HealthBeat News

Category: Senior Health

  • The Many Health Benefits of Donating Blood

    By Dr. Dana Myatt

    An estimated 40,000 pints of donor blood are needed each day in the U.S. for patients with cancer, those undergoing orthopedic surgeries, marrow transplants and cardio vascular surgeries, people being treated for inherited blood disorders and those with acute injuries resulting in blood loss. There are other reasons why a blood transfusion might be needed but these are some of the “biggies” that occur every day. The need is always there.

    If you donate blood, you will be a hero and may help save someone’s life. But there’s more to it than you being a “good doobie.”
    Blood donors are rewarded with at least 3 personal health benefits. You read that right. Donating blood is healthy for the donor, not just the recipient.

    Here’s the scoop.

    There are at least three benefits of blood donation:

    1.) You get a Mini Health Screen. They check your blood pressure, pulse and temperature every time you donate. Getting a B.P. check every 3-4 months is a good thing and can alert you to any changes.

    2.) You get free lab testing. There are some tests that blood donation centers perform every time you donate. These are things that are good to know about and things that your doctor is unlikely to order unless there is an obvious reason.

    As part of the donation process, your blood will be screened for any or all of the following:

    On your first visit you will be tested for:

    I.) ABO Typing – provides determination of Blood type: A, B, O, or AB.
    II.) Rh factor Determination – indicates positive or negative Blood type.
    III.) Blood Group Antibodies – indicates unexpected antibodies that may be a result of prior transfusion, pregnancy or other factors.
    And at every visit you will be tested for these minimums:
    I.) Hepatitis B Surface Antigen – indicates a present infection (hepatitis) or carrier state of hepatitis B virus.
    II.) Antibody to Hepatitis B Core – additional test that detects a present or past infection with the hepatitis B virus.
    III.) Antibody to Hepatitis C Virus – indicates antibody to a virus that causes hepatitis C (responsible for non-A non-B hepatitis.) The mean incubation time is six to eight weeks.
    IV.) Antibody to HTLV – 1 and 2 – indicates the antibody to a virus that causes adult T-cell leukemia, among other things.
    V.) Antibody to HIV 1 and 2 – indicates an infection with Human Immune deficiency Virus. (virus that causes AIDs)
    VI.) Syphilis – screens for this venereal disease.
    VII) iron levels. (ferritin, or storage iron, is tested only in young adults)
    VIII.) Hemoglobin and hematocrit (this tells if you have enough red blood cells and iron)
    IX.) Nucleic acid testing (NAT) is a molecular technique for screening blood donations to reduce the risk of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) in the recipients, thus providing an additional layer of blood safety
    X.) total cholesterol

    Some donation centers also test for:

    I.) Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) – identifies a liver enzyme that, when increased, may indicate undetectable forms of hepatitis.
    II.) West Nile Virus
    III.) Chagas disease
    IV.) Zika virus
    V.) Babesiosis – a tick-born virus

    Hepatitis B, Hep C and HTLV can be transmitted without sexual contact, so don’t believe that these tests are only useful for those who practice unprotected sex with multiple partners. In fact, Hep C is an epidemic among Baby Boomers, in part because of previous blood transfusions before donor blood testing was performed and also because older folks are just as likely to practice unprotected sex as younger folks.

    West Nile and Zika are mosquito-transmitted diseases and Chagas disease is transmitted by “kissing bugs.” These “bug transmitted” diseases can be mild or can cause symptoms and problems up to and including death.

    Discussing each of these diseases is beyond the scope of this article but Google them and you’ll see why they are worth knowing about.

    3.) You get to normalize / optimize your storage iron levels (ferritin). The donation center doesn’t check your serum ferritin levels (storage iron) unless you are a young adult. They do evaluate circulating iron in your blood to make sure you are not anemic on the day you donate. Giving blood decreases storage iron and that’s a good thing. Here’s why.

    Ferritin is an iron storage protein that is a measure of body iron stores. High levels (even “high normal” within the normal range) increases free radical production and is highly associated with increased risk of atherosclerosis and peripheral vascular disease.

    Serum ferritin is one of the strongest risk predictors of overall progression of atherosclerosis.(1-10). This is big and because of the evidence, I consider ferritin one of the four most important anti-aging/longevity tests that can be performed.

