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Vitamin K: new health benefits discovered
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
If you regularly include foods enriched with vitamin K in your diet, you can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular atherosclerosis by three times or even prevent it altogether. These are the conclusions made by experts from Edith Cowan University, which is located in Australia.
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin substance that exists in two forms:
- phylloquinone, present in greens;
- menaquinone, produced by bacteria and present in some animal fermented foods (such as cheese).
Scientists from Australia carefully examined information about more than 50 thousand patients who took part in the Danish experiment on studying dietary features, oncology and health, which lasted for 23 years. All those who took part in the project, at the start filled out a special questionnaire containing questions about the features of food intake. Then the researchers compared the characteristics of nutrition with the frequency of hospitalization of patients with diagnoses of ischemic stroke, ischemic heart disease, atherosclerosis of peripheral arterial vessels.
As a result, it was found that patients who regularly consumed large amounts of foods containing vitamin K were almost 20% less likely to be hospitalized for cardiovascular pathologies and atherosclerotic diseases (especially those that primarily affect peripheral arterial vessels).
As one of the study's lead authors, Professor Nicola Bondonno, assures, "vitamin K prevents the accumulation of calcium in the underlying arterial vessels, blocking the development of vascular calcification."
Why is it only about consuming an increased amount of the vitamin? The fact is that the existing medical recommendations concern only the average daily volume of vitamin K that is necessary to ensure adequate blood clotting processes, without taking into account the preventive role of this substance in preventing atherosclerotic pathology of the cardiovascular system. Experts insist: it is necessary to review the current criteria and establish new standards for the use of vitamin K, taking into account the latest direction.
Vitamin K is present in many plant products - in particular, in cabbage, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, green peas, strawberries. In addition, it can be obtained by eating chicken meat, beef liver.
By the way, an excess of the substance in the body, as well as its deficiency, is also not welcome, since an increased intake of vitamin K can provoke an increase in blood viscosity, the development of thrombosis and phlebitis. This phenomenon is considered quite rare, however, at present, the upper limit of vitamin K consumption has not been determined.
Information is presented on the JANA magazine page