Vitamin K is another reason to eat more vegetables, particularly the green, leafy variety. This nutrient has an important role in synthesizing life-saving blood clotting proteins and is also required for bone health. Vitamin K is also good for the health of your arteries and blood vessels and can help prevent heart disease and stroke. This vitamin can interact with other medications and should not be taken in supplement form without the guidance of your doctor.
Description
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that the body stores in the fat tissue and liver. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, this nutrient plays a key role in the production of blood clotting compounds produced by the liver and is also required for bone and blood vessel health. Vitamin K is absorbed from green leafy vegetables and other food sources. It is rare to become deficient in this vitamin because healthy bacteria that reside in the intestines also synthesize vitamin K. Taking antibiotics, however, can deplete these bacteria colonies causing a mild deficiency. Other causes of low vitamin K levels include digestive disorders that cause malabsorption in the body, such as Crohn's disease, gallbladder disease and inflammatory bowel disease. A deficiency can lead to excessive bleeding or hemorrhage.
Warfarin
Warfarin is a prescription medication that thins the blood by working against your body's natural clotting process. The liver requires vitamin K to synthesize blood clotting proteins and warfarin works against this natural process to decrease the risk of blood clots in that arteries due to cardiovascular disease. The site Clot Care Online Resource notes that taking high doses of vitamin K, such as in supplement or multivitamin form can interfere with the effects of warfarin, which may inhibit the effects of this medication on the arteries.
Artery Calcification
The body produces several proteins that affect tissue health, including the bones and blood vessels. The journal "Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care" published a study that report that vitamin K is necessary for the synthesis of a family of proteins called Gla proteins. Two of these, matrix Gla protein and osteocalcin, which inhibit calcification of the arteries and cartilage. Calcification occurs when calcium build-up in addition to the accumulation of fat plaques cause the arteries to narrow and harden. This increases the risk of high blood pressure or hypertension, heart disease and strokes.
Cardiovascular Effects
Research published in the medical journal "Maturitas" reports that low levels of vitamin K in the diet has been linked to to calcifications of the aorta and coronary arteries. The aorta is a large primary artery that carries blood from the left ventricle of the heart to the body. The coronary arteries deliver oxygenated blood to the heart itself and calcifications can cause hardening and narrowing of these arteries leading to heart disease.
References
- Maturitas; Vitamin K Intake and Calcifications in Breast Arteries; Maas AH et al, 2007 Mar 20;56(3):273-9
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin K
- Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care; Role of Vitamin K and Gla Proteins in the Pathophysiology of Osteoporosis and Vascular Calcification; Shearer M., November 2000 - Volume 3 - Issue 6 - pp 433-438
- Clot Care Online Resource: Vitamin K and Warfarin: What You Should Know
Member Comments