A recent study has revealed the role that vitamin K plays in maintaining brain health, showing that it has a positive effect in protecting cognitive functions from deterioration with age.
The study indicated that obtaining adequate amounts of this vitamin through a balanced diet helps support brain functions, especially those related to memory and learning ability.
The research was conducted by scientists from Tufts University in the United States and was published in the Journal of Nutrition. The findings were also featured on the EurekAlert website.
Vitamin K in Your Diet
It is recommended that men consume 120 micrograms of vitamin K daily, and women 90 micrograms, from natural sources. Vitamin K is found primarily in leafy green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli. It is also present in vegetable oils like olive oil, soybean oil, and canola oil, and in smaller amounts in meat and dairy products.
You can meet your vitamin K needs through a varied and balanced diet. For example, half a cup of spinach provides more than half of the daily vitamin K requirement, while half a cup of boiled broccoli nearly covers the full daily requirement. Additionally, one tablespoon of olive oil supplies about 10% of the daily requirement.
Vitamin K’s Effect on Learning and Memory
Researchers studied the effect of vitamin K on two groups of mice over six months. One group received a vitamin K-deficient diet, while the other followed a balanced diet.
The results showed a significant drop in levels of menaquinone-4—a form of vitamin K found in brain tissue—in the mice that had a vitamin K-deficient diet. This deficiency was associated with noticeable cognitive decline, which was measured through behavioral tests designed to evaluate learning and memory.
The vitamin K-deficient mice struggled to distinguish between familiar and new objects in the novel object recognition test, indicating memory impairment. In another test measuring spatial learning, the mice were required to locate a hidden platform in a water maze. The vitamin K-deficient mice took significantly longer to learn the task compared to the other group.
Researchers also observed a reduction in the number of new neurons in the hippocampus—a brain region involved in memory formation and learning. In addition, there was a higher number of active immune cells in the brains of the vitamin K-deficient mice, indicating increased levels of neuroinflammation.
Source: EurekAlert Science news release