Vitamin K2 : A Vital Nutrient For A Healthy Body

The majority of individuals are unaware of vitamin K2. The Western diet rarely contains this vitamin, and therefore it hasn’t garnered much media attention. But this potent nutrient is important for many areas of your health. Researchers believe that vitamin K2 might be the vital piece in the puzzle connecting food to several chronic diseases.

Introduction

About vitamin K?

Blood coagulation, which refers to the medical term meaning blood clotting, was first recognized as requiring vitamin K in 1929.

The original discovery was published in a scholarly journal in Germany under the name “Koagulationsvitamin.” The source of both the K within vitamin K is there.

Weston Prices, the dentist who traveled the globe mostly in the early 20th century researching the link between both diet as well as disease in various populations, made a similar discovery. He discovered that perhaps the nonindustrial meals were rich in an undiscovered vitamin that appeared to offer defense against chronic disease including tooth decay. He called this unidentified nutrient activator X. Currently; it’s thought to have contained vitamin K2.

Vitamin K comes in two major forms:

  • Leafy greens and other plant foods contain vitamin K1 (phylloquinone).
  • Animal products and fermented meals include vitamin K2 (menaquinone) (2Trusted Source)

Further categorization of vitamin K2 results in numerous subgroups. The two that are most significant are MK-4 as well as MK-7.

How Do Vitamin K2 Supplements Work:

K2 vitamin (menaquinone)

The type that vitamin K would be necessary for strong bones is vitamin K2. Major dietary sources of vitamin K2 include a variety of foods such as eggs, meat, and even cheese. And very few deliver you with the optimal attractive form of the vitamin K2 (in a moment, I’ll elaborate on it)

So, what are the benefits of vitamin K2 for bones? However, vitamin K2 stimulates the following two proteins that control where your body absorbs calcium from food:

Osteocalcin: Helps your bones get the calcium they need by directing the calcium you eat there!

Calcium is prevented from entering your blood arteries, kidneys, and brain, among soft tissues by the matrix GLA protein.

Consider vitamin K2 as the unique set of road signs your body has created only for calcium.

Therefore, even if you ingest a lot of calcium, your bones will still be weak since they won’t be getting any of this calcium if you don’t take vitamin K2. Together, calcium plus vitamin K2 help to maintain strong, healthy bones.

In actuality, vitamin D makes up the third component of the team. After seeing, vitamin D aids in the initial absorption of calcium by the body.

Categories of vitamin K2

We now know that there are two different types of vitamin K: K1 and K2. And indeed, the type of vitamin K2 required for healthy bones is K2. Although there are different types of vitamin K2 as well, which adds another layer of complexity.

Recent studies have concentrated in particular upon two types of vitamin K2:

  • MK-4

Every form of vitamin K, including K1 and all of the other forms of K2, is absorbed in the small intestine before being transported to the liver. However, this is the point at which the script varies according to the form.

As you could see from the aforementioned diagrams, MK-4 and vitamin K1 share a similar structural makeup). Thus, they are utilized similarly by your body. That implies that MK-4 first needs to be used by your body to activate the liver-stored blood clotting proteins.

Any extra is stored inside triglycerides and injected into your bloodstream if there is any. Those bone-supporting functions that we described in the last part will indeed be carried out by this residual MK-4, but there’s something crucial to keep in mind.

…MK-4 isn’t available for too long! In actuality, MK-4’s “half-life” is 6 to 8 hours, during which time it is eliminated from your bloodstream.

  • MK-7

Several diagrams above show how vitamin MK-7 differs structurally between vitamins K1 & MK-4. Because of this, your body employs it appropriately.

Before everything reaches your liver, Vitamin MK-7 is still absorbed in your small intestine. These blood clotting proteins won’t be activated, though (unless you’re severely deficient in vitamin K1 plus MK-4).

Consequently, MK-7 enters your bloodstream wrapped with LDL cholesterol. Several proteins that route calcium towards your bones as well as prevent it from entering your organs, arteries, including soft tissues are then activated.

