Vitamin K, calcium chelation and vascular health
What it found
Vitamin K helps activate proteins that bind calcium and may help prevent calcium build-up in blood vessels.
The authors say vitamin K rich foods or supplements look like a better preventive option than EDTA chelation.
What they found
Studies in people
Vitamin K intake and heart disease
Several studies that followed people over time found that higher vitamin K2 intake was linked to lower risk of coronary heart disease and peripheral artery disease. Some studies also found links for vitamin K1, but not all.
Vitamin K supplements and arteries
In controlled trials, vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 supplements reduced vascular calcification compared with placebo. One 3-year trial found vitamin K1 helped maintain vascular elasticity, while the placebo group lost some elasticity.
EDTA chelation therapy
A large trial of EDTA chelation for cardiovascular disease reported only a tendency to benefit on its main combined endpoint. A later analysis in people with diabetes and peripheral artery disease found fewer events, but the authors note this could be due to glucose added to the placebo solution.
Animal and lab studies
MGP and artery calcification
Activated MGP is described as a strong inhibitor of calcium build-up in arteries. In mice lacking MGP, arterial calcification was accelerated and mortality was higher than in normal mice.
Other findings
Vitamin K activates proteins
Vitamin K is needed for a process called carboxylation that turns certain proteins, including MGP and osteocalcin, into their active forms. These active proteins can bind calcium.
EDTA side effects
EDTA binds calcium and other metals like magnesium and zinc and helps remove them in urine. This can lead to low calcium and low magnesium levels, and long-term use may cause bone loss.
What the authors conclude
“Consumption of vitamin-K-rich foods and/or use of vitamin K supplements appear to be a better preventive strategy than EDTA chelation for maintaining vascular health.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that optimized intake of vitamin K plays a crucial role in preventing vascular calcification by regulating the carboxylation of specific vitamin K dependent proteins.
- They advise that intravenous EDTA infusions as therapy for cardiovascular disease should be discouraged due to the risk of disruption of the physiological functions of several metal ions.
- They call for more research on the optimal intake of vitamin K and on the mechanisms involved in vascular calcification.
How it was done
Calcium build-up in artery walls is linked to stiffer arteries and higher risk of heart problems. The authors wanted to compare vitamin K's natural calcium-binding proteins with the drug EDTA, which is used as an alternative chelation treatment for cardiovascular disease.
They reviewed clinical studies and other research on vitamin K, its forms, how it is absorbed and used, and its role in cardiovascular disease. They also looked at studies of EDTA chelation therapy for cardiovascular disease.
What it can’t tell you
- Many of the studies in people followed them over time, so they can show a link between vitamin K intake and heart disease, but not that vitamin K caused the difference.
- The authors note that large-scale, long-term trials of vitamin K supplements are still needed to determine whether they reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events.
- Some findings come from animal or cell studies, which cannot show what happens in people.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Innlandet Hospital Trust, Norway; Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway; Linköping University, Sweden
The paper
- Title
- Vitamin K and Calcium Chelation in Vascular Health
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Aaseth JO, Alehagen U, Opstad TB, Alexander J (2023). Vitamin K and Calcium Chelation in Vascular Health. Biomedicines. doi:10.3390/biomedicines11123154Free full textPubMed 38137375DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error