Since it’s discovery in 1929, Vitamin K has been recognized as being crucial to the process of blood coagulation – in fact, the “k” stands for koagulation, the German form of the word coagulation. But recent research has shown that this often-forgotten vitamin may be a vital tool in the prevention and treatment of a host of age-related disorders.

Research Reveals That Vitamin K Plays Many Roles in Maintaining Health
One of the most important discoveries about vitamin K is that it regulates the production and flow of calcium. This ability makes it a key player in the prevention and treatment of many of the most common and debilitating age-related diseases.

Vitamin K and Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis is a degenerative bone disease that occurs when calcium is leached from the bones. Recent studies have shown that people who had the highest vitamin K levels had a significantly lower risk of osteoporosis and related problems such as hip fracture.

Vitamin K and Arteriosclerosis: Arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is a progressive disease caused by arterial calcification, which happens when calcium leaks into the arteries. This process is closely linked to heart damage and disease. Animal studies done in Japan showed that the introduction of additional Vitamin K effectively reduced arterial calcification, and it reduced related heart damage as well.

Vitamin K and High Blood Pressure/Stroke: Excess calcium has been identified as a major causative source of high blood pressure and resulting strokes. By regulating the amount and distribution of calcium in the body, ample amounts of Vitamin K could potentially act as both a preventative and a healer.

Vitamin K and Diabetes: Japanese studies have demonstrated that animals with a measurable vitamin K deficiency had pancreatic problems that caused the release of too much insulin into the blood – a scenario similar to that of diabetes in humans. Ongoing studies are investigating the possibility that vitamin K could be used to in the treatment of diabetes.

Vitamin K and Alzheimer’s Disease: Research has indicated that there is a correlation between vitamin K deficiency and the presence of a specific genetic variant associated with Alzheimer’s. It has been suggested that without sufficient vitamin K to regulate the creation and flow of calcium throughout the system, arterial damage may lead to problems with brain function.

Who Needs Supplemental Vitamin K?
The body can actually manufacture vitamin K, but because we generally synthesize only a third of the amount that we need, it’s important to eat foods that contain it (leafy green vegetables and liver) to avoid deficiency.

The recommended daily requirement for adults is around 100 mg, an amount that should easily be met via a reasonable healthy diet. However, there are some circumstances in which additional vitamin K could be needed. Liver and gall bladder disease are known to deplete vitamin K, as are diseases of the intestinal tract. Some medicines, including long-term antibiotics and cholesterol lowering drugs can also cause deficiency.

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resveratrol’s anti-aging benefits

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Resveratrol is a natural antibiotic compound produced by plants as a defense against disease. It is found in many plants, but it’s particularly abundant in the skins of grape species used to make wine. In recent years science has been investigating the effects of wine components on health, and the results indicate resveratrol is a powerful dietary agent with the potential for huge positive impact on health.

A Potent Antioxidant That Promotes Heart Health
Resveratrol has been found to be a potent antioxidant, which makes it a primary tool in anti-aging. Antioxidants are substances that can neutralize the damaging effects of free radicals, unstable molecules created during the process of cellular oxidation. Free radical damage is believed to be at the heart of most age-related diseases and disorders.

Studies suggest that resveratrol’s antioxidant capability could be particularly important to heart health. Like vitamin E and COQ10, resveratol is efficient at blocking artery-damaging free radicals, along with several other types of radicals.

Used in combination with other supplements, resveratrol has proven effective in the treatment of arteriosclerosis, a hardening and thickening of the arteries due at least in part to free radical damage.

Some researchers have suggested that the presence of resveratrol in wine is a possible explanation for “the French Paradox”, referring to the fact that though the typical French diet is high in fat, the French have a low rate of heart disease. It is believed that because the French tend to drink more red wine, their revestrol levels are higher and they are being protected to some extent from the arterial damage common to high fat diets.

Potential for relief of brain and spinal cord injuries
The body’s natural response to trauma to the brain or spinal cord is inflammation, and in many cases that inflammation creates even further damage. Chinese researchers found that administering resveratrol immediately after injury was an effective means of controlling inflammation.

A Promising Cancer Preventive and Treatment?
In the mid-1990s ground-breaking research found that resveratrol was effective at preventing the development of skin cancer in rodents who had been administered carcinogens. Numerous animal studies followed, reporting outcomes that make resveratrol one of the most exciting possibilities for cancer prevention and treatment.

Austrian animal studies indicate that revestrol can stop certain forms of cancer from spreading, and other research confirmed that topical application of the compound prevented the growth of tumors in the areas where it was applied. Oral administration of resveratrol tested effective against tumors of the stomach and intestinal tract.

Though to date all research on revestrol has been cellular or animal studies, some important clinical research projects are underway.

Possible Alzheimer’s Treatment
One of the most exciting medical anti-aging possibilities for revestrol is as a treatment or preventive for Alzheimer’s, a devastating progressive neurodegenerative disease that has been closely tied to free radical damage.

In 2008 a Cornell University animal study reported that resveratrol supplements significantly reduced the formation of plaque in the brain, which is both a primary component of Alzheimer’s and believed to be closely associated with normal aging changed in the brain as well.

Has Science Discovered A Fountain of Youth?
Since 2003 a number of studies have proven that resveratrol can extend the lifespan of various life forms, including yeast, fruit flies, worms, and certain fish. It is believed that resveratrol extends life span by activating sirtuin,  a “longevity gene”. Though resveratrol for life extension has not yet been tested on humans, the prospects are exciting because it has been proven that there is a human version of the longevity gene.

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anti-aging, vitamin C

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The use of supplemental glutathione for anti-aging has sparked controversy in the medical community, with some researchers calling it a powerful health restorative and others saying there’s just not enough evidence to justify those claims.

Glutathione (also sometimes known as GHS) is a natural compound. It is found in some foods, including many fruits, vegetables, and meats, and it can also be synthesized within the body, from three amino acids (L-cysteine, L-glutamic acid, and glycin).

Glutathione is known to be a powerful antioxidant, effective at protecting cells from free radicals (unstable molecules formed during the process of cellular oxidation). It’s active in human lungs and in many other organ systems and tissues, and plays an active role in maintaining the immune system.

Though glutathione was first isolated eighty years ago, it’s metabolism within the body has only been understood since 1984. Studies and clinical trials of glutathione in the treatment of cancer, ALS, cystic fribrosis, and asthma are currently taking place, but though studies on its potential health benefits are ongoing, a relatively limited body of research is currently available.

Antioxidant = Anti-Aging?

Glutathione’s potent antioxidant properties give it what appears to be enormous potential as an anti-aging supplement, because many of the health problems associated with free radical damage. Antioxidants can neutralize free radicals, preventing and even repairing the damage they do.

Preliminary research has shown a correlation between high glutathione levels and good health in older adults, but while initial results seem promising most studies on the substance have been small and limited.

Questions About Method of Supplementation

One of the primary questions about glutathione is whether oral supplements are effective. Some studies have indicated that giving patients oral supplements of as much as 3000 IU resulted in no increase in blood levels of glutathione, while other research showed that taking other nutritional compounds did effectively raise blood levels of glutathione. In one trial, supplementation of vitamin C raised glutathione blood levels by almost 50%. The study concluded that vitamin C raises glutathione levels by helping the body produce it.

But though questions persist about the extent to which oral glutathione can be absorbed, small studies using other methods of supplementation have produced exciting results. Glutathione administered intravenously or intramuscularly has been found useful for preventing clot formation during operations, treating Parkinson’s disease, reducing high blood pressure in diabetics, and increasing the effectiveness of certain chemotherapy drugs.

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Anti-Aging Therapies.

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