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Home > Anti-aging Research > Vitamin K

Vitamin K

Specific Recommendations:

Vitamin K products at iHerb

General Information:

Vitamin K - The Natural Pharmacist

News & Research:

Vitamin K may cut lymph cancer risk: US study - Nutra USA, 4/21/10
Vitamin K may protect against developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, say Mayo Clinic researchers - Science Daily, 4/19/10 - "the risk of developing Non-Hodgkin lymphoma was approximately 45 percent lower for participants who had vitamin K intakes in the top quartile of intake in the study (>108 ug/day), compared to participants who had intakes in the bottom quartile (<39 ug/day). This association remained after accounting for other factors such as age, sex, education, obesity, smoking, alcohol use and intake of foods with high amounts of antioxidants"
New Vitamin K Analysis Supports The Triage Theory - Science Daily, 9/17/09 - "An important analysis conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists suggests the importance of ensuring optimal dietary intakes of vitamin K to prevent age-related conditions such as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer ... Average intakes of vitamin K in the United States and the United Kingdom are less even than currently recommended intakes, which are primarily based on levels to ensure adequate coagulation. McCann & Ames' analysis supports recommendations by some experts that non-clotting functions requiring vitamin K may need higher intakes than are currently recommended"
Study strengthens Vitamin K1's heart benefits - Nutra USA, 5/26/09 - "Subjects receiving a daily vitamin K1 plus multivitamin supplement experienced 6 per cent less progression of coronary artery calcification (CAC), or hardening of the arteries that leads to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease" - [Abstract]
Review supports vitamin K's fracture reducing power - Nutra USA, 5/20/09 - "The most important findings in this review are that although supplementation with lower doses of vitamin K may be sufficient to reduce serum ucOC levels, supplementation with higher doses may be required for optimal bone health" - [Abstract]
Vitamin K and prostate cancer – study supports benefits - Nutra USA, 3/31/09 - "increased intakes of vitamin K2, but not K1, were associated with a 35 per cent reduction in prostate cancer risk. The potential benefits of K2 were more pronounced for advanced prostate cancer ... A higher ratio of undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) to intact total osteocalcin (iOC) is indicative of poorer vitamin K status ... of ucOC and iOC were analysed from serum samples, and every 0.1 increment in the ratio was associated with a 38 per cent increase in advanced-stage prostate cancer, and a 21 per cent increase in high-grade prostate cancer" - [Abstract] - See vitamin K products at iHerb.
Vitamin K2, but not K1, effective for heart health benefits: Study - Nutra USA, 2/12/09 - "This study confirms our findings in the Rotterdam study, showing that increased vitamin K2 intake strongly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease" - [Abstract]
Vitamin K Linked To Insulin Resistance In Older Men - Science Daily, 11/26/08 - "Vitamin K slowed the development of insulin resistance in elderly men in a study of 355 non-diabetic men and women ages 60 to 80 who completed a three-year clinical trial at the Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University"
Vitamin K2 linked to better heart health - Nutra USA, 9/10/08 - "When the intakes of K1 and K2 were divided into four groups from the lowest to highest, no association was found between K1 intakes and calcification. However, high consumption of K2 (about 45 micrograms per day) was associated with 20 per cent decreased coronary calcification, compared with low consumption of K2 (about 18micrograms per day)"