    The degree to which ferritin will be lowered varies among individuals, so I recommend periodic testing (say, 6 weeks after donation) to help gauge how often to donate.

    On the other hand, if you are anemic without a known reason (you’re not a female of menstrual age, for example), finding this out might save your life. Unseen (occult) bleeding from the colon, for example, can be a sign of polyps or cancer. Unexplained anemia needs to be followed up, and you’ll have benefit of this information more frequently when you are a 3-4 times per year blood donor.

    Wouldn’t it be great to know that you were helping yourself and also helping someone else?

    Bottom line: “Hero points” aside, most people should be donating blood 2-4 times per year for health reasons. You can help save a life while benefitting your own health. There are very few medical “treatments” that offer such a “win-win”!

    Ask your doctor if you are a candidate for donating blood (most people are), then call one of the local blood drives and get yourself signed up. Your “future self” will thank you.

    References:

    1. Alissa EM, Ahmed WH, Al-Ama N, Ferns GA. Relationship between indices of iron status and coronary risk factors including diabetes and the metabolic syndrome in Saudi subjects without overt coronary disease. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2007;21(4):242-54. Epub 2007 Aug 7

    2. Ahluwalia N, Genoux A, Ferrieres J, Perret B, Carayol M, Drouet L, Ruidavets JB. Iron status is associated with carotid atherosclerotic plaques in middle-aged adults. J Nutr. 2010 Apr;140(4):812-6. Epub 2010 Feb 24.

    3. de Godoy MF, Takakura IT, Machado RD, Grassi LV, Nogueira PR. Serum ferritin and obstructive coronary artery disease: angiographic correlation. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2007 Apr;88(4):430-3.

    4. Depalma RG, Hayes VW, Chow BK, Shamayeva G, May PE, Zacharski LR. Ferritin levels, inflammatory biomarkers, and mortality in peripheral arterial disease: a substudy of the Iron (Fe) and Atherosclerosis Study (FeAST) Trial. J Vasc Surg. 2010 Jun;51(6):1498-503. Epub 2010 Mar 20

    5. Kiechl S, Willeit J, Egger G, Poewe W, Oberhollenzer F.Body iron stores and the risk of carotid atherosclerosis: prospective results from the Bruneck study.Circulation. 1997 Nov 18;96(10):3300-7.

    6. Lee KR, Sweeney G, Kim WY, Kim KK. Serum ferritin is linked with aortic stiffness in apparently healthy Korean women. Crit Pathw Cardiol. 2010 Sep;9(3):160-3

    7. Mainous AG 3rd, Diaz VA. Relation of serum ferritin level to cardiovascular fitness among young men. Am J Cardiol. 2009 Jan 1;103(1):115-8. Epub 2008 Oct 17.

    8. Menke A, Fernández-Real JM, Muntner P, Guallar E. The association of biomarkers of iron status with peripheral arterial disease in US adults. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2009 Aug 3;9:34.

    9. Valenti L, Swinkels DW, Burdick L, Dongiovanni P, Tjalsma H, Motta BM, Bertelli C, Fatta E, Bignamini D, Rametta R, Fargion S, Fracanzani AL. Serum ferritin levels are associated with vascular damage in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2011 Aug;21(8):568-75. Epub 2010 Apr 13.

    10. Zacharski LR, Shamayeva G, Chow BK. Effect of controlled reduction of body iron stores on clinical outcomes in peripheral arterial disease. Am Heart J. 2011 Nov;162(5):949-957.

     

  • More Reasons To Love Lutein And Zeaxanthan

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Regular HealthBeat News readers know that here at The Wellness Club we are very fond of the supplements Lutein and Zeaxthanthan. In fact, Dr. Myatt and I have both included Lutein Plus in our daily supplement routine. I wrote about my experience in vision improvement two years ago in this HealthBeat Article and everything I said then still stands today.

    Now however, it looks like there is even more reason to love Lutein Plus with it’s high-purity doses of lutein and zeaxanthan: recent research is now demonstrating that there is a brain connection too.

    “Of All The Things I’ve Lost, I Miss My Mind The Most!”

    You have hear it before, and if you are getting a little older like most of us, you may have even said it. In fact, in polling our readers and Dr. Myatt’s patients, we have found that the thing most feared by many is not a heart attack, not cancer, not any of the supposedly “dreaded” diseases – the thing that frightens people the most is losing their mind and their memories and their ability to interact with their loved ones.

