Dr. Arturo M. Volpe

Vitamin K comes in two forms, vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) found primarily in green vegetables, and vitamin K2 (menaquinone) found in fermented foods. Two recent review articles focus on the considerable roles that both forms of vitamin K play in preventing, and even reversing, osteoporosis.

Human studies have shown that vitamin K supplements can increase bone mineral density and reduce fracture rates in osteoporotic individuals. Other studies have shown that vitamin K and vitamin D work synergistically on bone density.

Although most studies used vitamin K2 at pharmacological doses ranging from 45 to 90 mg per day, there is consistent evidence to suggest that much lower doses of vitamin K1 (80 to 1,000 mcg per day) may achieve similar results, especially if combined with vitamin D (Curr Opin Nutr Metab Care, 2001;4:483-7 and Nutrition, 2001;17(10):880-7).

If you are concerned about osteoporosis, it may be worthwhile to have a blood test to evaluate your vitamin K status. Testing directly for vitamin K in blood is expensive and may not be entirely accurate; however, a blood test for osteocalcin levels is simple, inexpensive and provides an indirect measure of vitamin K status.

Tags: Osteoporosis
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It is well known that inflammation is associated with the pain of arthritis and the swelling and redness that follow a sprain. In recent years, research has revealed that chronic inflammation can also cause heart disease, independent of traditional risk factors such as cholesterol, and it has been linked with an increased occurrence of degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s.

Though in the past it was difficult to measure low-grade chronic inflammation, a new test called high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), can easily identify this condition. This test is now often included in blood panels designed to screen for heart disease risk factors.

But what causes chronic inflammation? A study designed to help answer this question measured the hs-CRP of 244 apparently healthy women, and then analyzed various factors of their diets and lifestyles. Researchers found a strong association between diets with high glycemic loads and increased inflammation (Am J Clin Nutr 2002;75(3):492-8).

Glycemic load measures the impact of diet on blood sugar. The higher the glycemic load, the more likely a diet is to raise one’s blood sugar. A high glycemic diet can lead to obesity, diabetes or other blood sugar imbalances. This study shows that such diets can also lead to higher levels of inflammation.

To estimate glycemic load, foods are assigned a number, called a glycemic index, reflecting the extent to which they affect blood sugar. White bread has an index of 100% and is considered the glycemic standard. All other foods are ranked in relation to it. Many carbohydrates, even some that are often considered healthy, have very elevated glycemic indexes. By contrast, protein affects blood sugar consistently less and fat has no effect at all. If you’d like to get an idea of your diet’s glycemic load, a good reference is the list at the end of Dr. Barry Sears’ book Mastering The Zone. However, remember that while glycemic index is an important consideration, it is not the only factor that determines whether a food is healthy.

Tags: Diet
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The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is not known for being friendly to alternative medicine. However, a recently published article (JAMA 2001;286(8):905-6), describes something many have known or suspected for a long time: that Ritalin acts a lot like cocaine.

The article states that, although Ritalin has been prescribed to treat ADHD for forty years, “psychiatrists and pharmacologists have never known how it worked.” Quite a shocking admission, considering that an estimated 6 million American children are on the drug, some as young as four.

Through advanced imaging techniques, researchers found what the article calls “startling results”: that “instead of being a less potent transport inhibitor than cocaine, methylphenidate (Ritalin) was more potent,” and that “the data clearly show that the notion that Ritalin is a weak stimulant is completely incorrect.” The only significant difference between the two drugs is that Ritalin ìtakes about an hour to raise dopamine levels, whereas inhaled or injected cocaine hits the brain in seconds.

Finally, the author states that “the long-term dopamine effects of taking methylphenidate (Ritalin) for years, as many do, are unknown.” You may draw your own conclusions.

Tags: ADD/ADHD
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