Vitamin K Lowers The Risk Of Type II Diabetes

Maryam Ayres Author: Maryam Ayres Time for reading: ~2 minutes Last Updated: March 29, 2024
Vitamin K Lowers The Risk Of Type II Diabetes

In people who receive a higher amount of vitamin K with food, the risk of developing type II diabetes is 20% lower ...

Researchers have found that people who eat more vitamin K have a 20% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people who eat less vitamin K.

 

The study, which lasted more than 10 years, involved 38,094 Dutch volunteers aged 20 to 70.
The study was led by Dr. Joline WJ Beulens from the Medical Center at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands.
 

 


The main risk factors for developing type II diabetes are age, obesity, genetic predisposition, stress and ethnicity (blacks, Hispanics and Indians are at higher risk).
 

 

Although it is not entirely clear to what extent different nutrients affect the risk of diabetes, according to Beulens, the reduced risk of diabetes is due to increased intake of vitamin K.

 

In nature, vitamin K occurs in two forms: vitamin K1 (fillohinon) - contained in leafy vegetables and some vegetable oils, including rapeseed oil (a special type of rapeseed) and soybean oil; and vitamin K2 (menahinon) - contained in meat, milk and dairy products and eggs.

 

Vitamin K2 is involved in blood clotting processes and is important for building and maintaining bone health. In metabolic processes in the body, it helps bind and absorb calcium and transport the same mineral in the body.

 

Vitamin K2 is more effective than vitamin K1 in building bones. Unlike vitamin K1, it has an effect to reduce harmful cholesterol and suppress the development of atherosclerosis. Vitamin K2 can protect against fractures and maintain lumbar bone density in osteoporosis. Vitamin K2 combined with vitamin D and calcium are prescribed in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis.

 

Vitamin K2 is the more biologically active form of vitamin K. Vitamin K2 also helps with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). A disease in which hematopoietic disorders are observed and characterized by the combination of hyperactive brain with low blood cell count.


In a study conducted by Dutch scientists, the effect of both types of vitamin K on the risk of diabetes was observed.
 

 

At the beginning of the study, all participants completed detailed questionnaires to assess the amount of vitamin K taken through food. Questions about the general health and lifestyle of the volunteers were also included.

 

Over a period of 10 years, 918 people from all volunteers developed type II diabetes. The authors of the study concluded that the risk of metabolic disease decreases with increasing amounts of vitamin K.


The researchers took into account the influence of other factors on the risk of developing non-insulin dependent diabetes. It turned out that the reduced risk of type 2 diabetes when receiving large amounts of vitamin K does not depend on these indicators.

 

How vitamin K has a protective effect is not yet known, but Dr. Beulens and colleagues believe that the substance improves insulin absorption.
 

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