    It now appears that in addition to protecting the eye and improving quality of vision, Lutein and zeaxanthan have been found to play an important role in brain health.

    Researchers used MRI scans to study the brain activity of older people while they tried to remember word pairings they had been taught earlier. The found that that those people with higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthan didn’t require as much brain activity to complete their tasks, while those with lower levels needed higher levels of brain activity.

    What does this mean?

    Here’s the short course: As we age, our brains naturally deteriorate (no surprise, huh?) but the brain steps up it’s level of activity in order to compensate – kind of like an automobile that is getting older that has to work harder and rev up a little more to get up hills. With higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthan however, older brains appears to work more efficiently and are able to get work done with less activity than brains that are starved for these two carotenoids.

    Numerous earlier studies have found similar brain or cognition benefits for seniors. Here is one paper that provides a good review of lutein and zeaxanthan for eye health and examines some other studies of them when used for brain health: http://www.crn-i.ch/2012symposium/2012presentations/CRN-I-12-Johnson.pdf

    Bottom Line?

    Given the positive news rolling in almost daily about the benefits of lutein and zeaxanthan there is no way either Dr. Myatt or I will be missing any doses of our Lutein Plus!

     

    References and Resources:

    HealthBeat News Article on Lutein: http://healthbeatnews.com/lutein-i-can-see-clearly-now-the-haze-is-gone/ 

    PubMed Article: Relationship of Lutein and Zeaxanthin Levels to Neurocognitive Functioning: An fMRI Study of Older Adults. “The observed results suggest that L [lutein] and Z [zeaxanthin] promote cognitive functioning in old age by enhancing neural efficiency.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27776568

    Presentation: Beyond Eye Health: Other Effects Of Lutein And Zeaxanthin http://www.crn-i.ch/2012symposium/2012presentations/CRN-I-12-Johnson.pdf

  • How Dirty Sleep Leads To A Dirty Mind

    By Dr. Dana Myatt

     

    Like breathing, sleep is an “essential” human requirement. “Essential” means that your body must have it and you would die without it.

    How long can a person go without sleep before death ensues? The jury is still out on this. But death isn’t the biggest problem of sleep deprivation because the body will eventually take “microsleeps.”  Microsleep refers to brief moments of sleep that occur when you’re normally awake.

    You can’t control microsleep, and you might not even be aware of it. For example, have you ever driven somewhere and then not remembered part of the trip? If so, you may have experienced microsleep.

    Even if you’re not driving, microsleep can affect how you function. If you’re listening to a lecture for example, you might miss some of the information or feel like you don’t understand the point. In reality though you may have slept through part of the lecture and not been aware of it.

    Exactly how long a person can go without sleep isn’t fully known, but we do know that extreme sleep deprivation causes hallucinations, automobile accidents, job injuries and memory impairment.

    Why does the body need sleep?

    Researchers have found that the brain clears out waste material accumulated throughout the day as we sleep at night. But like many things the brain does, it does this “housekeeping” a little differently than the rest of your body.

    Other parts of the body have the lymphatic system to clear out waste products but the brain does not have lymphatic channels. Instead, the brain relies on astrocytes – specialized star-shaped nerve cells that are bathed in cerebrospinal fluid. The astrocytes have many other jobs, but a big responsibility for them is to express a substance called astrocytic aquaporin-4 which lets the cells “gather up the trash” and pass it to the cerebrospinal fluid, allowing it to carry daytime debris away. When we sleep, neurons temporarily shrink and allow for more cerebrospinal fluid to wash over our brains. In other words, sleep is when our brains clean out daytime garbage.

    “This study shows that the brain has different functional states when asleep and when awake,” said U of R researcher Maiken Nedergaard. “In fact, the restorative nature of sleep appears to be the result of the active clearance of the by-products of neural activity that accumulate during wakefulness.”

    “Clean sleep” results in a more complete clearing of waste proteins from the brain, but “dirty sleep” has the opposite effect. Some of the debris cleared from the brain during sleep includes beta amyloid, the junk that accumulates in the brain and may be the cause of Alzheimer’s.

    So, in addition to many other necessities of sleep — physical restoration and healing of muscles, endocrine (hormonal) balancing, R.E.M. or “dream sleep” for mental health — the brain needs sleep in order to take out the garbage.

    Are You Getting Dirty Sleep?

