Health Benefits of Vitamin K1 and K2 and How To Get More in the Body

We're learning more and more every day about the human body and the vitamins and minerals we need to lead a long and healthy life. Most of us know about the different vitamins that are essential in our diets, and some of us even take dietary supplements to boost our intake of nutrients. Vitamin K is a natural vitamin readily created in the body that may help us to avoid a number of chronic illnesses. So What is Vitamin K Vitamin K is by no means a new scientific discovery. However, this vitamin isn't common in the western diet, and doesn't get much mainstream attention. Vitamin K first came to people's attention back in 1929 when it was mentioned in a scientific journal as an essential nutrient for blood coagulation, or blood clotting. Scientists thought that some unknown nutrients seemed to be protecting against chronic illness and tooth decay. Experts now think that it was vitamin K all along. Vitamin K1 can be found in plant foods like dark, green leafy vegetables, and is common in our diets overall. On the other hand, Vitamin K2 is found in animal foods and foods that are fermented. This vitamin is therefore quite uncommon in our diets. Gut bacteria also produce Vitamin K2. So how does vitamin K1 & k2 work? Research suggests that calcium metabolism, heart health and blood clotting are all affected by proteins activated by vitamin K. Vitamin K also aids energy production. A key function of vitamin K is to regulate calcium deposition. It makes sure that bones become calcified, but blood vessels and organs do not. Studies in humans have also shown that vitamin K1 supplements have no significant benefits towards improving heart and bone health, while vitamin K2 supplements do. More scientific studies on humans are needed to further investigate vitamin K and its effects on humans. One of the biggest risk factors for heart disease is caused by a build-up of calcium in the arteries around the heart. If we can in any way reduce the risk of this build-up, we're going in the right direction. Vitamin K is believed to reduce this calcium build-up by preventing it from being deposited in the wrong areas of the body, like the arteries. As mentioned earlier, intake of vitamin K2 is essential for the metabolism of calcium, which is the principal mineral found in our teeth and bones. Vitamin K2 supplementation is now recommended officially in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in Japan. Vitamin K May also Help to Fight Cancer As advanced as western medicine has become, there has still been no cure found for cancer. There are many ways to treat cancer, like chemotherapy, but the majority of these treatments have detrimental side effects often making patients sick and causing damage to other parts of the body. It continues to be a race against time to find a cure, or, even better, a way to prevent cancer cells from mutating in the body.