According to a preliminary study, people with higher amounts of vitamin K, which is present in vegetables like spinach and broccoli among others, appear to have improved lung function.
Researchers discovered that people with higher amounts of vitamin K, which the body needs for blood clotting and wound healing, were less likely to suffer from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or wheezing.
They had a higher likelihood of performing well on tests of lung health.
Green leafy vegetables, vegetable oils, and cereal grains all contain vitamin K.
The researchers urged additional research instead of concluding that their study was sufficient to advise patients to take vitamin K supplements for lung health.
Danish researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital and the University of Copenhagen investigated more than 4,000 residents of Denmark’s capital city between the ages of 24 and 77 for the study, which was published in the journal ERJ Open Research.
Participants in the study completed questionnaires about their health and lifestyle, provided blood samples, and participated in spirometry, a test used to measure lung function.
Whether or whether persons had low levels of vitamin K was determined by blood testing. The spirometry test, on the other hand, assessed the total volume of air that a person could forcefully breathe in and out in one second. People with low vitamin K levels performed poorly on these tasks, the researchers discovered.
In contrast, those with low vitamin K levels were twice as likely to report having COPD, 81% more likely to report having a wheeze, and 44% more likely to report having asthma.
There has been relatively little research on the relationship between vitamin K and the lungs, according to researcher Torkil Jespersen. “We already know that vitamin K has an important role in the blood, and research is beginning to show that it’s also important in heart and bone health,” he added.
This is the first investigation on vitamin K and lung function in a sizable general population, to the best of our knowledge. Our findings imply that vitamin K may contribute to the health of our lungs.
“On their own, our findings do not change the current recommendations for vitamin K intake, but they do indicate that more research is necessary to determine whether some people, such as those with lung disease, might benefit from vitamin K supplementation.”
Apostolos Bossios, from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and secretary of the assembly on airway diseases of the European Respiratory Society, commented on the study, saying: “Further research will help us understand more about this link and see whether increasing vitamin K can improve lung function or not.”
“We’d be interested to see more research in this area so we can better understand if levels of vitamin K are directly associated with lung function, which could help us better understand the impact of diet on people with lung conditions,” said Samantha Walker, director of research and innovation at Asthma and Lung UK.
SOURCE: THE NATIONAL NEWS
