There are currently more than 6 million people in the U.S. living with dementia, and experts estimate that 42 percent of Americans over age 55 will eventually develop the cognitive condition. With such alarming research coming to the forefront, scientists are rapidly working to find cures for diseases like Alzheimer's. More immediately, they're also educating about preventative measures people can incorporate into their everyday routines. One such brain-friendly intervention may be to simply eat more foods containing vitamin K.
RELATED: Doctors Reveal the Early Signs of Dementia That Most People Ignore.
Low vitamin K can harm your brain health, a new study finds.
Vitamin K is most widely found in leafy green vegetables and broccoli, and it's commonly associated with blood clotting
According to a new study published in The Journal of Nutrition, a low dietary intake of vitamin K, "which is common among older adults, is associated with age-related cognitive impairment."
To arrive at their findings, researchers from Tufts University's Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) analyzed how vitamin K affected the brains of middle-aged mice. One group was fed a diet low in vitamin K, while the rest consumed a standard diet. The mice underwent behavioral tests and brain tissue analyses. At the end of the six-month study period, the researchers concluded that the mice deficient in vitamin K had "impaired learning- and memory-related cognitive function."
How does vitamin K affect cognition?
The study's main finding is that the vitamin K-deficient mice had "significantly lower" levels of menaquinone-4 (MK4), a form of vitamin K, in their brain tissue.
According to a press release, "This deficiency is associated with noticeable cognitive decline." The mice in this group exhibited the following negative cognitive traits:
- Increased neuroinflammation, "which is increasingly recognized as a key factor in age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases," said Tong Zheng, lead study author and a research scientist at the HNRCA.
- Decreased proliferation of neural cells in the hippocampus, "a portion of the brain that is capable of generating new cells and is central to functions such as learning and memory," explains the press release.
On the flip side, a separate 2022 study found that having a higher brain concentration of MK4 was associated with 17 to 20 percent lower odds of developing dementia or mild cognitive impairment.
Speaking to this body of research, Jennifer Habashy, NMD, a naturopathic doctor and the assistant medical director at Claya, previously told Best Life, "Research suggests that vitamin K supports brain health by influencing the metabolism of sphingolipids, essential fats that protect brain cells. Higher levels of vitamin K have been linked to better memory and cognitive performance."
RELATED: 7 Surprising Signs You Have a Vitamin K Deficiency, Doctors Say.
How can you safely increase your vitamin K intake?
Both Zheng and fellow study author Sarah Booth, director of the HNRCA and professor at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, agree that their findings don't suggest people should start taking vitamin K supplements over consuming a healthy diet.
"We know that a healthy diet works, and that people who don’t eat a healthy diet don’t live as long or do as well cognitively," said Booth. "By choreographing animal and human studies together, we can do a better job of improving brain health long-term by identifying and targeting specific mechanisms."
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), these vegetables are the highest sources of vitamin K:
- Collard greens
- Turnip greens
- Spinach
- Kale
- Broccoli
RELATED: These 6 Foods Can Lead to Better Brain Health—But You're Probably Not Eating Them.
