It has broader health applications than scientists ever imagined. While it was long thought that we all had sufficient amounts of vitamin K in our bodies, recent research indicates that many of us suffer from vitamin K deficiencies. It seems that during the aging process the body increases certain hormones and decreases others. This biochemical messenger increases inflammation throughout the body and has been implicated in arthritis, diseases of the blood vessels, heart disease and Alzheimer's. Scientists have found that vitamin K reduces Il-6 and may have a major role to play in reducing many of the degenerative diseases that plague the Western world.
Arteriosclerosis Hardening of the arteries is caused by calcification.
When calcium enters the arteries lesions are formed that lead to their progressive degeneration. This process is associated with heart disease. Scientists in Japan indicated that when vitamin K was introduced it significantly reduced the amount of calcium in the aortas of rats that had been fed a diet designed to harden their arteries. The other side of calcification of the arteries is the leaching of calcium from the bones. This is known as decalcification.