There is a good chance that you have heard of Vitamin K at some point.
You may not know exactly what it is or what it does though. You may remember that vitamin K helps coagulate the blood. New research is showing that it is also a powerful antioxidant, beating out even vitamin E and coenzyme Q10.

This means that vitamin K does more than scientists previously believed. It has important uses everywhere in the body. Getting enough of it can help slow down the aging process.

We suffer from increasing inflammation as we age, which can cause everything from heart disease to difficult even walking around. The body seems to increase some hormones as we get older, and decrease others, and this can lead to arthritis, blood vessel disease, heart disease, and Alzheimers. Vitamin K can help combat this and reduce the effects of these debilitating diseases.

Arteries are hardened when calcium enters the arteries and forms lesions. This is linked to heart disease. However, vitamin K may reduce the amount of calcium in the arteries and reduce damage to heart valves.

The other half of this is calcium leaving the bones. Vitamin K has been shown to keep the flow of calcium between bones and arteries stable, leaving it exactly where it is needed. This can help with the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.

One of the leading causes of strokes is high blood pressure. While salt has played a roll in this, calcium does as well, and maybe even more so. Since vitamin K regulates the amount of calcium in the blood, it may help decrease your risk of stroke and other blood vessel related problems.

Diabetes affects millions of people. Vitamin K is stored in the pancreas, and studies have shown that not having enough vitamin K can affect how much glucose is released into the blood stream and how much insulin is produced. Getting enough vitamin K could become a treatment of human diabetes.

If you are lacking in vitamin K elsewhere in your body, there is a good chance it is missing from your brain as well. This affects the amount of calcium in the brain. Some scientists believe that these low levels of vitamin K may play a roll in Alzheimers disease. Getting adequate amounts may help prevent or slow down this disease.

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, but it is not stored in the body. Vitamin K deficiency appears to be common than initially believed, and can be linked to poor diet, medications, and environmental stress.

You can get vitamin K naturally from the foods you eat. You can find it in green, leafy vegetables, as well as other vegetables and fruits. Fermented foods and some cheeses also contain it. Eating foods with hydrogenated oils can prevent your body from using it properly.

You can also get vitamin K from supplements. Patients taking blood thinners should not take additional vitamin K, and always check with your doctor before making changes in your daily routine.

Getting enough of vitamin K is just one of the many things that you can do to help your self age in a healthy and satisfying way.