    Dirty sleep happens when we fail to get enough sleep, or fail to get sufficient deep sleep. Fortunately, most of the causes of poor sleep are within an individual’s control.

    1.) Bedtime/wake time. The body manufactures melatonin during sleep unless light interferes with its production. Melatonin functions as an antioxidant in the brain and central nervous system and its production begins as the setting of the sun stimulates the pineal gland. This normally occurs in most people around 9:00 PM, with sleep usually occurring around an hour later by 10:00 PM. Solution? Set a regular bedtime, and stick with it.

    2.) Light after sundown. The pineal gland, a tiny gland deep in our brains that is connected to the eyes, is responsible for producing the sleep and antioxidant hormone melatonin. It begins to churn our this important substance in response to the ”dimming of the lights” as the sun sets. If the light doesn’t dim, the pineal gland doesn’t know to produce melatonin. And, once the light does dim and it begins its work any amount of white light promptly shuts it off – by making it think it is dawn.

    Since humans evolved over millions of years sleeping in the safety of the flickering subdued orange light of a cozy fire, we tolerate low levels of this color of light after dark. But exposure to white light (or, more specifically, light that contains specific frequencies of blue light – like daylight or televisions, or computer monitors, or full-spectrum light bulbs)  during the hours before bedtime will seriously disrupt melatonin production, making natural sleep very difficult.

    Solution? When the sun goes down you need to start lowering the light levels in your environment as well – not an easy task in our modern world, but possible if you remember that it is the harsher blue-white lights that disrupt melatonin production. Try candle light or soft incandescent lights, limit your TV watching  for the hour or so before bed, and limit exposure to bright phone, tablet, and computer screens before bed.

    If you must get up at night try to avoid turning on bright lights – consider using low-wattage incandescent nightlights.

    3.) Related to white light in the evening is the twinkling of myriad electrical and electronic devices that seem to litter our sleep spaces. Little red lights, green lights, blue lights, all glowing and twinkling and blinking… Not only are the lights distracting, many of these devices also emit occasional noises – beeps, chirps, hums, whirs…

    The solution? Do yourself a favor and banish all the electronics from your sleep space. Unless you are a surgeon on call, or have some equally important reason  to receive calls after bedtime, turn the phone off. Shut the tablet and computer down for the night.

    Many people also believe that there may be a sleep-disturbing effect from all the EMF (electromagnetic fields) created by these devices in proximity to your sleep area.

    4.) What you eat and drink in the evening matters: That nice sweet dessert may help you feel satisfied and sleepy when it raises your blood sugar, but when your blood sugar crashes a few hours later and your body responds with a shot of adrenalin you are going to find yourself wide awake with the jitters.

    Try a little snack bite of protein instead, if you really must have a before bed snack.

    5.) What you see before you sleep matters too: Upsetting or stressful imagery  immediately before sleep can be unsettling and make it difficult to get to sleep, and can give your brain plenty of unpleasant material to craft its dreams from. The 10:00 news with horrific images of war-torn countries, detective shows with nasty people doing ugly things to each other, zombie horror shows dripping with gore…  are these really the sights that you want to try to fall asleep to?

    A better bet might be something uplifting or soothing. Pleasant short stories, or poetry, or spiritual reading or meditation. And remember, like I said in point 2, that TV screen, with its bright light, is preventing the normal production of melatonin.

    6.) Oversleeping. Those who insist on sleeping in late in the morning are setting themselves up to seriously disturb their circadian rhythms. Further, late waking combined with daytime napping can leave you feeling wakeful in the evening, and wanting to stay up beyond a healthy bedtime. It can easily become a vicious circle.

    So, you are retired with not much to do and feel like there is no reason to get up in the morning? Make a reason! Get up and get moving – the physical activity throughout the day will also contribute better sleep at night.

    7.) Drugs and medications: Many prescription drugs can cause insomnia and poor sleep here are some of the more common offenders:

    • Alpha-blockers
    • Beta-blockers
    • Corticosteroids
    • SSRI antidepressants
    • ACE inhibitors
    • ARBs (Angiotensin II-receptor blockers)
    • Cholinesterase inhibitors
    • Antihistamines and H1 antagonists
    • Glucosamine/chondroitin (if taken late in the day)
    • Statins (cholesterol drugs)

    Non-prescription drugs can do the same. And recreational drugs can too: even alcohol can cause problems – in smaller amounts alcohol has a stimulating effect and more than a few drinks, while sedating for sure, can cause a rebound insomnia when the effect wears off. A pre-dinner drink? Sounds good. A glass of wine with dinner? Also good. A few drinks “to put you to sleep”? Not so good…

    8.) Sleep medications: You really aren’t taking a sleeping pill are you? If you are then you obviously haven’t read our previous HealthBeat News articles describing the dangers of these drugs. Do yourself a favor and drop the sleeping pills.

