Why it is good to eat more spinach and cabbage

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An international group of scientists from Germany, Japan and Canada discovered a new benefit of consuming vitamin K, a nutrient found in large quantities in leafy greens. In addition to this vitamin being important for blood clotting, a new study shows that it also prevents cell death.

Scientists have discovered that the reduced form of vitamin K acts as a powerful antioxidant that inhibits ferroptosis (a type of programmed oxidative necrotic cell death). The latter is the cause of the most common type of dementia – Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative diseases, writes StudyFinds.

“We found that vitamin K, including phylloquinone (vitamin K1) and menaquinone-4 (vitamin K2), can save cells and tissues from ferroptosis,” says one of the authors of the study, Dr. Eikan Mishima.

The main form of vitamin K that comes from food is phylloquinone. It is found in large quantities in green leafy vegetables such as kale and collard greens, as well as spinach. Menaquinones are found in some animal products and fermented foods.