Effect of vitamin K supplementation on insulin resistance in older men and women - Diabetes Care. 2008 Aug 12 - "The effect of 36-month vitamin K supplementation on HOMA-IR differed by sex (sex-by-treatment interaction: P = 0.02). HOMA-IR was statistically significantly lower at the 36-month visit among men in the supplement group vs. the men in the control group (P = 0.01) after adjustment for baseline HOMA-IR, BMI, and body weight change. There were no statistically significant differences in outcome measures between intervention groups in women ... Vitamin K supplementation for 36 months at doses attainable in the diet may reduce progression of insulin resistance in older men"
Vitamin K good for young bones, too: study - Nutra USA, 7/17/08 - "These findings suggest that improvement in vitamin K status, and thus in the amount of active osteocalcin, might significantly improve bone health in children, even in those with arthritis"
Vitamin K2 linked to lower prostate cancer risk - Nutra USA, 4/9/08 - "While no reduction in the risk of prostate cancer was observed for vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), an increased intake of all menaquinones (vitamin K2) was associated with a 35 per cent reduction in risk"
Study gives vitamin K anti-inflammation boost - Nutra USA, 12/3/07 - "Limited in vitro data support the inverse association between vitamin K and interleukin-6, and this may influence the association between vitamin K and other cytokines, such as osteoprotegerin" - [Abstract]
Vitamin K shows potential in the fight against wrinkles - Nutra USA, 10/19/07 - [Abstract] - "Recent studies have linked vitamin K to the elasticity of skin in patients suffering from pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), an inherited condition resulting in severe wrinkling of the skin on the face and body"
Vitamin K linked to fewer varicose veins, better vascular health - Nutra USA, 8/23/07 - "they suggested that adequate dietary intake of vitamin K may be a necessary prerequisite in preventing the development of varicose veins" - [Abstract]
Is vitamin K deficiency more common than thought? - Nutra USA, 7/18/07
Vitamin K may reverse arterial calcification - Nutra USA, 4/3/07 - "using 10-week old male Wistar Kyoto rats ... high-vitamin K intake (both K1 and K2) not only blocked the progress of further calcium accumulation but also lead to a greater than 37 per cent reduction of previously accumulated arterial calcium precipitates within six weeks"
Many Seniors Are Still Not Meeting The Recommended Intake Of Vitamin K - Science Daily, 2/12/07 - "Although older adults seem to consume more vitamin K than younger adults, many seniors are still not meeting the recommended intake of vitamin K ... Research has shown poor vitamin K intake may be associated with conditions such as bone fractures, bone loss, hardening of the arteries, and osteoarthritis"
Vitamin K2 higher bioavailability than K1, say scientists - Nutra USA, 12/18/06
Vitamin K may reverse artery hardening, suggests study - Nutra USA, 12/11/06 - "A high-dose vitamin K supplement reduced calcium precipitates associated with hardening of the arteries by 37 per cent in rats"
Study Suggests Vitamin K Deficiency as an Osteoporosis Risk Factor - Doctor's Guide, 9/22/06 - "one of the early effects of declining estrogen is the impairment of vitamin K function in bone even before any bone loss that could be attributed to menopause can be measured ... Our study suggests that the generally accepted level of vitamin K in healthy women is inadequate to maintain bone health just at the onset of menopause"
Vitamin K1-rich diet linked to better heart health - Nutra USA, 8/29/06
Strong support for vitamin K’s bone health benefits - Nutra USA, 6/27/06 - "Supplementation of vitamin K (MK-4) resulted in reductions in hip fractures of 77 per cent, vertebral fracture of 60 per cent, and all non-vertebral fractures of 81 per cent"
More support for vitamin K’s protection from osteoarthritis - Nutra USA, 4/12/06 - "Higher intake of vitamin K, found naturally in cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, and other green leafy vegetables, could reduce the risk of osteoarthritic knee problems by 40 per cent"
