Health

Can these foods help fight COVID?


This article was previously published on June 20, 2020 and has been updated with new information.

Nutrient deficiencies can take a toll on your health, and this includes an increased risk of serious outcomes in the event of a viral infection like COVID-19. Vitamin K, a fat-soluble vitamin best known for its role in blood clotting and found in foods like spinach, eggs, and some cheeses, is one of the newer types. Most known to have a potential protective role against COVID-19, which can cause blood-clotting deterioration of the elastic fibers in your lungs.

Both thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel, and coagulopathy, which impairs the blood’s ability to form clots, are common in severe COVID-19 cases. important and is associated with reduced survival rates from this disease,first which on the other hand tends to cause mild or no symptoms in the majority of people affected.

“Coagulation is a complex balance between promoting and dissolving blood clots, in which vitamin K plays a well-known role,” Dutch researchers wrote in a Preprints study.2 led them to suggest that vitamin K levels may be low in people with severe COVID-19.

Low vitamin K linked to severe COVID-19 and poor outcomes

To test their hypothesis, the researchers studied 123 patients admitted to the Canisius Wilhelmina hospital in Nijmegen, a city in the Netherlands, with COVID-19 along with 184 control patients. Both vitamin K levels and elastin degradation were measured, with vitamin K assessed by measuring desphosphorylation non-carboxylated background Gla protein (dp-ucMGP), which was inversely related to vitamin K status.

Elastin degradation is measured through desmosine, an amino acid found in tendons and a component of elastin. COVID-19 patients with unfavorable outcomes had significantly higher levels of dp-ucMGP, indicating low vitamin K, compared with those with less severe disease. Dp-ucMGP was also significantly increased in COVID-19 patients compared with those without, and dp-ucMGP and desmosine levels were significantly associated.3 According to the researchers:4

“Vitamin K status is reduced in COVID-19 patients and associated with poor prognosis. In addition, low vitamin K status appears to be associated with faster elastin degradation. An interventional trial is now needed. needed to assess whether the administration of vitamin K improves outcomes in COVID-19 patients.”

Study author Dr. Rob Janssen advocates vitamin K levels to increase vitamin K levels, with the exception of people who are taking anticoagulants.

Speaking to The Guardian, he noted, “We took an intervention that didn’t have any side effects, even less than a placebo. There was one major exception: people who were taking anticoagulants. It’s completely safe for everyone else My advice would be Take vitamin K supplements. Even if it doesn’t help against severe Covid-19 it’s still good for blood vessels, bones your lungs and possibly your lungs.”5 You can also find vitamin K in many foods.

Two types of vitamin K and where to find them

There are two types of vitamin K: phylloquinone, or vitamin K1, and menaquinones, or vitamin K2. Vitamin K1 is derived from green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, broccoli and cabbage, and is best known for its role in blood clotting. Without enough vitamin K1, your blood cannot clot properly and you run the risk of bleeding that can lead to death.

However, according to Leon Schurgers, a senior scientist at Maastricht University in the Netherlands who was involved in the striking study and whom I interviewed in 2015, “… the absorption of vitamin K1 from Food is extremely low.Only 10% of vitamin K, found in green leafy vegetables, is absorbed into your body… And there is no change or change in consumption that will significantly increase your intake. tell absorption.”

On the other hand, vitamin K2 is better known for its role in bone and heart health, and is found in herbivore products such as meat eggs, liver and milk, as well as in fortified foods. yeast, including sauerkraut, some cheeses, and natto-fermented soy foods.

Although the amount of vitamin K2 in some foods, such as cheese, is lower than the amount found in leaves and green vegetables, Schurgers notes, “all vitamin K2 is absorbed by the body … Vitamin K2 It’s almost completely absorbed in food.” Natto is particularly well known for its high vitamin K2 content, especially the longer-chain vitamin K2 known as menaquinone-7 (MK-7).

One study looking at vitamin K bioavailability even found that circulating concentrations of vitamin K2 after consuming natto were about 10 times higher than vitamin K1 after eating spinach.6

“I worked with a Japanese scientist in London,” Janssen told The Guardian, “and she said it was remarkable that in parts of Japan, where they eat a lot of natto, there isn’t a single person. who died from Covid-19. ; so that’s something to dive into, I would say. “7

Aside from natto, cheese is the food with the highest concentration of menaquinone, but levels vary depending on the type of cheese. Dutch hard cheeses such as gouda and edam have a relatively high concentration, as do French cheeses such as Munster cheese.8 However, many factors affect the amount of vitamin K2 in your food, including how long it takes to ferment and whether it’s made with grass-fed or pasture-raised milk.

For example, pasteurized milk and factory-raised animal products do not contain much MK-4, a short-chain form of vitamin K2. Only herbivores (which do not feed on grains) grow naturally at high levels.