It is comparable to having a unique K2 bank account. And could withdraw from it every day to keep the osteocalcin and other matrix Gla proteins active and route the calcium you eat into the appropriate place—your bones!

Little enough as 90 micrograms per day might be all you need to maximize your body’s capacity to engage osteocalcin plus matrix Gla protein thanks to MK-7’s significantly longer availability.

How to obtain the necessary vitamin K2

Vitamin K1 is abundant in several generally accessible foods, but vitamin K2 is just less prevalent. Vitamin K1 can partially be converted to K2 by your body. This is helpful because vitamin K1 is usually present in diets on average ten times the level of vitamin K2.

Nevertheless, the evidence we currently have suggests that perhaps the conversions process is ineffective. As just a result, using vitamin K2 directly may be significantly more advantageous. Your big intestine’s flora also created vitamin K2.

According to some research, broad-spectrum antibiotics may be a factor in K2 insufficiency. However, the typical consumption of this crucial component in the modern diet is shockingly low. Most individuals don’t consume many fermented or animal foods, which are where most of the vitamin K2 is located.

High-fat milk products like grass-fed cows, egg yolks, liver, as well as other organ meats are examples of rich animal sources (22Trusted Source). Since vitamin K is fat-soluble, it is not found in large quantities in low-fat or lean animal sources.

This MK-4 subtype is found in animal products, while the lengthier subtypes, MK-5 to MK-14, are more prevalent in fermented foods including sauerkraut, and natto, among miso. If you can’t get certain foods, supplements containing is a good backup plan.

Amazon has a variety of K2 supplements available. Such two vitamins might cooperate because of their synergistic effects (24Trusted Source).

Vitamin K-2 comes from food sources.

  • sauerkraut
  • dairy items, particularly hard cheeses
  • organ meats like liver and others
  • beef
  • pork
  • egg yolks
  • chicken
  • fatty fish, such as salmon

Advantages Of Vitamin K2 For Health:

  • The benefit of vitamin K2 on heart health:

By lowering the accumulation of calcium inside the arteries surrounding the heart, vitamin K2 might lower the chance of cardiovascular disease.

Scientists examined the vitamin K1 as well as K2 intake of 4,807 Dutch women plus men over the age of 55 for ten years as part of the Rotterdam Study. Researchers discovered that consuming 25 grams or more of vitamin K2 per day cut the chance of dying through heart disease by approximately 57%.

Additionally, it decreased overall mortality by 36%, significant arterial calcification by 52%, and instances of coronary cardiovascular disease by 41%. (Grober, 2015). (Also, it was shown that vitamin K1 had no impact on mortality or heart disease.)

A second study including more than 16,000 women discovered a link between vitamin K2 use and a reduced chance of coronary heart disease (Gast, 2009).

  • Osteoporosis might well be avoided using vitamin K2.

As a living material, bone is constantly being made and destroyed. Vitamin K2 aids the body’s process of transferring calcium from the blood to the bones (Maresz, 2015). In light of this, maintaining bone health is essential. However, as we become older, the greater bone might well be lost than rebuilt, increasing the risk of fractures. However, some research points to vitamin K2 as potentially being protective in that regard.

This meta-analysis of 13 studies that were under control examined the effects of daily vitamin K2 supplementation (15–45 mg of MK-4). fracture frequency, as well as bone density, were also impacted.

Hip fractures, non-vertebral fractures, or vertebral fractures were all reduced by 77 percent, 60 percent, and 81 percent, respectively, by vitamin K2 (Schwalfenberg, 2017). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t made any recommendations on K2, but it may reduce osteoporosis.

According to the NIH, additional human research is required because the evidence regarding vitamin K2 with the prevention of osteoporosis is not clear.

  • Dental health may benefit from vitamin K2.