Vitamin K's Delicate Balancing Act - Life Extension Magazine, 4/06 - "Scientists have discovered that vitamin K regulates several biochemical processes that require exquisite balance to function normally, including blood coagulation, bone mineralization, and vascular health"
Vitamin K in the Treatment and Prevention of Osteoporosis - Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2005;62(15):1574-1581/Medscape, 8/5/05 - "The results of two dose-response studies have indicated that (1) the amount of vitamin K needed for optimal γ-carboxylation of osteocalcin is significantly higher than what is provided by diet alone and (2) there is a need to increase current dosage recommendations to optimize bone mineralization"
Natto vitamin K2 superior to vitamin K? - Nutra USA, 3/24/04
Vitamin K - Life Extension Magazine, 3/04
Vitamin K Builds Strong Bones - New Hope Natural Media, 3/28/03 - "Without adequate vitamin K, osteocalcin cannot be produced, and bone formation becomes impaired ... when women with osteoporosis take supplemental vitamin K, the urinary excretion of calcium falls by about 50%, suggesting that less calcium is being leached from the bones ... Some research, however, suggests that the optimal level of intake may be higher, as much as 400 mcg per day. A typical western diet contains 80 to 150 mcg per day"
Vitamin K(1) Absorption Unreliable in Infants with Conjugated Hyperbilirubinaemia - Doctor's Guide, 3/5/03
Watch Out for Vitamin K? - Dr. Weil, 11/27/02
Low Bone Mineral Density and Quantitative Ultrasound in Men Associated with Low Vitamin K Status - Doctor's Guide, 9/23/02 - "Low vitamin K status is associated with low quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and low bone mineral density (BMD) of the femoral neck and trochanter ... What we did was measure the amount of vitamin K in circulation and use the more sensitive measures of vitamin K status which was % undercarboxylated osteocalcin ... We corrected for triglycerides because vitamin K is transported in the blood by triglyceride-rich lipoproteins ... What we found was that the higher the amounts of vitamin K in the plasma, the higher the BMD" - So does that mean that if your triglycerides are in check you may need extra vitamin K? - Ben
Topical Vitamin K Effectively Treats Bruising Following Laser Therapy - Doctor's Guide, 8/26/02
Vitamin K Therapy Slows Spread of Liver Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/29/02 - "Results show that 59 percent of patients treated with vitamin K-II were alive at two years compared to 29 percent of those who were not given vitamin K-II (p=0.14). Invasion of the cancer into the portal vein occurred in 2 percent of the vitamin K-II treated group at one year and in 13 percent at two years, compared to 21 and 55 percent of controls, respectively" - Also see liver cancer. Vitamin K3 (menadione sodium bisulfite) is put in animal foods and animal vitamins.
Hydrogenated Oils Affect Amount of Vitamin K Available to Bone - Doctor's Guide, 11/30/01 - "Hydrogenation of plant oils decreases the amount of vitamin K available to bone in consumers using food products containing the oils ... available data indicate that more than half of younger US adults do not meet the current guidelines governing adequate intake of the nutrient" - Another reason to stay away from the brands of peanut butter that are hydrogenated. - Ben
Vitamin K Deficiency Linked to Low Bone Mineral Density in Women - Doctor's Guide, 10/15/01
Vitamin K Cuts Hip Fractures - Nutrition Science News, 9/01
Low-Dose Vitamin K Treats Excessive Anticoagulation - Doctor's Guide, 7/9/01
US Anticoagulation Clinics Underuse Vitamin K - Doctor's Guide, 7/9/01
Low Dose Vitamin K Helps Warfarin Patients - Doctor's Guide, 11/2/00
Bone Up on Osteoporosis - Nutrition Science News, 11/00
Lack of Vitamin K Linked to Hip Fractures - Doctor's Guide, 5/9/00
Vitamin K - Life Extension Magazine, 2/00
Research Points to Better Blood Clotting Control - Doctor's Guide, 4/13/98
Combining Acetaminophen With Anticoagulant Increases Risk Of Bleeding - Doctor's Guide, 3/3/98
Is Vitamin K Linked To Childhood Cancer? - Doctor's Guide, 1/16/98

