THURSDAY Sep 18, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study
published in the journal Atherosclerosis suggests that high intake of vitamin
K2 may reduce risk of atherosclerosis of the arteries or hardening of the arteries
- a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
The study of 564 women at an average age of 67 found that
those with highest intake of vitamin K2 had 20 percent reduced arterial
calcification.
For the study, Joline Beulens from the University Medical
Center Utrecht and colleagues surveyed the subjects for their dietary habits
and arterial calcification was assessed by a technique called multi-detector
computed tomography.
They found those who had a high intake of vitamin K2 -
about 45 micrograms per day -had 20 percent reduced arterial calcification than
those with low intake of vitamin K2 or about 18 micrograms per day.
But no association was found between intake of K1 and
reduced arterial calcification.
K1 (Phylloquinone) is the major form of vitamin K from a
diet consisting of green leafy vegetables and vegetable oils such as soybean,
cottonseed, canola, and olive while K2 (menaquinones) can be synthesized by
bacteria that harbor in the large intestine, according to the Linus Pauling
Institute.
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