    9.) Many people complain that muscle cramps at night disturb their sleep.  Something as simple as some extra magnesium can prevent cramps and can be relaxing overall. Magnesium oil, actually a thick brine of magnesium salts, can provide nearly instant relief for many muscle cramps when rubbed over the affected area.

    So it turns out that when we sleep our brain takes that time to clean out the build-up of brain junk we accumulate during our waking hours. Sleep is pretty much necessary for our body’s mental street-cleaners to come out and do their work. When cells do their daily cell-type work, they produce waste products. The rest of the body has this waste cleared out by the lymphatic system, but the brain is not connected to that, so it needs another way to clear out the waste.

    The brain has it’s own garbage men, carried on the waves of cerebrospinal fluid, who surf the leftovers straight down to your liver for elimination. As it turns out, the brain’s garbage men move twice as fast when you’re sleeping, because your neurons shrink by half, making the fluid channels wider.

    You’re not going to have a “Dirty Mind” now, are you?

    References and further reading:

    Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain
    Lulu Xie et. al.,Science  18 Oct 2013:, Vol. 342, Issue 6156, pp. 373-377, DOI: 10.1126/science.1241224
    http://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6156/373.long

    10 Types of Meds That Can Cause Insomnia, AARP
    http://www.aarp.org/health/drugs-supplements/info-04-2013/medications-that-can-cause-insomnia.html

  • Two Foods That Make You Stoopid ("False Dementia")

    By Dr. Dana Myatt

     

    A brief survey of my Ketone Zone book reviewers revealed that cancer is not their most-feared disease. It ranks second. The biggest fear is dementia. No one wants to lose their marbles to Alzheimer’s or some other non-Alzheimer’s brain fog.

    So let’s talk about two foods that can dumb you down just as surely as opium and related compounds. [NOTE: in very specific pain situations, such as post-surgery or advanced cancer pain, opium and related opioid compounds are good drugs. But for those who are not in pain, these drugs just make you stupid.]

    All simple carbohydrate foods can be stupid-making. High blood sugars, whether high enough to be outright diabetes or just high-normal "borderline diabetes,” increases the risk of dementia.

    High blood sugars also increase the risk of many cancers by as much as 200%.

    Eating simple carbohydrates increases blood sugar levels; higher blood sugar levels increase the risk of the two most common health concerns, dementia and cancer. Why risk it? Just decreasing simple carbohydrate intake drops these risks dramatically. I’ve warned about the dangers of carbs for a long time. Here’s a good summary of these dangers: 10 Dangers Of Carbohydrates

    However, the two foods I’m talking about right now are not just simple carbohydrates. These two foods act like opium in the body. Opium is a natural narcotic. Drugs in this class – opioids – are used to treat moderate to severe pain. Medications in the opioid class include hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), morphine (Kadian, Avinza) and codeine. Heroin is also in this class.

    One of the side effects of drugs in this class is confusion. That’s why a person using such drugs for pain is advised to exercise extreme caution when driving. I’d say better yet, if you are taking drugs in this class, you should not be driving at all. In children, these effects can manifest as autism. In both children and adults, schizophrenia is also a possible result.

    You may not be using any of these opium drugs, but many people eat foods on a daily basis that acts like opium because it binds to the opium receptor in the body, stimulating similar effects. Are you a drug addict and don’t know it? Could that be the cause of your memory problems?

    The two "offender foods" are wheat (gluten) and dairy (casein). Specifically, an inability to completely digest gluten (found in wheat, rye barley and oats) and/or casein found in milk can result in the production of neuropeptides that are chemically similar to morphine. A neuropeptide is a small protein molecule that acts as a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are "brain hormones." Other neurotransmitters that are more familiar to most include serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine (adrenaline).

