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. Amazingly, vitamin K has been found to regulate the flow of calcium in and out of the bones and arteries. The importance of this cannot be underestimated.
Osteoporosis is a major problem in our society.
In a recent study of nurses that included 10 years of information from over 72,000 participants, the researchers concluded that those nurses that ingested the most vitamin K were a third less likely to suffer from hip fractures. Vitamin K had a stronger effect than synthetic estrogen. In another study it was found that vitamin K reduces calcium loss by one-third. These finding are not only important because of their application to osteoporosis itself but also to the other problems associated with the disease. It has been found that osteoporosis is a good indicator of overall mortality.