Essential
- Vegetables with green leaves and crucifers, such as spinach, kale and broccoli, are rich in vitamin K1.
- Their consumption, more specifically a vitamin K1 intake of around 120 µg/day, reduces the risk of atherosclerious vascular diseases.
- In addition to its potential role in the inhibition of vascular calcification, vitamin K1 could also be beneficial for musculoskeletal health.
“Vitamin K could inhibit vascular calcification, a frequent characteristic of atherosclerious vascular diseases”, According to Danish and Australian scientists. To verify this theory, the latter conducted a study, published in the journal European Journal of Nutritionduring which they examined associations between food intake in vitamin K1 and atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease events, including hospitalizations and mortality in elderly women.
Eating green leafy vegetables decreases the risk of atherosclerious vascular diseases
A total of 1,436 women were included. Vitamin K1 intakes were calculated from a food frequency questionnaire, using a database on vitamin K foods, namely green leafy and cruciferous vegetables, such as spinach, curly cabbage and broccoli. In 1,090 participants, the thickness of the common carotid artery, a measure of atherosclerosis, was evaluated. Later, the team analyzed the link between vitamin K1 intake and results of cardiovascular disease obtained from medical records.
The results have shown that patients ingesting approximately 30 % of more vitamin K1, that what is recommended by the Australian authorities, presented a lower risk of long -term atherosclent vascular diseases. According to examination of the neck, adults with a higher intake of vitamin K1 had a lesser thickening of these vessels, a marker of atherosclerosis. In addition to inhibiting vascular calcification, vitamin K1 could also be beneficial for musculoskeletal health.
Vitamin K1: specialized meals to improve the health of the population
“The good news is that these green leafy vegetables can be easily integrated into your daily meals”, said the authors. According to them, “A cup and a half” of these vegetables can easily increase the daily intake of vitamin K. “We are currently creating new foods containing more vegetables with green leaves rich in vitamin K1. They can be used in communities with particular nutritional and dietetic needs, such as residents in retirement homes”, said Dr. Liezhou Zhong, who participated in research.
