foodconsumer.org: Vitamin K2 May Cut Coronary Heart Disease Risk

Vitamin K2 May Cut Coronary Heart Disease Risk
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admin on 01/23/2010 18:20:00
 
Saturday Jan 23, 2010 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking vitamin K2 supplements or
eating lots of green vegetables may help cut risk for coronary heart disease, a
study in the Sept 2009 issue of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular
Diseases suggests.
Previous studies have already shown that vitamin K dependent proteins inhibit
vascular calcification, a precursor for cardiovascular disease.
The study, led by Gast G. C. and colleagues from University Medical Center
Utrecht in the Netherlands, was meant to examine the association between the
intake of dietary vitamins K1 and K2 and incidence of coronary heart disease.
For the study, the researchers followed 16,057 women, aged 49 to 70, for an
average of eight years.  The participants were surveyed when entering the study
for their intake of vitamin K and other nutrients.  The average intakes of
vitamin K1 and K2 were 211.7 microg/d and 29.1 microg/d, respectively.
The women were free of CHD at baseline. During the follow-up, 480 incident cases
of CHD were recorded.
When other risk factors and dietary factors were considered, an inverse
association became apparent between intake of vitamin K2 and incidence of
coronary heart disease.
Specifically, intake of each 10 microg/d vitamin K2 was associated with a nine
percent reduction in coronary heart disease.
The researchers found the association was mainly due to vitamin K2 subtype MK-7,
MK-7 and MK-9.
No similar association was found for vitamin K1.
Coronary heart disease, also called coronary artery disease, is a condition in
which plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries, leading to atherosclerosis.
 The plaque consists of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances.
Vitamin K is found in large quantity in vegetables, including raw parsley, Swiss
chard, kale, broccoli, watercress, green leafy lettuce, spinach.  Small
quantities of vitamin K are also found in soybean oil and canola oil and other
plant-based foods.
A health observer said this study suggests that eating vegetables may prevent
coronary heart disease; conversely, eating insufficient vegetables may increase
the risk.
Reporting by David Liu and editing by Rachel Stockton