Osteocalcin, a protein essential for bone metabolism and preserving tooth strength, is activated by vitamin K2. The calcified tissue beneath tooth enamel, called dentin, grows more rapidly when osteocalcin is present. It is speculated that vitamin K2 may also prevent tooth decay (Southward, 2015).

  • Cancer treatment using vitamin K2

A study involving over 25,000 people discovered that males with cancer had a decreased risk of developing the disease when they consumed vitamin K2 through food (but not women). Prostate as well as lung cancer cases significantly decreased in those who ingested the most vitamin K2 (Nimptsch, 2010).

Very high vitamin K2 consumption was linked to a 63 percent relatively low chance of advanced prostate cancer, according to another observational research of 11,000 males (Nimptsch, 2008).

Vitamin K2 was shown in laboratory studies to either kill or stop the proliferation of prostate, breast, liver, colon and even bladder cancer cells.

  • Concerns and sorrow

The person’s chance of experiencing sadness, and anxiety, including cognitive impairment might increase if their blood glucose levels are high. In a 2016 study, vitamin K-2 was tested for its impact on metabolic syndrome, excessive blood sugar, anxiety, depression, and even memory loss in rats.

Vitamin K therapy corrected blood sugar after 10 weeks, and it also lessened anxiety and depressive symptoms. The rodents’ memory deficiency was not improved, either. Additionally, vitamin K2 supplements are available.

It can be found in multivitamins, vitamin K supplementation, and vitamin K2 alone formulas. This same National Institutes of Health recommend daily consumption of 120 mcg for males and 90 mcg in women for vitamin K (vitamins 1 and 2). Although there isn’t a known upper limit, using it in large dosages is not advised.

Suggested daily intake

For adults, its Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)Trusted Source advises consuming 90 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin K for women and 120 mcg in men per day. Regarding vitamin K-2, no recommendations are given.

What Are Common Doses of Vitamin K2?

  • 25GM of 0.2 percent in a bottle
  • 90 Tablets in a bottle
  • a 30-capsule bottle
  • 100 tablets per bottle

Safety with Vitamin K2

On its own, vitamin K2 is harmless.

However, several drugs, such as blood thinners, could interfere affect vitamin K2, and this might be harmful. Your best way to proceed if you are currently taking medicine is to find out from your doctor whether taking vitamin K2 together with it is safe.

The IOM suggests consuming 600 IU of vitamin D per day for individuals under 50, 600 IU of vitamin D per day for adults 51 to 70, and 800 IU of vitamin D per day for adults 71 and above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1  How much vitamin K2 is needed?

Foods are the finest source of vitamin K2 if you’re looking to boost your intake. Flesh, especially dark chicken meat including liver, egg yolks, dairy goods like cheese, butter, and yogurt, and natto, the traditional Japanese meal made from fermented soybeans, are all good sources of vitamin K2 in the diet.

Q2 What are the safety Issues with Vitamin K2

On its own, vitamin K2 is harmless. However, several drugs, such as blood thinners, could interfere affect vitamin K2, and this might be harmful. Your best way to proceed if you are currently taking medicine is to find out from your doctor whether taking vitamin K2 together with it is safe.

Q3 How to increase the effect of vitamin K2?

When used alongside a vitamin D supplement, the advantages of K2 supplementation can be increased even further.

Conclusion

Mostly in the West, vitamin K2 frequently goes unnoticed, yet that is a major omission. Particularly for those who are worried about their bone health. Your bones are the areas that require calcium the most, therefore vitamin K2 stimulates proteins which keep it from entering your organs, vessels, and soft tissue.

And keep in mind that the long chain MK-7 type of vitamin K2 is indeed the best option because it remains in your body the longest and offers the greatest benefits for your bones as well as the remainder of your body.

However, it can be very challenging to consume enough vitamin K2 in your diet (especially the MK-7 form). Natto, a food made from fermented soybeans, is the only true dietary source. It would be an understatement to say that natto is indeed an acquired taste.

Because of this, supplementing is probably your best and most practical alternative. particularly if you pick AlgaeCal Plus.

Kidney Urology