Vitamin K may reduce COVID-19 comorbidities

A report by the WHO-China Joint Mission on COVID-19, published in February 2020, found a higher crude mortality rate (CFR) in people with COVID-19 and other conditions. other health. While otherwise healthy individuals have a CFR of 1.4%, those with comorbidities have a much higher rate, as follows:9

  • Cardiovascular disease – 13.2%
  • Diabetes – 9.2%
  • High blood pressure – 8.4%

Another study looking at the impact of coexisting health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes on COVID-19 outcomes found they were associated with “poor clinical outcomes,” such as admission to the intensive care unit, the need for invasive ventilation, or death.ten This means that reducing your risk of underlying conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure could improve your outcomes if you have COVID-19.

Vitamin K may play a protective role here, as it has been linked to both diabetes and heart health. Both vitamin K1 and K2 intake can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes.11

Vitamin K may affect insulin sensitivity by carboxylation of osteocalcin, which may act as a hormone that regulates insulin sensitivity. It may also play a role in reducing insulin resistance and the risk of type 2 diabetes through its effects on calcium metabolism.twelfth Furthermore, a review published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism noted:13

“Increasing vitamin K1 intake in a cohort study … has been shown to reduce the risk of developing diabetes by 51%. A recent review found that vitamin K supplementation can be used as a novel adjuvant therapy to improve glycemic control and quality of life.”

Vitamin K promotes heart health, important for COVID-19

As mentioned, people with heart disease have worse outcomes if they develop COVID-19, and the role of vitamin K in heart health is well documented, especially for vitamin K2. One of the reasons why vitamin K2 is so important for heart health is because of a complex biochemical process involving the enzyme matrix gla-protein (MGP, found in your vascular system).14), and osteocalcin, found in your bones.

“Gla” stands for glutamic acid, which binds to calcium in the cells of your artery walls and removes it from the lining of your blood vessels. Once removed from the lining of blood vessels, vitamin K2 then facilitates the integration of that calcium into your bone matrix by transferring it to osteocalcin, which in turn helps “stick” the calcium in place inside your bones. friend.

Vitamin K2 activates these two proteins, so without it, transporting calcium from your arteries to your bones cannot happen, which increases the risk of arterial calcification. In fact, in one study, people with the highest levels of vitamin K2 were 52% less likely to have calcified arteries and had a lower risk of dying from heart disease over a 7- to 10-year period.15

Low levels of vitamin D and vitamin K are also associated with high blood pressure,16 another condition that increases your risk of poor results from COVID-19. While many people – young and old – are dealing with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, these conditions are reversible and by doing so you will greatly reduce your risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID- 19. Making sure you get enough vitamin K is part of this equation.

Vitamin K works in tandem with vitamin D

Remember that vitamin K2 also works in tandem with vitamin D and magnesium. So it’s important to remember that vitamin K2 should be considered in conjunction with calcium, vitamin D and magnesium, as these four all have a synergistic relationship impacting your health.

Vitamin D is also notable in terms of COVID-19, as analysis of medical records showed a direct correlation between vitamin D levels and disease severity in people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.17

To improve your immune function and reduce your risk of viral infections, you’ll want to increase your vitamin D intake to between 60 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) to 80 ng/mL. In Europe, the measurements you’re looking for are 150 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) and 200 nmol/L. This, in addition to addressing your vitamin K intake, is a natural strategy that can reduce significantly increase your risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19.

Are you getting enough vitamin K?

It can be difficult to tell if you’re getting enough vitamin K, because there’s no easy way to screen for or check if you’re getting enough vitamin K2. At present, it is not possible to measure vitamin K2 directly, so it is measured through indirect assessment of oxidized osteocalcin under carbon. However, this test is not yet commercially available.

As a general rule, if you have osteoporosis, heart disease, or diabetes, you may be deficient in vitamin K2. Furthermore, it is believed that the vast majority of people are in fact deficient and would benefit from more K2, which you can gain by eating more of the following foods:

  • Some fermented foods such as natto or vegetables are fermented using an initial culture of vitamin K2-producing bacteria.
  • Some cheeses like Brie, Munster and Gouda, are especially high in K2
  • Grass-fed organic animal products like egg yolks, liver, butter and milk

If you are taking a statin drug, which is known to deplete vitamin K2,18 you may also be missing. If you’re interested in taking a supplement, as a general guideline, I recommend getting about 150 mcg of vitamin K2 per day.

Others recommend slightly higher amounts – up to 180 to 200 mcg. Fortunately, you don’t need to worry about an overdose of K2, as it appears to be completely non-toxic. If you choose to take a vitamin K2 supplement, make sure it’s MK-7. The exception is if you are taking a vitamin K antagonist, which is a drug that reduces blood clotting by reducing the action of vitamin K. If so, you should avoid MK-7 supplements.

It’s also important to note that adding too much vitamin K1 in the diet or supplement may overcome the anticoagulant effects of blood thinners. Furthermore, when taking vitamin K supplements, do so with fat. Since vitamin K is fat-soluble it won’t be absorbed properly, and be sure to balance it with calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium.





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