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. Your best bet for getting plenty of Vitamin K is through dark leafy greens – just think Vitamin Kale to remember that kale and its “kind” are great sources…. delicious, too.
Sources of Vitamin K
- Spinach
- Collard Greens
- Kale
- Mustard Greens
- Broccoli
- Beet Greens
- Brussels Sprouts
- Asparagus
- Turnip Greens
- Sauerkraut
- Egg Yolk, Raw
- Ground Beef
- Barbecue Chicken
Smoothies, salads, and soups are just a few ways to “sneak” more Vitamin K into your daily diet. I’m also wild about chopping up spinach and tossing it into scrambled eggs and omelets. Somehow it pairs with eggs like they were a match made in Heaven.
Spinach not only provides Vitamin K, it also acts as antioxidant.
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Good to know this excellent fact about vitamin k, am sure foods containing this vitamin would be, from now, top of my diet list.
Lucky that a lot of the foods that you mention in this list is already part of my diet, like spinach, broccoli, beet and barbecue chicken. I remember i used to eat egg yolk raw when i was a child, always liked it, though lately i have stopped it. Perhaps it is time to re-start that old habit.
Vitamin who? This is great information, nearly all on this list are foods I like. I just never knew about the vitamin K connection and the cancer fighting value.
Mike, I was amazed at how much Vitamin K had up its sleeve, too. I’ve made a point to try to include more Vitamin K in my family’s diet. Fortunately it’s not too hard to do!