This vitamin doesn’t get much attention. But researchers have discovered that it may be the single most important nutrient for your heart.
It prevents a serious and common condition that often leads to sudden cardiac arrest.[1]
Scientists at Augusta University in Georgia wanted to find out if this vitamin could stop left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). It is a gradual enlargement and thickening of the walls of your heart’s left ventricle. That’s the main pumping chamber.
Over time, LVH causes the heart muscle to lose elasticity, work harder, and eventually fail to pump enough blood. This can trigger a heart attack.
About 40% of the population has LVH. It’s right up there with obesity, smoking, and family history as a risk factor for heart attack and heart failure.[2] [3]
Vitamin K Keeps Your Heart Pumping Strong
In the study, researchers examined 766 young people. Using echocardiograms, they assessed their left ventricular structure and heart function. They also gathered data on their diet and physical activity.[4]
Even though the participants were young, 10% had some degree of LVH. Those who consumed the least vitamin K were more than three times as likely to have LVH.
The researchers concluded: “Greater vitamin K consumption may favorably influence subclinical markers of cardiac structure and function.”
The study was published in The Journal of Nutrition.
It’s Easy to Get More Vitamin K
Vitamin K helps your heart in another way…
It is associated with lower blood pressure. Vitamin K stops minerals from building up in arteries. This enables the heart to pump blood freely throughout the body. Mineralization natural occurs with age. It is a major risk factor for heart disease.[5]
Adequate vitamin K has also been shown to lower the risk of stroke.
This crucial nutrient does more than help your heart. It encourages normal blood clotting. This makes it an essential nutrient for healing injuries. Vitamin K also reduces bone loss linked to aging.[6]
Increased levels of vitamin K are associated with a stronger memory in seniors. In one study, people over 70 with the highest blood levels of vitamin K had the best memory performance.[7]
Vitamin K is also known as phylloquinone or vitamin K1. You don’t need much of it to keep your heart healthy.
Study participants getting 90 micrograms a day were unlikely to have LVH.[8]
Eating just a small amount of leafy greens every day gives you enough vitamin K to ward off LVH. Just a quarter cup of cooked kale contains 265 mcg of K.[9]
Other food sources include collards, leaf lettuce, mustard greens, parsley, romaine lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnip greens. Vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage also contain vitamin K.[10]
You can also get the vitamin K you need in a supplement. Look for one that includes both K1 and K2 forms. But make sure that you take it with a meal, preferably one with some healthy fats. Vitamin K is fat soluble.
Taking it with olive oil, avocado, wild-caught fish, or organic beef will help your body absorb it.
Editor’s Note: Research shows the standard heart disease treatments—stents and statin drugs—don’t prevent heart attacks. Discover what does by reading our monthly journal Independent Healing. It’s your best source for reliable, unbiased health information. Go HERE.
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[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/left-ventricular-hypertrophy/basics/complications/con-20026690
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22113443
[3] https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijhy/2011/495349/
[4] http://jn.nutrition.org/content/147/10/1960.full
[5] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219867#benefits
[6] https://www.drweil.com/vitamins-supplements-herbs/vitamins/health-benefits-of-vitamin-k/
[7] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219867#benefits
[8] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319645.php
[9] https://www.uptodate.com/contents/image?imageKey=PI%2F65279
[10] https://www.livescience.com/51908-vitamin-k.html