VITAMIN K’S ROLE IN OUR NERVOUS SYSTEM AND OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS

Vitamin K’s role in maintaining essential life-supporting functions within our cells has been well known for a long time now. However, its role in driving the cogs of our central and peripheral nervous system has recently come to light – almost 40 years after Vitamin K’s discovery.

What is Vitamin K anyway? 

Vitamin K is a name given to a group of fat-soluble vitamins. They are considered essential co-factors in humans for the production of several proteins that are involved in coagulation homeostasis and calcium homeostasis. The original term vitamin “K” comes from the K in the Germanic word ‘Koagulation’ meaning the ability to clot blood or prevent hemorrhage.

Vitamin K’ action in the brain 

Recent research has garnered data that confirms the relevance of vitamin K in the nervous system and cognition. Cognition, in simpler terms, is the ability of our brain to form synaptic neural connections that drive critical thinking processes.

Notably, a strong relationship has been established between the K vitamers and sphingolipids in the brain and their modulation by nutritional status. Vitamin K triggers a protein Gas6 – which has been shown to be actively involved in cell survival, chemotaxis, mitogenesis, and cell growth of neurons and glial cells.

The experimental finding that vitamin K dependent Gas6 activity protects neurons from cell death indicates that vitamin K could prevent age-related changes in the brain – for example, the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

*Recommended Read – Our article on leading causes of diseases like Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s with tips and best practices to avoid them naturally.

Other health benefits of Vitamin K 

Reproductive Health 

Painful, excessive or irregular uterine contractions in the context of monthly periods (dysmenorrhea) are one of the most common reasons given by young women for repeated absence from school or work. In China, an injection of vitamin K into a particular acupuncture point on the lower leg has been the standard treatment for dysmenorrhea for many years.

Recent studies have shown that a vitamin K injection into the acupuncture point rapidly alleviates discomfort and reduces the use of pain killers in women aged 14 to 25 years. However, Vitamin K shots at birth should be avoided as we’ve covered in one of our previous articles.

Cardiovascular Health 

One observational study indicated that increased intakes of vitamin K2 rich food (Like Avocados) over a period of 10 years could be associated with reduced calcification of the arteries and a lower risk of dying of coronary heart disease. Another study shows that dietary supplementation with vitamin K1 plus vitamin D and a combination of minerals over a period of three years resulted in an improvement in the elasticity of the carotid artery in women over 50.

Vitamin K’s potential for cancer treatment 

Recent research also shows the vitamin K family and its potential anticancer effect. Vitamin K2 may safely suppress growth and invasion of human hepatocellular carcinoma by triggering a protein called kinase A. Its activation results in moderate suppression of tumour recurrence. It has also been shown to result in growth suppression in a dose-dependent manner in lung cancer cells as well.

You can read about treating cancer naturally here.

Stay healthy and stay tuned 🙂