate cancer by 35%.In another study at the Mayo clinic it was found that people with the highest intake of dietary vitamin K had a 45% lower risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma than those with a low intake.I still find the vitamin K story a bit complicated.It appears that there are two basic types of vitamin K. K1 and K2. Both types are necessary, K1 for clotting and bone density and K2 for the prevention of osteoporosis. K-1 can be converted in the body to K2. Both types are found in food, K1 in green vegetables, such a! s kale, and K2 in meat and cheese. K2 is also produced by bacteria in the gut but recent research indicates that this is not absorbed into the body. As I mentioned earlier K2 is very important in the prevention of various diseases and it would therefore seem to be prudent to take a vitamin K2 supplement.There is, however, an issue which arises from supplementation and indeed eating vitamin K rich foods for those people taking warfarin (Coumadin). Warfarin works by inhibiting the clotting action of vitamin K and therefore care should be taken in the amount of vitamin K rich foods that are consumed. I have always been of the opinion that people taking warfarin should eat as much of the healthy foods as they like and adjust the amount of warfarin, not the other way round, but that is probably medical heresy. One thing that I have been unable to find out is the answer to the following question: does warfarin only inhibit the clotting mechanism of vitamin K or does it inhibit all the other actions of vitamin K as well? If anyone out there in the medisphere knows the answer please let me know. holistic health
About the AuthorHoward Cliff is a retired chemist with an interest in alternative health matters.
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