Vitamin K and Alzheimer's
How Vegetables and Vitamin K Can Keep Your Brain a Decade Younger
Article Summary
- Studies have shown that Vitamin K, and other nutrients present in leafy greens slow the speed at which the brain ages.
- Vitamin K is not well-absorbed through supplementation; the best way to add it to your diet is through vegetables high in Vitamin K.
If you haven’t been eating your veggies, you’re going to want to start. New research shows that just eating one or two servings of leafy greens a day can significantly help brain health over time.
In a cognitive study of over 950 older participants, researchers found that individuals whom ate one or two servings of mustard greens, spinach, collards, or kale daily had the same mental ability as individuals 11 years their junior.
In a presentation at the American Society for Nutrition, the head author, Martha Morris, SC.D., stated that Vitamin K, folate, beta-carotene, and lutein were likely the nutrients responsible for the positive effects.
Previous studies have already provided evidence for the beneficial roles of folate –in the form of folic acid, but this is the first study linking Vitamin K to healthier cognitive ability.
In addition to helping the blood clot, Vitamin K reduces nerve cell death by protecting nerves from harmful substances in the brain. Furthermore, the gene which often results in Alzheimer’s also results in a lower metabolic production of Vitamin K in the individual.
Vitamin K Recommendation
Can Vitamin K stop Alzheimer’s disease or dementia? Not necessarily, but studies have shown that eating leafy greens keeps individuals’ minds a decade younger. Vitamin K isn’t well absorbed well through supplementation, so if you’re not eating one or two servings of leafy greens a day, now is the time start.