Abstracts:

Inhibitory Effect of Vitamin C in Combination With Vitamin K3 on Tumor Growth and Metastasis of Lewis Lung Carcinoma Xenografted in C57BL/6 Mice - Nutr Cancer. 2011 Sep 2 - "Vit CK3 restored the body weight of tumor-bearing mice to the level of tumor-free mice ... These results demonstrate that vit CK3 inhibits primary tumor growth and exhibits antimetastastic potential in vivo through attenuated tumor invasion and proliferation" - See Garden of Life, Vitamin Code, Raw Vitamin C, 60 UltraZorbe Veggie Caps at iHerb and vitamin K products at iHerb.
Dietary phylloquinone and menaquinones intake and risk of type 2 diabetes - Diabetes Care. 2010 Apr 27 - "phylloquinone intake tended to be associated (p=0.08) with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes with a hazard ratio of 0.81 (95%-CI: 0.66-0.99) for the highest versus the lowest quartile. For menaquinones intake, a linear, inverse association (p=0.038) with risk of type 2 diabetes was observed with a hazard ratio of 0.93 (0.87-1.00) for each 10 mug increment in the multivariate model. Conclusion: This study shows that both phylloquinone and menaquinones intake may be associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes"
Dietary vitamin K intake in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: results from the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg) - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Mar 24 - "Dietary intake of menaquinones was nonsignificantly inversely associated with overall cancer incidence (HR for the highest compared with the lowest quartile: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.73, 1.01; P for trend = 0.08), and the association was stronger for cancer mortality (HR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.53, 0.98; P for trend = 0.03). Cancer risk reduction with increasing intake of menaquinones was more pronounced in men than in women, mainly driven by significant inverse associations with prostate (P for trend = 0.03) and lung cancer (P for trend = 0.002). We found no association with phylloquinone intake"
Vitamin K2 Suppresses Proliferation and Motility of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by Activating Steroid and Xenobiotic Receptor - Endocr J. 2009 Jun 24 - "These results suggest that the activation of SXR could contribute to tumor suppressive effects of vitamin K2 on HCC cells"
Combination of vitamin K(2) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor ameliorates cumulative recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma - J Hepatol. 2009 May 15 - "A 48-month follow-up revealed that the combination treatment with VK and ACE-I markedly inhibited the cumulative recurrence of HCC in association with suppression of the serum level of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); a central angiogenic factor. The serum level of lectin-reactive alpha-fetoprotein was also suppressed almost in parallel with VEGF. These beneficial effects were not observed with single treatment using VK or ACE-I" - See vitamin K products at iHerb.
High-dose vitamin K supplementation reduces fracture incidence in postmenopausal women: a review of the literature - Nutr Res. 2009 Apr;29(4):221-8 - "randomized controlled trials (RCTs) ... The review of the reliable literature confirmed the effect of vitamin K(1) and vitamin K(2) supplementation on the skeleton of postmenopausal women mediated by mechanisms other than bone mineral density and bone turnover"
Vitamin K supplementation and progression of coronary artery calcium in older men and women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Apr 22 - "those who received phylloquinone supplements had 6% less progression than did those who received the multivitamin alone ... Phylloquinone supplementation slows the progression of CAC in healthy older adults with preexisting CAC, independent of its effect on total MGP concentrations"
A high menaquinone reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease in women - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Jan 27 - "A high intake of menoquinones, especially MK-7, MK-8 and MK-9, could protect against CHD"
Serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin as biomarker of vitamin k intake and risk of prostate cancer: a nested case-control study in the heidelberg cohort of the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Jan;18(1):49-56 - "From cell studies, Vitamin K is known to exert anticancer effects on a variety of cancer cell lines, including prostate cancer cells. Recently, we reported an inverse association between dietary intake of menaquinones (vitamin K(2)), but not phylloquinone (vitamin K(1)), and risk of prostate cancer ... There was indication of a lower prostate cancer risk in carriers of the A allele (compared with GG carriers) of the +2255 VKORC1 polymorphism with increasing menaquinone intake (P(interaction) = 0.14) whereas no distinct effect modification was observed for the ucOC/iOC ratio (P(interaction) = 0.37). The increased risks of advanced-stage and high-grade prostate cancer with higher serum ucOC/iOC ratio strengthen the findings for dietary menaquinone intake"
