Who's aware of vitamin K?
By Jess Halliday

04/07/2006- Mention vitamins A to E, and most people will know why they need them and what foods to find them. Not so vitamin K, a comparatively little known vitamin that has been the subject of several recent scientific investigations for its role in bone health and the prevention of blood clots.

However several ingredient suppliers have started offering vitamin K in recent months, suggesting that they see a market for stepping up its use in dietary supplements - particularly as the baby boom generation enters the age bracket where it starts to become more concerned with age-related health problems, including osteoporosis and health disease.

Their timing may be good; just last week a meta-analysis of studies of vitamin K and bone health published in peer reviewed journals found that supplementation is associated with increased bone mineral density (BMD) and reduced fracture incidence. The reduction in fracture incidence was also striking, with an approximate 80 per cent reduction in hip fractures. Despite this, the researchers said there was a need for large, pragmatic randomized clinical trials to
confirm the results before supplementation could be recommended.