This vitamin doesn’t get much attention. But researchers have found that it may be the single most important nutrient for your heart.

It can prevent a serious and common condition that often leads to sudden cardiac arrest.[1]

Researchers from Augusta University in Georgia wanted to find out if this vitamin could stop left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). It is a gradual enlargement and thickening of the walls of your heart’s left ventricle. That’s the main pumping chamber.

Over time, LVH causes the heart muscle to lose elasticity, work harder, and eventually fail to pump enough blood. This can lead to heart failure. It can also trigger a heart attack.[2]

About 40% of the population has LVH. It’s right up there with obesity, smoking, and family history as a risk factor for heart attack and heart failure.[3] [4]

Vitamin K Prevents Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

In their study, Augusta University researchers examined 766 young people. Using echocardiograms, they assessed the left ventricular structure and functioning of the participants. They also gathered data on their diet and physical activity.[5]

Even though the participants were young, 10% had some degree of LVH. Those who consumed the least vitamin K were more than three times as likely to have LVH.

The researchers concluded: “Greater vitamin K consumption may favorably influence subclinical markers of cardiac structure and function.”

The study was published in The Journal of Nutrition.

It’s Easy to Get More Vitamin K

Vitamin K isn’t only good for your heart. It encourages normal blood clotting. This makes it an essential nutrient for healing injuries. Vitamin K also reduces bone loss linked to aging.[6]

Vitamin K is also known as phylloquinone or vitamin K1. You don’t need much of it to keep your heart healthy.

In the study, participants getting 90 micrograms a day were unlikely to have LVH.[7]

Good dietary sources of vitamin K include:

• Collards
• Leaf lettuce
• Kale
• Mustard greens
• Parsley
• Romaine lettuce
• Spinach
• Swiss chard
• Turnip greens
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cauliflower
• Cabbage[8]

Eating just a small amount of greens every day gives you enough vitamin K to ward off LVH. For example, just a quarter cup of cooked kale contains 265 mcg of K1.[9]

You can also get the vitamin K you need in a supplement. Look for one that includes both K1 and K2 forms. But make sure that you take it with a meal, preferably one with some healthy fats.

Vitamin K is fat soluble. Taking it with a meal that includes olive oil, avocado, wild-caught fish, or organic beef will help your body absorb it.

Vitamin K can interact with several common medications. They include blood thinners, antibiotics, and statins. So be sure to check with your doctor before taking it.[10]

Editor’s Note: If you’re worried about your heart, there’s something you should know that could save your life…

There’s a heart attack risk factor that is 10 times more dangerous than high cholesterol…and doctors rarely test for it. Get all the details in our monthly journal Independent Healing HERE.

 

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References:

[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/left-ventricular-hypertrophy/basics/complications/con-20026690

[2] https://health.clevelandclinic.org/understanding-the-dangers-of-left-ventricular-hypertrophy/

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22113443

[4] https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijhy/2011/495349/

[5] http://jn.nutrition.org/content/147/10/1960.full

[6] https://www.drweil.com/vitamins-supplements-herbs/vitamins/health-benefits-of-vitamin-k/

[7] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319645.php

[8] https://www.livescience.com/51908-vitamin-k.html

[9] http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/much-vitamin-k-half-cup-spinach-micrograms-4934.html

[10] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219867#risks