Why people who eat leafy greens live longer

There’s a good reason everyone always tells you to eat your greens. They’re chock-full of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that keep you happy and healthy — including vitamin K.

Vitamin K is essential to your body’s ability to clot blood, create bone, maintain healthy blood pressure and perform other important bodily functions. But the truth is, most people don’t give their vitamin K consumption a second thought.

That’s partly because vitamin K deficiency is rare in the U.S. But that doesn’t mean you should get complacent when it comes to getting enough vitamin K.

In fact, here’s some serious motivation to stay on top of this important vitamin — a new study shows that Americans with lower vitamin K levels don’t live as long.

Getting less vitamin K makes you 19 percent more likely to die early

According to new research from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (USDA HNRCA) and Tufts Medical Center, people who get less vitamin K die sooner than people who get plenty.

The study included data from 4,000 Americans between 54 and 76 years old. Researchers closely examined vitamin K levels in their blood and looked at their heart disease risk and risk of death over a 13-year period. Here’s what they found…

People with lower blood levels of vitamin K were more likely to die. Their risk of death during the study period was 19 percent higher. They weren’t, however, more likely to have heart disease.

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“The possibility that vitamin K is linked to heart disease and mortality is based on our knowledge about proteins in vascular tissue that require vitamin K to function. These proteins help prevent calcium from building up in artery walls, and without enough vitamin K, they are less functional,” said first author Kyla Shea.

“Similar to when a rubber band dries out and loses its elasticity, when veins and arteries are calcified, blood pumps less efficiently, causing a variety of complications. That is why measuring risk of death, in a study such as this, may better capture the spectrum of events associated with worsening vascular health,” said last author Daniel Weiner, M.D., nephrologist at Tufts Medical Center, whose research includes vascular disease in people with impaired kidney function.

However, additional studies are also needed to clarify why levels of vitamin K were associated with risk for death but not heart disease.

Kick up the K in your diet

The recommended daily intake of vitamin K is 120 mcg for men and 90 mcg for women. There are plenty of vitamin K-rich foods to turn to make sure you’re getting enough. Here are a few of the best:

• Kale
• Mustard greens
• Swiss chard
• Collard greens
• Lettuce
• Natto
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Brussel sprouts
• Chicken
• Green beans
• Pork
• Prunes
• Kiwi
• Avocado
• Green peas
• Cheese

If you decide to take a vitamin K supplement to maintain healthy vitamin K levels, just know that they can interact with certain medications, like blood thinners, anticonvulsants and cholesterol-lowering medications. So, if you take medications, talk to your doctor first before adding vitamin K to your supplement regimen.

Sources:

1. Multi-ethnic study suggests vitamin K may offer protective health benefits in older age — MedicalXpress.
2. Vitamin K status, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality: a participant-level meta-analysis of 3 US cohorts — The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
3. Health benefits and sources of vitamin K — Medical News Today.
4. Vitamin K — National Institutes of Health.
5. Health benefits and sources of vitamin K — Medical News Today.
6. 20 Foods That Are High in Vitamin K — Healthline.