Importance of Vitamins

Growing up I am sure you’ve always heard “Don’t forget to take your vitamins!” and thought nothing of it. But did you ever wonder what exactly vitamins do? Well, vitamins are able to:

  • Prevent and treat various diseases (including heart disease)
  • Lower your chance for high cholesterol
  • Avoid eye and skin disorders
  • Facilitate many of the body’s mechanisms
  • Perform functions which cannot be performed by any other nutrients

A vitamin that is not as “well-known” as all the others is Vitamin K. Vitamin K is made up of a group of compounds, the most important being K1 and K2. Vitamin K1 is produced by plants and can obtain from leafy greens vegetables like:

  • Kale
  • Spinach
  • Collared greens
  • Broccoli
  • Brussel sprouts

Vitamin K2 is a group of compounds largely obtained from:

  • Chicken
  • Porkchop
  • Cheeses
  • Eggs

If you are experiencing trouble with vitamin K intake, click here for some tasty recipes.

At Integrative Cardiology Center Of Long Island, a holistic nutritionist in Nassau County, we have found numerous benefits of Vitamin K1 and K2. These include:

  • Heart health
      • Keeps blood pressure lower
      • Prevents mineralization (when minerals build-up in arteries) which allows the heart to pump blood freely through the body
      • Lowers risk of stroke
  • Bone health
      • Maintenance of strong bones
      • Improves bone density
      • Decreases risk of fracture
  • Cognitive health
    • Improved episodic memory in older adults

If you are not getting vitamin K in your day-to-day diet, we may recommend taking vitamin K supplements. Vitamin K tablets are available and are often combined with other nutrients, like calcium, vitamin D, or magnesium. If you decide to take a vitamin K supplement it is important to note that the amount needed varies person to person based on your age and gender. Our holistic nutritionist in Nassau County can help you decide if these supplements are right for you.

At ICCLI, our team created functional medicine programs like Fit in your genes in order to benefit you and your health.

 

  • FIT In Your GENES™ Weight Loss Program
    • This program is structured by Dr. Druz which includes holistic nutritional sessions. The physician with help you create daily personalized meals as well as supplement plan. With an 80% effectiveness rate, the goal of the program is to help restore metabolism and wellness.
  • FIT In Your GENES™ Holistic Heart Health
    • This program also aims to achieve stabilization of heart disease, reducing the risk of a cardiac event, normalize blood pressure, hormone levels, glucose, and cholesterol all while driving to decrease inflammation.  

 

If you need help improving your holistic health or questions in general, our holistic nutritionist in Nassau County can help, don’t hesitate to contact us here.