    These peptides, called gliadorphin and casomorphin, can have effects similar to opium in the body and brain. Notice the "orphin/morphin" in their names. They are so named because they bind to the same receptor as morphine. They stimulate the morphine receptors, causing morphine effects.

    How does this happen?

    Gliadin and casein are proteins that are often not completely broken down by the human digestive tract. Instead, they are only partly broken down into peptides, or protein fragments. That might not be such a bad thing, except that the peptides from these particular proteins are opioids. Opioids are morphine-like substances with effects on the brain and other organs.

    Gliadorphin (also known as gluteomorphin) and casomorphin are known to have opiate effects and are ingested when one eats grain or dairy products.

    It’s not just the obvious foods like bread or pasta or that healthy breakfast cereal or milk or yoghurt or cheese – but foods that you might never suspect to contain wheat or dairy products.

    French fries or potato chips should be OK for someone with a gluten / gliadin sensitivity, right? Wrong – many commercial fries are dusted with wheat flour during manufacture to prevent them from sticking together. And casein is a common food additive that is often found in imitation sausages, infant formula, processed meats, soups, energy bars, drinks, and many other packaged foods – even toothpaste!

    Not Everyone Is Sensitive

    Some people digest these foods past the "opioid peptide" stage and do not suffer opioid effects. This is similar to "lactose intolerance" where some people can digest the sugar in milk and some cannot, based on what enzymes we naturally produce.

    At this point, however, it appears that a surprising number of people are gluten and/or casein sensitive, meaning they cannot fully digest these substances and will therefore suffer the opioid effects of these foods.

    How Can You Know If These Foods Are Affecting Your Memory?

    If you have ANY symptoms that are similar to opium/morphine/heroine, including memory problems, there are several ways to find out if gluten or casein (wheat or dairy) is a contributing factor:

    1. avoid these foods entirely and see if it helps (this can be difficult because there are many "hidden" sources)
    2. get tested for the enzymes and find out if you are lacking in either. The Gluten/Casein Peptides Test  requires a small amount of first morning urine to evaluate for both gluten and casein peptides.
    3. At the very least, take digestive enzymes as a replacement for what you might be missing.

    Since both wheat and dairy (especially milk) are high in carbohydrates which causes a host of other health problems, there is good reason to avoid these foods. That is the least expensive and overall healthiest option.

    Avoid gluten-containing foods and dairy, save your health, save your brain. Isn’t it great when those two get "saved" together?!

    References

    Crane P.K., Walker R., Hubbard R.A, et al. Glucose Levels and Risk of Dementia. N Engl J Med. 2013 Aug 8;369(6):540-8.

    Crawley DJ, Holmberg L, Melvin JC, Loda M, Chowdhury S, Rudman SM, Van Hemelrijck M. Serum glucose and risk of cancer: a meta-analysis. BMC Cancer. 2014 Dec 19;14:985.

    B.Windham (Ed), Autism and Schizophrenia subgroup related to blockage by toxic exposures of enzymes processing gluten and casein. 2008. http://www.flcv.com/autismgc.html

    Review of the potential health impact of β-casomorphins and related peptides. Report of the DATEX Working Group on β-casomorphins. Issued on 29 January 2009
    [Nurse Mark Comment: This European government paper is working very, very hard to find that these casomorphins are not worth following up on – "don’t worry, be happy…" But there is a vast amount of information within the paper that contradicts that position – and all well referenced.] http://www.bezpecnostpotravin.cz

  • Vitamin K – A Longevity Vitamin

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Vitamin K is well known for its role in blood clotting. So much so that otherwise well-meaning but under-informed doctors sometimes warn their patients away from Vitamin K and from foods containing Vitamin K out of fear that it might somehow make them have blood clots. Those are invariably the doctors who are also quick to prescribe Coumadin (AKA “Warfarin” – the rat poison) at the least hint of a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) or atrial fibrillation.

    But did you know that Vitamin K – “the clotting vitamin’ – can also help you to live longer, have stronger bones, and have less risk of  “hardening of the arteries” (arterial calcification) as you age? Not only that, there are studies that show Vitamin K improves insulin sensitivity in both healthy subjects and in those with Type II Diabetes and that Vitamin K has a powerful cancer-preventative effect!

    Here are some quick facts about Vitamin K:

    Discovered in 1935 it is actually two related substances: Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) is the main form of the vitamin that we get from diet. Vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7 and menaquinone-4) is obtained in lesser amounts from diet and is mostly a product of our bodies conversion of Vitamin K1 to Vitamin K2. It is becoming clear to researchers that each of these forms of Vitamin K is vital to our health, and that each form has very different actions.

