Whether you snag some vitamin C on the first signal of a chilly or fill up on probiotics to maintain your gut health in examine, you’re not alone in turning to dietary dietary supplements—an estimated 75% of Americans use them.

Among the assorted sorts, vitamin Okay is gaining reputation as a consequence of its potential benefits for healthy aging. Specifically, it’s thought to help within the prevention of age-related circumstances reminiscent of osteoporosis and heart problems.

So, is it time to begin including extra vitamin Okay to your food regimen? Here’s what you have to know.

What is vitamin Okay?

“Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, so your body stores it in fat tissue and the liver,” Heather Viola, DO, Primary Care Physician at Mount Sinai Doctors-Ansonia, tells Fortune. 

“It is best known for its role in helping blood clot, or coagulate, properly.” Blood clotting, or coagulation, is the method that helps your physique cut back bleeding from an harm.

There are three types of vitamin Okay: 

• Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone)
• Vitamin K2 (menaquinone)
• Vitamin K3 (menaphtone), which is an artificial type of vitamin Okay generally present in animal feed or pet meals and isn’t supposed for human consumption.

In addition to blood coagulation, your physique wants vitamin Okay to assist preserve robust bones. “People who have higher levels of vitamin K have greater bone density, while low levels of vitamin K have been found in those with osteoporosis,” says Viola.

There can be analysis indicating that vitamin Okay could assist stop and deal with circumstances such as coronary heart disease and most cancers. A examine published in the journal Oncology Letters discovered {that a} vitamin K2 therapy could positively inhibit the expansion of most cancers cells and reduce the danger of growing prostate and lung most cancers.

Foods excessive in vitamin Okay

Sources of vitamin K1 embrace:

• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Iceberg lettuce
• Oils reminiscent of soybean and canola oil
• Leafy greens, reminiscent of collards

Vitamin K2 might be present in:

• Full-fat dairy merchandise
• Pork
• Poultry
• Fermented meals

For adults 19 years and older, the recommended daily intake of vitamin Okay is 120 micrograms for males and 90 micrograms for ladies. “Vitamin K1 is the only form available in the U.S. as a supplement,” says Viola. “It is available as part of multivitamin complexes or alone in five-milligram tablets.”

While vitamin Okay deficiency in adults is uncommon, newborns are at higher danger as a consequence of very restricted ranges at beginning. All new child infants are required to obtain a vitamin Okay shot to assist stop vitamin Okay deficiency bleeding (VKDB). Newborns who don’t get a vitamin Okay shot are 81 times more likely to develop extreme bleeding than those that obtain it. 

Vitamin Okay precautions

Your physician could advocate a vitamin Okay complement you probably have a situation that causes extreme bleeding or prevents correct vitamin Okay absorption.

“People who have health problems such as gallbladder or biliary disease, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, and Crohn’s disease will benefit from a vitamin K supplement,” says Viola. She notes that taking antibiotics for lengthy intervals of time might also impair vitamin Okay absorption.

If you’re taking blood thinners reminiscent of warfarin, you must discuss together with your physician earlier than taking vitamin Okay dietary supplements or rising your consumption of meals with vitamin Okay. “People taking blood-thinning drugs should avoid extra vitamin K because it can reverse the effects of these drugs,” explains Viola. 

The anti-aging advantages of vitamin Okay

There is promising analysis that vitamin Okay supplies some protection towards age-related circumstances like osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and heart problems. An encouraging examine in rats even signifies that vitamin Okay could assist in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, though extra research are wanted to find out the hyperlink.

When it involves coronary heart well being, a study published in Open Heart means that elevated vitamin K2 consumption could cut back arterial stiffness, decrease the danger of diabetes and coronary artery illness, and enhance the survival price amongst cardiac sufferers.

Since vitamin Okay can be a key participant in sustaining bone well being, those that are postmenopausal could profit from a vitamin Okay complement as a result of elevated danger of bone loss brought on by decreased estrogen levels. 

“There is increasing evidence that Vitamin K improves bone health and reduces the risk of bone fractures, particularly in postmenopausal women who are at increased risk for osteoporosis,” says Viola. An Osteoporosis International study discovered that taking a day by day dose of 180 mcg of vitamin K2 helped cut back bone loss in wholesome postmenopausal ladies.

Along these traces, vitamin Okay can be identified to reduce bone fracture rates. Research has proven that low vitamin Okay consumption has been linked to an increased risk of hip fractures in each women and men. However, Viola factors out that ongoing research are nonetheless wanted for the FDA to make an official advice of vitamin Okay for sufferers in danger for bone loss. 

Because of the rising proof that vitamin Okay is helpful in lowering age-related points, many individuals are keen so as to add extra to their day by day vitamin routine. While most adults get ample quantities of vitamin Okay via a healthy diet, there may be currently no evidence that increased intakes of vitamin Okay trigger opposed unwanted side effects.

The backside line? “Vitamin K supplements are relatively safe, and many people take them, especially postmenopausal women,” says Viola. 

Of course, you will need to converse together with your physician earlier than beginning a vitamin Okay complement. And since there appears to be an array of advantages related to vitamin Okay that far outreach blood coagulation—particularly with regards to wholesome growing older—it definitely doesn’t damage to convey it up at your subsequent go to.