| Hello everybody | | | | osteocalcin that is required to bind calcium to bone |
| Vitamin K | | | | matrix. It also produces GLA -'glue' like amino acid |
| We all know how important eating a well balanced | | | | that helps keep calcium in the bones. So for |
| diet is, to maintain a healthy array of all the vitamins | | | | postmenopausal women vitamin K is important for |
| that are essential for the body to go about doing it's | | | | helping to keep osteoporosis at bay, as studies have |
| tireless work, day in day out, yet we all seem | | | | shown that by taking a supplement of 45mg of |
| mystified when we become run down or ill, from | | | | vitamin K daily for 3 years bone density actually |
| either having been living off fad diets or instant food | | | | improved. |
| full of preservatives and additives. | | | | Worryingly, it has been found that people who have |
| I look at our 'good food good health' slogan as a way | | | | a deficiency in Vitamin K have been linked with bone |
| of life, we are what we eat, so if you want your | | | | loss and arterial calcification. |
| body to run smoothly we need to eat nutritiously - | | | | Because of this research has been carried out on |
| well you would not run your Porsche on two stroke | | | | rats with exciting results. It was found that by |
| fuel and expect a smooth ride or optimum power, | | | | feeding rats a K2 rich diet for 6 weeks, further |
| heaven forbid, your body works exactly the same | | | | hardening of the arteries was prevented and a 37 |
| although obviously you can change your car every | | | | per cent reduction of existing hardening. As currently |
| few years, to date medical science is not quite up to | | | | no treatment exists for hardened arteries, |
| that yet!! | | | | cardiovascular specialists are extremely excited if this |
| Vitamin K is not one of the better-known vitamins, | | | | finding has the same effect on humans and the |
| although it plays a crucial role in our well being. Until | | | | future of the disease, studies pending on this are |
| recently it was thought that it was only beneficial in | | | | looking promising. |
| helping blood clot, now if you ask me that is pretty | | | | Hardened arteries - arterial calcification causes the |
| important as we do not want to bleed to death. | | | | walls of blood vessels to lose elasticity, making the |
| Vitamin K has two main forms- phylloquinine (vitamin | | | | heart work at elevated rates to pump blood around |
| K1), which is also known as phytonadione and | | | | the body. This extra pressure on the heart can lead |
| menaquinones (vitamin K2). | | | | to heart attacks, by up to 50 percent more! |
| Phylloquinine K1 makes up 90 per cent of the vitamin | | | | Hardening of the arteries is not only through poor |
| k in a typical diet and is found in leafy green | | | | diet it can also happen through injury and a simple |
| vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, spinach and | | | | small knock is enough, this process of calcification in |
| broccoli etc and also vegetable oils. | | | | the arteries can take months or even years, causing |
| Menaquinones can also be obtained in the diet from | | | | inflammation to the wall of the blood vessel and |
| different products such as meat, cheese and | | | | through this floating cholesterol and debris |
| fermented foods. | | | | consequently gets stuck to the site and this is where |
| Our bodies naturally produce Vitamin K from food in | | | | calcification - hardening happens. |
| the small intestine by bacteria, but there is no way of | | | | So if we all eat a well balanced diet of good food, |
| telling how much this provides us of our daily needs. | | | | including those greens that a lot of people dislike, to |
| Studies have shown that Vitamin K is now known to | | | | make sure we maintain our vitamin K levels and the |
| assist the body significantly in many ways and is | | | | benefits for good health are greatly increased. |
| being hailed as a natural wonder drug. | | | | Supplements are also available to boost your intake. |
| K1 and K2 play major roles in bone health, by | | | | So like we said previously good food is good health. |
| empowering secondary modification of the protein | | | | |