Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Preventing Osteoporosis With Vitamin K

By David Morris


Vitamin K is found in abundance in super foods! Did you know that you'll get 50% your recommend daily amount in 1 serving of wheatgrass. Spirulina and barley grass powder and maca powder are also good sources.

During our life our whole body is constantly changing, old cells are dying and at the same time new cells are replacing them. Our bones are no exception, they are constantly breaking down and being replaced. However as we get older, the process of building new bones slows down. This can lead to problems with bone loss, and this can progress to osteoporosis.

However, a new study's found that taking vitamin K actually prevents bone loss in postmenopausal women, and it was published in Calcified Tissue International.

The study consisting of 173 postmenopausal women in good health, who were free of osteoporosis. The results of the study indicate the vitamin K is key to protecting bones.

Those women taking vitamin K had an increase in their bone mineral density, as well as lower levels of blood and urine markers for bone turnover when compared to the control group. The control groups actually had a decrease in bone mineral density.

The study's authors said, "The present study revealed more favourable changes in bone metabolism and bone mass indices for the vitamin K supplemented groups"

While in the past vitamin K was considered important for its role in blood clotting. This latest research indicates that vitamin K has a role in both heart and bone health.

Finding more vitamin K from food

The researchers concluded that whatever forms or programmes of osteoporosis-prevention that are being followed, they're likely to be more effective if they include vitamin K. And the good news is, there are lots of super foods that contain it.

There are two different forms of vitamin K, K1 & K2. Vitamin K1 is found in plant sources and foods such as spirulina, wheatgrass powder, barley grass powder and chlorella contains lots of it.

Vitamin K2 on the other hand can be found in animal related products such as eggs, and hard cheese, and yoghurt.




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