Phylloquinone intake, insulin sensitivity, and glycemic status in men and women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jul;88(1):210-5 - "Limited evidence suggests that vitamin K may have a beneficial role in glucose homeostasis ... Higher phylloquinone intake was associated with greater insulin sensitivity and glycemic status, as measured by 2-h post-OGTT insulin and glucose and ISI(0,120), after adjustment for age, sex, waist circumference, lifestyle characteristics, and diet quality [2-h post-OGTT insulin: lowest and highest quintile, 81.0 and 72.7 microU/mL, respectively (P for trend = 0.003); 2-h post-OGTT glucose: 106.3 and 101.9 mg/dL, respectively"
An Attempt to Evaluate the Effect of Vitamin K(3) Using as an Enhancer of Anticancer Agents - Biol Pharm Bull. 2008;31(6):1270-1273 - "These findings suggest that VK(3) induces G(2)/M arrest by inhibition of cyclin B/cdk1 complex formation, and is thus useful as an enhancer of G(2) phase-dependent drugs in hepatic cancer chemotherapy"
A 12 week, open label, phase I/IIa study using apatone for the treatment of prostate cancer patients who have failed standard therapy - Int J Med Sci. 2008 Mar 24;5(2):62-7 - "oral Apatone (Vitamin C and Vitamin K3) administration in the treatment of prostate cancer ... 5,000 mg of VC and 50 mg of VK3 each day ... At the conclusion of the 12 week treatment period, PSAV decreased and PSADT increased in 13 of 17 patients (p < or = 0.05). There were no dose-limiting adverse effects. Of the 15 patients who continued on Apatone after 12 weeks, only 1 death occurred after 14 months of treatment"
Vitamin K(2) suppresses malignancy of HuH7 hepatoma cells via inhibition of connexin 43 - Cancer Lett. 2008 Jan 29 - "The anti-cancer potential of vitamin K(2) (VK(2)) in hepatoma has gained considerable attention"
Vitamin K and Vitamin D Status: Associations with Inflammatory Markers in the Framingham Offspring Study - Am J Epidemiol. 2007 Nov 15 - "Vitamin K status, measured by plasma phylloquinone concentration and phylloquinone intake, was inversely associated with circulating inflammatory markers as a group and with several individual inflammatory biomarkers" - See vitamin K products at iHerb.
Vitamin K(2) supplementation improves hip bone geometry and bone strength indices in postmenopausal women - Osteoporos Int. 2007 Feb 8 - "Vitamin K(2) helps maintaining bone strength at the site of the femoral neck in postmenopausal women by improving BMC and FNW, whereas it has little effect on DXA-BMD"
Vitamin K and the Prevention of Fractures: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials - Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jun 26;166(12):1256-61 - "This systematic review suggests that supplementation with phytonadione and menaquinone-4 reduces bone loss. In the case of the latter, there is a strong effect on incident fractures among Japanese patients"
Two-year randomized controlled trial of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and vitamin D3 plus calcium on the bone health of older women - J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Apr;22(4):509-19 - "women who took combined vitamin K and vitamin D plus calcium showed a significant and sustained increase in both BMD and BMC at the site of the ultradistal radius"
Vitamin K treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis in Indonesia - J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2006 Apr;32(2):230-4 - "After 48 weeks of treatment, the mean percentage change of lumbar BMD in the vitamin K(2) group was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that of the control group"
Vitamin K, bone turnover, and bone mass in girls - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Oct;80(4):1075-80 - "Better vitamin K status was associated with decreased bone turnover in healthy girls consuming a typical US diet"
Bone health. New role for vitamin K? - Can Fam Physician. 2004 Jul;50:993-7 - "Evidence suggests that dietary phylloquinone intake of <100 microg daily might not be optimal for bone health. Low intake of vitamin K could contribute to osteoporosis and subsequent fracture ... Family physicians need to be aware of the importance of encouraging adequate vitamin K intake, particularly among institutionalized elderly people, to prevent increased bone resorption"
Role of Vitamin K2 in the Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Women With Viral Cirrhosis of the Liver - JAMA. 2004 Jul 21;292(3):358-61 - "Hepatocellular carcinoma was detected in 2 of the 21 women given vitamin K2 and 9 of the 19 women in the control group ... the risk ratio for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients given vitamin K2 was 0.13" - See vitamin K2 at iHerb.
Vitamin K intake and bone mineral density in women and men - Am. J. of Clin. Nutr., 2/03 - "Low dietary vitamin K intake was associated with low BMD in women ... In contrast, there was no association between dietary vitamin K intake and BMD in men"
Vitamin K supplementation in cystic fibrosis - Arch Dis Child. 2003 Nov;88(11):974-5 - "a increased vitamin K intake may have significant health benefits for children with CF"

Other possible vitamin K retailers: