Science-Backed
Imagine that there is a vitamin that ensures that calcium is stored in the bones and not deposited in the arteries. Scientists have proven that vitamin K2 does just that. In short, vitamin K2 is essential for strong, normal bones and clean, elastic arteries.
Vitamin K2 regulates the way in which our body stores and utilizes the mineral calcium. Doctors have noticed that people with increased calcium loss, such as postmenopausal women also have excessive calcium deposits in their arteries.
The lack of calcium in the bones leads to a decrease in bone density. The chronic excess of calcium in the arteries leads to a deposit of calcium in the vessel walls with all its consequences.
Current research results show that calcium metabolism only works properly if there is a sufficient supply of vitamin K2.
Vitamin K2 therefore has perfect double protection for bone health as well as for the blood vessels and the cardiovascular system.
Vitamin K2 and the cardiovascular system
Vitamin K2 activates Matrix-Gla-Protein (MGP), which is responsible for the regulation of calcium in the arterial walls. MGP is the most effective inhibiting factor against arteriosclerosis and can only be activated through Vitamin K2.
That is why a deficiency in Vitamin K2 leads inevitably to arteriosclerosis. It is true that healthy arterial tissue contains 100 times more K2 than do calcified arteries. Unfortunately, many studies clearly show that our food does not deliver enough Vitamin K2 to activate the Gla-Proteins in the bones and arteries optimally.
An unambiguous connection between Vitamin K2 and the reduction of arterial calcification and heart diseases was first documented in 2004 in the course of the widely funded, well-controlled Rotterdam-Heart-Study.
Approximately 4,800 women and men over the age of 55 took part in this study in Holland over the course of 10 years. Those persons who in this time frame, who took Vitamin K2-rich food, had up to 50% less calcium deposit in their arteries.
At the same time, they had up to 50 percent less risk of fatal cardiovascular disease and about a 25% lower mortality rate from that source.
These advantages appeared only for participants who had taken more than 32 micrograms of Vitamin K2 daily. A higher consumption of Vitamin K1, on the other hand, did not lead to such positive effects on the cardiovascular system.
Vitamin K2 for healthy bones
Vitamin K2 has shown in studies that when it comes to the building of strong bones, it is exactly as important as Calcium and Vitamin D3. To be sure, Vitamin D3 causes the build-up of osteocalcin. But only Vitamin K2 can activate osteocalcin, the protein, that stores calcium in the bones.
This means that a deficiency of Vitamin K2, even in the presence of an adequate supply of calcium and Vitamin D3, can lead to a reduction in bone density and osteoporosis.
Instead, calcium gets stored in the arterial walls and leads to arteriosclerosis. That also explains why so many older persons suffer from calcified arteries and at the same time, have brittle, calcium-deficient bones.
In order to store calcium in the bones, certain proteins, the Gla-Proteins are necessary. But these must be activated in order to fulfill their role. Only Vitamin K2 makes this decisive activation step possible.
Without activated Gla-Proteins, calcium wanders uncontrolled out of the bones into the arteries, where it promotes arteriosclerosis. Already in 1984, scientists observed that patients with osteoporosis-caused bone fractures exhibited up to 70% less Vitamin K in their blood than a control group of the same age.
The optimal dosage of vitamin K2
Vitamin K is usually only produced in small amounts in the intestine. However, the amounts are often not sufficient to activate the Gla proteins. Therefore, some people rely on food or vitamin K2 supplements.
However, there are clear signs that the Western population is consuming too little vitamin K. People over 50 are particularly at risk, because at this age the diet contains even less vitamin K and sunbathing is also severely restricted. A lack of vitamin K and also vitamin D is pre-programmed.
That is why Prof. Vermeer from the University of Maastricht recommends people over 50 to take vitamin K2 in a dosage of 100 to 200 mcg per day. The higher dose of 200 mcg is especially recommended for people who want to be sure that all matrix Gla proteins (MGP) are activated in the body.
For healthy people under the age of 50, 50 mcg daily are enough to be sufficiently supplied with vitamin K2. However, if you also take vitamin D daily, you should consume at least 100 mcg vitamin K2 per day, although taking 200 mcg vitamin K2 would be even better.
Do Vitamin K2 drops cause interactions?
Persons who take blood anti-coagulants or suffer from a disturbance of blood coagulation, should talk to their doctor before taking this product. The reason is that the intake of Vitamin K2 per day can reduce the effectiveness of anticoagulant medication. These blood anticoagulants work by inhibiting the effectiveness of Vitamin K2 in the body.
But since our body absolutely needs Vitamin K, we recommend not taking any blood anticoagulants. Talk to your doctor to have him prescribe blood anticoagulants that work independent of Vitamin K. These are described as Direct Oral Anticoagulants (DOAC).
