(NaturalHealth365) It’s a well-known fact that Americans aren’t eating enough fruit and vegetables.  In fact, vitamin deficiency is a growing epidemic – especially as it relates to vitamin D and K, with 92% of the population suffering from some sort of deficiency.  Today, we’ll focus on vitamin K.

One a related matter: a massive 42% of Americans are obese (BMI higher than 30).  And, with all those extra calories, we can only assume that too many people are eating empty calories that provide little to no nutritional value at all.

As we’ve witnessed with the COVID-19 pandemic, vitamin deficiencies make us more susceptible to contracting illness and chances of hospitalization. Not ingesting the right antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals expose us to a higher risk of chronic bacterial and viral infections.

In tact, this new alarming information reveals just how quickly malnourishment of vitamin K can kill you.

Health ALERT: A vitamin deficiency to avoid at all costs

The research published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition studied 4,000 older Americans between the ages of 54-76.  They categorized the participants according to vitamin K blood levels. They also compared participants based on their risk factors to develop cardiovascular disease opening themselves up to hospitalizations or death.

After 13 years, they followed up with the 4,000 Americans, and what they found was groundbreaking. Although there is no conclusive evidence that suggests that low levels of vitamin K cause heart disease – one thing that is clear. vitamin K has protective benefits against chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease.

The link between heart disease and vitamin K is in our blood.  Vascular tissue needs vitamin K to function.

Without the vitamin, you run the risk of plaque building in your artery walls. While we know that (toxic) fatty foods and a sedentary lifestyle are one-way tickets to the cardiology ward, vitamin K will protect you against it.

In this research, those with low levels of vitamin K had a whopping 19% higher chance of death. The vitamin affects our blood vessels, clotting, and prevents build-up in our arteries.

647,000 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each year. Yet the media is still heavily reporting the COVID-19 pandemic deaths instead.

For years the real pandemic in this country has been the risk factors that lead to the development of cardiovascular-related illness. Now we know that we can solve this mass-problem with natural measures alone.

92% of us are deficient, how to become the 8% who aren’t

Now we know that an enormous chunk of the American population are malnourished with some sort of vitamin, where do we even start?  The top offenders are potassium, D and E with 70% or more deficient in these nutrients.  Over 50% of the population also lack vitamin A, vitamin C, or magnesium.

Luckily, vitamin K deficiency isn’t quite as prevalent as the others. There are two types of vitamin K; K1, and K2.  Vitamin K1, also known as phylloquinone, is mainly sourced from plant-based foods like, dark leafy green vegetables.  Vitamin K2 can be found within fermented foods like natto or grass-fed meats and egg yolks.

For example, you only need one cup of greens such as broccoli, romaine lettuce, spinach, or kale. Or half a cup of cooked spinach or kale. Our body is also excellent at recycling through what we give it keeping our vitamin K levels high.

While it’s relatively simple to get a cup of greens throughout the entire day, a diet of meat and potatoes is becoming increasingly popular. If we stick to this dangerous trajectory, you’ve seen what will happen – a much higher chance of premature death.

Simply put, vitamin K affects our circulatory system.  Simple ways to tell if you’re deficient in the vitamin are easy bruising, blood clots under the nails, or dark (almost black) stool.  Our best advice would be to work with a good integrative physician to get your levels back on track – your life depends on it.

This research only scratches the surface.  Of course, vitamin D gets a lot of attention, with an influx of studies revealing just how powerful vitamin D is.

There’s no telling what else these vitamins protect us against. Join the 8% of Americans who aren’t vitamin deficient to protect your health today.  It’s worth the effort.

Click here for a more detailed NaturalHealth365 article about the value of vitamin K2 for heart health.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov
Sciencedirect.com
CDC.gov
Biostation.com