    How important is Vitamin K?

    In one study published in 2014, in a group of more than 7,000 people at high risk for cardiovascular disease, the people with the highest intake of vitamin K were 36 percent less likely to die from any cause at all, compared with those having the lowest intake. (1)

    In another study, researchers found that people with the highest intake of vitamin K2 were 57 percent less likely to die of coronary heart disease compared with those with the lowest intake (2) showing the importance of both forms of Vitamin K.

    In yet another study, women with the highest intake of vitamin K2 were found to be at a 20 percent lower risk for coronary artery calcification (hardening of the arteries)  than women with the lowest intake. Interestingly, that same study found that vitamin K1 had no significant impact – once again showing the importance of obtaining both forms of Vitamin K. (3)

    Vitamin K has been recognized by the European Food Safety Authority (Europe’s version of our FDA) as being important to bone, heart and blood vessel health. (4)

    Along with its proven effect at lessening arterial calcification, Vitamin K has been shown in study after study to reduce osteoporosis and bone loss, and to increase bone density (and thus strength) in the spine and in hip bones – two places where osteoporosis is most likely to hit aging people, especially aging women, the hardest.  (5, 6, 7, 8)

    Diabetes is a condition that is often characterized by high levels of body-wide inflammation. In addition to being at lower risk for fractures related to osteoporosis, diabetics with the highest Vitamin K1 intakes show reduced inflammatory markers related to diabetes. (9) Additional studies related to diabetes have shown increased insulin sensitivity and improved blood glucose control even in non-diabetic, healthy people and even a reduced risk of ever developing Type II diabetes! (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)

    Cancer is a threat to anyone, young or old – but as we age we run an ever-increasing risk of developing some form of this dread disease. Can Vitamin K come to the rescue? While it is not a “silver bullet” against cancer, Vitamin K was shown in a large European study to slash the risk of death from cancer by a whopping 28 percent for those taking the higher amounts of Vitamin K versus people taking the lowest amounts. (15)

    Men, Vitamin K is for you too: A related European study found an amazing 63 percent lower risk of advanced prostate cancer in men taking higher doses of Vitamin K2. (16)

    Colon cancer may prove to be vulnerable to the health-giving effects of Vitamin K: a study that placed human colon cancer cells into laboratory mice found that Vitamin K induced apoptosis (cell death) and suppressed the growth of the implanted tumors. (17, 18)

    And liver cancer, often a tragic result of AIDS or alcoholism or an infection with the hepatitis B or C virus, can be helped: several human studies have shown that supplementation with Vitamin K after the surgical removal of the hepatocellular carcinoma cancer lesion reduces the recurrence and improves survival in those stricken with this aggressive and deadly cancer. (19, 20)

    But is it safe? In a word, YES.

    Even for people using blood thinners, Vitamin K supplementation is safe.

    The blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) actually works by suppressing the normal, healthy effects of Vitamin D, and recent studies are proving that those using this antiquated “blood thinner” are actually at increased risk for developing arterial calcification – actually putting them at increased risk of having the very cardiac or cardiovascular disasters that the drugs were meant to prevent! (21, 22)

    The effects of more modern blood thinners  like Pradaxa (dabigatran) and Eliquis (apixaban) are not affected by vitamin K intake and so it is safe and appropriate to take full-dose vitamin K without worry of counteracting the desired anticoagulant effects of the drugs.

    In any event – DO NOT stop taking any anticoagulant drug without talking with your doctor first!

    You can find a very high quality Vitamin K supplement that provides both the Vitamin K1 and Vitamin K2 (Vitamin K2 in both the longer-acting menaquinone-7 and more immediate-acting menaquinone-4 sub-types. Yes, that is very important!) at Dr. Myatt’s Wellness Club. Dr. Myatt recommends one softgel capsule daily of Super K, or as directed by your health care practitioner.

    For any of us, and especially those of us who are getting a little older and concerned with atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, diabetes, and cancer, Vitamin K is a great way to help address and minimize many of the leading causes of death facing us in today’s modern American.

