If I asked you to name the vitamin that can prevent cancer and destroy certain types of cancer cells, what would your answer be? Vitamin C? Vitamin B12? Vitamin A? Unless you are more read up on vitamins than a pharmacist, you’d probably be surprised to learn that the answer is actually Vitamin K.
We tend to forget that there even is a Vitamin K, and here he is wearing a super hero’s cape!
From a recent edition of Dr. Sears Newsletter, “The Doctor’s House Call“:
(Vitamin K’s) anti-cancer properties were first discovered by accident. Researchers in Japan were studying this vitamin’s role in the prevention of bone loss in women with cirrhosis.
It’s well known that those with cirrhosis of the liver due to viral infection (like Hepatitis C, for example) are at a much higher risk of developing cancer.
The study followed 40 women over the span of two years. One group supplemented with 45 mg a day of this vitamin. The other did not. Almost half (47%) of the women in the placebo group developed liver cancer. But here’s what amazed the researchers: The rate of liver cancer in the group of women taking this vitamin was less than 10%!
Vitamin K’s benefits don’t stop here. Another study, published in the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, found that Vitamin K can literally kill off leukemia, pancreatic and ovarian cancer cells. It does this by programming the cells to “self destruct.”
Other benefits of Vitamin K:
- Vitamin K aids the body in blood clotting. When we’re injured, vitamin k initiates the healing process by slowing and stopping the bleeding.
- Vitamin K helps the body absorb calcium. It’s been shown to help prevent and treat osteoporosis.
- Prevents hardening of the arteries.
- Helps menstrual pain and excessive menstrual flow.
As opposed to some of the exotic herbs and minerals we read about, Vitamin K is extremely easy to incorporate into our diet. Hint: Think dark, leafy vegetables.
- Spinach (My Grilled Shrimp and Spinach Salad Recipe)
- Collard Greens
- Kale
- Mustard Greens
- Broccoli
- Beet Greens
- Brussels Sprouts
- Asparagus
- Turnip Greens
- Sauerkraut (My Sauerkraut and Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage Recipe)
- Egg Yolk, Raw
- Ground Beef
- Barbeque Chicken (My favorite Chicken Panini recipe)
