Vitamin K
I was asked a question on our Facebook page about vitamin K and bone health, and supplementation of such. While the original questioner has more experience in the nutrition field than many, I’ve elected to address the topic briefly here for the benefit of all our readers.
Vitamin K is indeed essential in the diet of humans.
However, I first want to qualify that most people who ask about this (not necessarily the original questioner), are really wanting to know how much to take and when to take it.
The reality about vitamin K – or any other vitamin or nutrient – is that it should not be taken like just a medication, which is how most all nutrition is practiced. Like all nutritional components, vitamin K works in combination with other factors, and should never be approached as a blanket, one-size-fits-all supplement.
The difference, of course, is the difference between a health model approach and the classic disease model approach. When vitamin K is taken using the disease model approach, it can and will raise one’s risk of blood clotting. When taken in the context of a health model, it serves to build bone, prevent metabolic syndrome, lower blood pressure, prevent diabetes, control weight, and prevent unintended bleeding.
To prevent blood clotting when supplementing with vitamin K, an individual’s unique blood chemistry should be considered. Acid/base balance, as well as inflammation, needs to be addressed. As a matter of fact, the only way to seriously apply this properly is to address all the factors of Free Radical Therapy before beginning supplementation.
In the future I plan to write about all of this in more detail, with the hope and assumption that the disease model enthusiasm will subside enough for the message to get through.