     

    Find Dr. Myatt’s recommended Vitamin K supplement here:

     

    References:

    1.)    Juanola-Falgarona M, Salas-Salvado J, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, et al. Dietary Intake of Vitamin K Is Inversely Associated with Mortality Risk. J Nutr. 2014 May;144(5):743-50.
    2.)    Geleijnse JM, Vermeer C, Grobbee DE, et al. Dietary intake of menaquinone is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: the Rotterdam Study. J Nutr. 2004 Nov;134(11):3100-5.
    3.)    Beulens JW, Bots ML, Atsma F, et al. High dietary menaquinone intake is associated with reduced coronary calcification. Atherosclerosis. 2009 Apr;203(2):489-93.
    4.)        http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1228
    5.)    Braam LA, Knapen MH, Geusens P, et al. Vitamin K1 supplementation retards bone loss in postmenopausal women between 50 and 60 years of age. Calcif Tissue Int. 2003 Jul;73(1):21-6.
    6.)    Purwosunu Y, Muharram, Rachman IA, Reksoprodjo S, Sekizawa A. Vitamin K2 treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis in Indonesia. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2006 Apr;32(2):230-4.
    7.)    Knapen MH, Schurgers LJ, Vermeer C. Vitamin K2 supplementation improves hip bone geometry and bone strength indices in postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2007 Jul;18(7):963-72.
    8.)    Knapen MH, Drummen NE, Smit E, Vermeer C, Theuwissen E. Three-year low-dose menaquinone-7 supplementation helps decrease bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2013 Sep;24(9):2499-507.
    9.)    Juanola-Falgarona M, Salas-Salvado J, Estruch R, et al. Association between dietary phylloquinone intake and peripheral metabolic risk markers related to insulin resistance and diabetes in elderly subjects at high cardiovascular risk. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2013;12:7.
    10.) Yoshida M, Booth SL, Meigs JB, Saltzman E, Jacques PF. Phylloquinone intake, insulin sensitivity, and glycemic status in men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jul;88(1):210-5.
    11.) Ibarrola-Jurado N, Salas-Salvado J, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Bullo M. Dietary phylloquinone intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in elderly subjects at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Nov;96(5):1113-8.
    12.) Yoshida M, Jacques PF, Meigs JB, et al. Effect of vitamin K supplementation on insulin resistance in older men and women. Diabetes Care. 2008 Nov;31(11):2092-6.
    13.) Choi HJ, Yu J, Choi H, et al. Vitamin K2 supplementation improves insulin sensitivity via osteocalcin metabolism: a placebo-controlled trial. Diabetes Care. 2011 Sep;34(9):e147.
    14.) Beulens JW, van der AD, Grobbee DE, Sluijs I, Spijkerman AM, van der Schouw YT. Dietary phylloquinone and menaquinones intakes and risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2010 Aug;33(8):1699-705.
    15.) Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, Kaaks R, Linseisen J. Dietary vitamin K intake in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: results from the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg). Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 May;91(5):1348-58.
    16.) Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, Linseisen J. Dietary intake of vitamin K and risk of prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg). Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):985-92.
    17.) Ogawa M, Nakai S, Deguchi A, et al. Vitamins K2, K3 and K5 exert antitumor effects on established colorectal cancer in mice by inducing apoptotic death of tumor cells. Int J Oncol. 2007 Aug;31(2):323-31.
    18.) Kawakita H, Tsuchida A, Miyazawa K, et al. Growth inhibitory effects of vitamin K2 on colon cancer cell lines via different types of cell death including autophagy and apoptosis. Int J Mol Med. 2009 Jun;23(6):709-16.
    19.) Kakizaki S, Sohara N, Sato K, et al. Preventive effects of vitamin K on recurrent disease in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma arising from hepatitis C viral infection. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007 Apr;22(4):518-22.
    20.) Mizuta T, Ozaki I, Eguchi Y, et al. The effect of menatetrenone, a vitamin K2 analog, on disease recurrence and survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after curative treatment: a pilot study. Cancer. 2006 Feb 15;106(4):867-72.
    21.) Price PA, Faus SA, Williamson MK. Warfarin causes rapid calcification of the elastic lamellae in rat arteries and heart valves. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1998 Sep;18(9):1400-7.
    22.) McCabe KM, Booth SL, Fu X, et al. Dietary vitamin K and therapeutic warfarin alter the susceptibility to vascular calcification in experimental chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int. 2013 May;83(5):835-44.