2023-08-24 17:00:00
At Copenhagen University Hospital (Denmark), Dr. Torkil Jespersen and his team conducted a study of 4,000 of their fellow citizens aged 24 to 77. All were subjected to a blood test as well as a respiratory functional exploration (EFR) or spirometry, an examination to measure lung capacity.
Each participant also answered a questionnaire relating to their state of health and lifestyle: diet, physical activity, etc.
The importance of vitamin K
A main observation emerges: low blood levels of vitamin K were more readily observed in patients suffering from asthma or COPD. In other words, this study suggests that people with low blood levels of vitamin K are likely to have worse lung function than others.
Present in green leafy vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, spinach, etc.), vegetable oils and cereals, this vitamin plays a role above all in blood coagulation. On the other hand, its potential link with lung function seems new.
Additional research
As Dr. Torkil Jespersen points out: “We already know that vitamin K plays an important role in the blood. Studies are beginning to show that it is also important for heart and bone health. But so far, very little research has looked at the lungs.”
Additional work has already been announced to confirm or invalidate this link and, if necessary, to determine whether or not the increase in vitamin K levels can improve lung function. In the meantime, “our results do not change current recommendations for vitamin K intake,” concludes the lead author.
It should be noted, however, that three of the co-signatories of this work specify in the ‘conflicts of interest’ section, having received a subsidy from a Norwegian company which precisely manufactures a synthetic vitamin K2…
Sources : ERJ Open Research Jan 2023, 00208-2023;
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#Health #green #vegetables #good #lungs
