What Are the Health Benefits of Vitamin K2?
Vitamin K2? Many haven’t heard about it. It isn’t so common in the Western diet and has not received mainstream attention.
But then, Vitamin K2 is vital to your health and has several benefits. Many studies suggest that a lack of it in the diet may be the reason for the many cases of chronic diseases.
So, What Exactly is Vitamin K2?
1929 was the year that vitamin K2 was discovered. It was found as a vital blood clotting factor.
The maiden discovery was documented in a German journal. As of then, it was identified as a “koagulations vitamin” (1).
Weston Price made another discovery, a dentist in the 20th century. Price studied the relationship between disease and diet in various populations. His study showed that non-industrial diets contained an unknown nutrient that offered protection against chronic disease and tooth decay.
This mysterious nutrient was called “activator X” and later renamed vitamin K2 (1).
There are two kinds of vitamin k:
The first is phylloquinone or vitamin K1. It is found in leafy greens and other plant foods. The second is menaquinone or vitamin K2. It is located in fermented foods and animal foods (2). There are different subtypes of vitamin K2, but the major ones are Mk4 and Mk7.
What is the Mechanism of Action for Vitamin K2?
Vitamin K serves as the primary activator of blood clotting proteins. They also activate those proteins involved in heart health and calcium metabolism.
One of the significant functions of vitamin K is regulating calcium deposition. This means that it promotes bone calcification and prevents the kidneys and the blood vessels (3, 4).
Vitamin K2 supplements play significant roles in bone health and heart health and reduce blood calcification (5, 6).
What are the Health Benefits of Vitamin K2?
1. It Helps Prevents Heart Disease
The build-up of calcium in the arteries of your heart is a significant risk factor for heart disease (7, 8, 9). And so, whatever can reduce the buildup of calcium can also prevent the onset of heart disease.
Studies suggest that vitamin K can prevent calcium deposition in your arteries (10). In a particular study, people who took in a lot of vitamin K2 had a 52% lesser chance of developing artery calcification. Their risk of heart disease-related death was also reduced by over 57% (10).
In another study involving 16,057 women, the results showed that high consumption of vitamin K2 reduced the risk of heart disease by 9% (11). These, however, were observational studies that didn’t prove a cause or effect.
There is a need for long-term controlled trials on heart disease and vitamin K2. But that notwithstanding, studies so far show that it is effective in preventing heart health.
2. It Reduces the Risk of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis means “porous bones.” It has a high prevalence in the West. Osteoporosis is common among the elderly and is a significant risk factor for fractures.
Like we’ve stated above, vitamin K2 is deeply involved in calcium metabolism — the primary mineral occurring in the bones and teeth. In addition, vitamin K2 acts as an activator for osteocalcin and matrix GLA protein — the two essential proteins that help build bones and maintain them (12, 13).
Some controlled studies have shown that vitamin K2 is beneficial to bone health. For example, a study involving 244 women in their postmenopausal years found that vitamin K2 supplements reduced the incidence of decreasing age-related bone mineral density (14).
Similar results have been gotten from Japanese studies. However, very high doses of vitamin K2 were used in these studies. In seven of these studies (involving fractures), intake of vitamin K2 was shown to reduce spinal fractures by 60% and 81% reduction of non-spinal fractures, and a 77% reduction in hip fractures (15).
Because of the many positive results, vitamin K supplements are officially used to treat and prevent osteoporosis in Japan (16).
3. It Lowers the Risk of Cavities
There are indications that vitamin K2 may improve dental health. Results obtained from animal studies assume that this nutrient positively impacts dental health.
Osteocalcin is one of the critical proteins that regulates dental health. Osteocalcin is also important in bone metabolism. The activation of osteocalcin is done by vitamin k2 (17).
Osteocalcin is highly involved in the growth of dentin. Dentin is a tissue underneath your teeth’s enamel (18, 19). Vitamin K2 doesn’t perform this function alone. Instead, it works synergistically with vitamins A and D (20).
What’s the Best Way to Get Vitamin K2?
There are many sources of vitamin k2. It is also important to note that your body can convert vitamin k1 into k2. Of course, this is very important considering that the amount of vitamin k1 in a diet is usually ten times more than that of vitamin k2. However, current research shows that converting vitamin k1 to k2 is not entirely efficient. As such, you may be better off taking vitamin k2 directly. In addition, studies suggest that the intake of broad-spectrum antibiotics may be associated with k2 deficiency (21, 22).
Nevertheless, the modern diet remains deficient in vitamin k2. It is found in fermented foods like natto, which many people don’t eat.
What Are Other Food Sources of Vitamin K2?
Healthy sources of vitamin k2 include pasture-raised egg yolks, grass-fed dairy products, and organ meats (23).
If you cannot access these foods, you can go for the supplements.
Vitamin K2 & D3 Make a Great Pair
What’s more? You can enhance the benefits of k2 supplements by combining them with a vitamin D supplement. This is because both vitamins are known to synergize the effects of each other (24).
Although there is a need for more detailed studies, the findings from current research are promising.
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Disclaimer: Dr. Berner does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical diseases or conditions; instead, he analyzes and corrects the structure of his patients with Foundational Correction to improve their overall quality of life. He works with their physicians, who regulate their medications. This blog post is not designed to provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment, or services to you or any other individual. The information provided in this post or through linkages to other sites is not a substitute for medical or professional care. You should not use the information in place of a visit, consultation, or the advice of your physician or another healthcare provider. Foundation Chiropractic and Dr. Brett Berner are not liable or responsible for any advice, the course of treatment, diagnosis, or any other information, services, or product you obtain through this video or others.
