Vitamin K may slash the risk of diabetes

Researchers in Spain analyzed data obtained from over a thousand older men and women covering a 5.5 year time period. They found that the higher the intake of vitamin K1 the lower the risk of diabetes. For every 100mcg per day increase in the intake of Vitamin K1 there was a corresponding 17% drop in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The researchers wrote “Moreover, an increase in the amount of phylloquinone (K1) intake during the follow-up (the 5.5 year period) was associated with a 51% lower risk of diabetes in elderly subjects at high cardiovascular (disease) risk”. Recently the researchers have shown that increased activation of Vitamin K linked enzymes such as osteocalcin is linked to improved sugar metabolism, reduced insulin resistance and improved beta-cell function (cells in the pancreas that release insulin) in the PREDIMED Study. The new study is published in the October 2012 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.