Vitamin K: The Vitamin That Could Do Wonders For Your Lungs

It may not get the publicity of some better-known vitamins like D, but vitamin K — found in leafy green vegetables — may boost your lung health.

A new, large study — published Aug. 10 in ERJ Open Research — suggests that people who have low levels of this vitamin also have less healthy lungs. They are more likely to report having asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and wheezing.

“Our results suggest that vitamin K could play a part in keeping our lungs healthy,” said researcher Dr. Torkil Jespersen of Copenhagen University Hospital and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

“On their own, our findings do not alter current recommendations for vitamin K intake, but they do suggest that we need more research on whether some people, such as those with lung disease, could benefit from vitamin K supplementation,” Jespersen said in a journal news release.

“This study suggests that people with low levels of vitamin K in their blood may have poorer lung function. Further research will help us understand more about this link and see whether increasing vitamin K can improve lung function or not,” says Dr. Apostolos Bossios, from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and secretary of the European Respiratory Society assembly on airway diseases, asthma, COPD, and chronic cough. He was not involved in this research.

“In the meantime, we can all try to eat a healthy, balanced diet to support our overall health, and we can protect our lungs by not smoking, taking part in exercise and doing all we can to cut air pollution,” Bossios said in the release.

What is vitamin K and what role does it play in the body?

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that comes in two forms: phylloquinone and menaquinones. Vitamin K is found in the brain, liver, heart, pancreas and bones. It’s broken down by the body very quickly so it rarely reaches toxic levels, USA Today notes.

In addition to leafy greens, vitamin K is found in vegetable oils and cereal grains. It has a role in blood clotting, helping the body heal wounds, but researchers know very little about its role in lung health.

In some cases, vitamin K is promoted as a way to lower one’s risk of arthritis or dementia, “but observational studies do not establish causation,” explains Sarah Booth, PhD, center director of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Therefore, more research is needed before such benefits can be known for sure.

Are you vitamin K deficient?

Age	Recommended Dietary Allowance
6 to 11 months*	2.5 mcg
12 to 23 months*	30 mcg
2 to 18 years (assigned female at birth, AFAB)	30 to 75 mcg
Over 18 years (AFAB)	90 mcg
2 to 18 (assigned male at birth, AMAB)	30 to 75 mcg
Over 18 years (AMAB)	120 mcg
Pregnant or lactating	75 to 90 mcg

*Adequate Intake
Source: 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Most adults get enough vitamin K from a healthy diet, however, babies are born with very small amounts of vitamin K in their bodies, which can lead to serious bleeding problems,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this case, babies should