Vitamin K: nutrition or supplementation?

The best way to prevent or correct a vitamin K deficiency, is to eat plenty of vitamin K1-rich foods, especially green leafy vegetables and brassicas such as kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach, alfalfa, seaweed, and parsley.
Although vitamin K2 is more active and has many important functions, vitamin K1 is equally important. Vitamin K1 is a food source for certain intestinal bacteria that produce various forms of vitamin K2 from it. Vitamin K1 can also be used to make menadione, which helps destroy cancer cells.

Meat, poultry, and dairy products are often cited as good sources of vitamin K2, but eating a lot of animal products is detrimental to the microbiome and gut health, especially if you also eat a lot of refined foods and few fiber- and polyphenol-rich plant foods.

Supplementation with vitamin K2 (or a combination of K1 and K2) is indicated in metabolic diseases or when there is an increased need for vitamin K (see box above). MK-7 can increase blood levels for days. This can be very useful in conditions that require extra vitamin K, such as osteoporosis, fractures, atherosclerosis, pulmonary fibrosis, liver disease, chronic kidney disease, neurological disorders, cancer, and others.

Vraag brochure aan

Also interesting for you

Heart

The importance of vitamin K for a healthy gut, and vice versa

Intestinal (inflammatory) diseases and gut dysbiosis can contribute to vitamin K deficiency by decreasing absorption, increasing consumption, and reducing vitamin K production by...

Heart

Vitamin K: the prevention of “age-related diseases”

Vitamin K is a remarkable nutrient that has long received little attention because it was thought to be needed only for blood clotting, but it turns out to be essential for several...

Stress

Resveratrol: a remarkable “anti-aging” nutrient

Resveratrol is a polyphenol found primarily in grapes, berries and peanuts. It is known as a nutrient that inhibits the aging process and keeps the body “young”. This is due to its...

Stress

Resveratrol: From nutrient to drug

The medicinal properties of resveratrol are widely accepted. It is a remarkable and versatile nutrient, and as a result, it is not only a popular dietary supplement, but also the...