K2 & Longevity

While the importance of vitamin D has become more fully accepted, there is another vitamin that is extremely important to be taken along with vitamin D3. That is the fat soluble vitamin K2.

Vitamin K has two primary kinds and they serve very different functions.
Vitamin K1 is the primary form of vitamin K responsible for blood clotting, whereas vitamin K2 is essential for bone strength and the health of arteries and blood vessels. Vitamin K2 also plays a role in other biological processes, including tissue renewal and cell growth.

In the 2014 paper, “Vitamin K: An old vitamin in a new perspective,” vitamin D expert Dr. Michael Holick and co-authors, review the history of vitamin K and its many benefits, including its significance for skeletal and cardiovascular health. They also discuss important drug interactions.

Vitamins K1 and K2 Are Not Interchangeable:

The difference between vitamins K1 and K2 was first established in the Rotterdam Study, which was published in 2004. A variety of foods were measured for vitamin K content. Vitamin K1 was found to be present in high amounts in green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, broccoli, and cabbage.

Vitamin K2, on the other hand, was only found to be present in animal sources, but significant quantities of vitamin K2 were only found in fermented vegetables. K2 is produced by certain bacteria during the fermentation process. While the K1 in vegetables is poorly absorbed, virtually all of the K2 in fermented foods is readily available to be absorbed by your body.

Examples of foods high in vitamin K2 include raw dairy products such as certain cheeses, raw butter, and kefir, as well as natto (a fermented soy product) and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut. It is important to only eat non-GMO natto, since 93% of soy is GMO. If you buy organic natto, you can be sure that you are not eating GMO soy. Non fermented soy should be avoided, since it is an estrogen mimicker.

Not every strain of bacteria makes K2, so not all fermented foods will contain it. For example, pasteurized dairy and products from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are NOT high in K2 and should be avoided. Only grass-fed animals (not grain fed) will develop naturally high K2 levels.

Sub-Categories of Vitamin K2 - Vitamin K2 can be broken into two additional categories, called:

1. MK-4 (menaquinone-4), a short-chain form of vitamin K2 found in butter, egg yolks, and animal-based foods.

2. MK-7 (menaquinone-7), longer-chain forms found in fermented foods. There’s a variety of these long-chain forms but the most common one is MK-7.

Health Effects of Vitamin K2 Deficiency:

Vitamin K2 is an important adjunct to vitamin D, without which vitamin D cannot work properly. K2’s biological action is also impaired by a lack of vitamin D, so you really need to consider these two nutrients together.
This means that if you take high doses of oral vitamin D you need to remember to also increase your vitamin K2 intake. Failing to do so could cause harm, as without K2, your body will not be able to complete the transport of calcium into the proper areas and arterial calcification could set in.

Vitamins D and K2 also work synergistically with magnesium and calcium. Most people are deficient in vitamins D and K as well as magnesium.
As many as 97% of the population may be lacking in vitamin K2. This could very well be due to the fact that we stopped eating fermented foods with the advent of refrigeration and other food processing techniques.

Statins May Deplete Vitamin K2:

Besides a vitamin K2-poor diet, certain drugs may affect your vitamin K2 status. Research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests statin drugs may increase calcification in the arteries and other research9 shows that statins deplete vitamin K2.

Since there is currently no blood tests for vitamin K2, deficiencies are difficult to confirm. We can produce a small amount of K2 from K1, but this process is not efficient. The bottom line is that if you are not consuming vitamin K2, you are probably deficient.

You may be aware that statin users need to also take CoQ10 (or ubiquinol) as the drug depletes this nutrient, but they may also need vitamin K2 in order to avoid the cardiovascular risks associated with statins.

Why Vitamin K Is Critical for Cardiovascular Health:

In the 1980s, it was discovered that vitamin K is needed to activate the protein osteocalcin, which is found in your bone. A decade or so later, another vitamin K-dependent protein was discovered: matrix Gla protein (MGP), found in your vascular system.

Without vitamin K, these and other vitamin K-dependent proteins remain inactivated, and cannot perform their biological functions. Another important finding was that MGP strongly inhibits calcification. When MGP remains inactivated, you end up with serious arterial calcifications, and this is why vitamin K is so crucial for cardiovascular health. Evidence suggests vitamin K can even reverse arterial calcification induced by vitamin K deficiency.

Vitamin K2 also helps prevent arterial calcification by shuttling calcium away from areas where it should not be (in the lining of your blood vessels) to where it’s really needed (such as in your bones and teeth). In the Rotterdam Study, which ran for 10 years, those who consumed the greatest amounts of K2 had the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular calcification and the lowest chance of dying from cardiovascular disease.

People who consumed 45 mcg of K2 daily lived seven years longer than people getting 12 mcg per day. This was a profound discovery, because such a correlation did not exist for K1 intake. In a subsequent trial called the Prospect Study, 16,000 people were followed for 10 years. Here, they found that each additional 10 mcg of K2 in the diet resulted in nine percent fewer cardiac events.

More recently, a study published in the journal Thrombosis and Haemostasis found that MK-7 supplementation improved arterial stiffness in otherwise healthy postmenopausal women. This study is significant, because while previous studies have only been able to show an association, this is the first to confirm that long-term use of vitamin K2 in the form of MK-7 does result in improved cardiovascular health.

Vitamin K2 Is Crucial for Osteoporosis Prevention:

As mentioned, vitamin K2 also plays a crucial role in bone health and may be critical for the prevention of osteoporosis. Osteocalcin is a protein produced by your osteoblasts (cells responsible for bone formation), and is utilized within the bone as an integral part of the bone-forming process. However, osteocalcin must be “carboxylated” before it can be effective. Vitamin K functions as a cofactor for the enzyme that catalyzes the carboxylation of osteocalcin.

Vitamin K2 Is Also Important for Healthy Pregnancy, Cancer Prevention & More:

Vitamin K2 also plays an important role throughout pregnancy and during breastfeeding for the healthy growth of the child. Not only does it affect the development of both primary and adult teeth; it also helps develop proper facial form and strong bones. During childhood, vitamin K2 helps to prevent cavities. It may be particularly important during the third trimester, as most women’s levels tend to drop at that time, indicating there’s an additional drain on the system toward the end of the pregnancy.

Since there are no reported cases of overdose of vitamin K2 and appears to have no toxicity issues, it may be prudent to double or even triple your intake while pregnant. Cancer prevention is another health benefit of vitamin K2.

The 2010 European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study found that high intake of vitamin K2, not K1, leads to reduced cancer risk, as well as a 30% lower risk of dying from cancer.
The evidence also suggests vitamin K2 may reduce your risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Mayo Clinic researchers discovered that people with the highest intake of vitamin K2 had a 45% lower risk for this type of cancer, compared to those with the lowest vitamin K2 intake. They attribute this effect to vitamin K2’s ability to inhibit inflammatory cytokines, which are related to this type of lymphoma, and its role the life cycle of your cells. Researchers are also looking into other health benefits.

Other Benefits of Vitamin K2:

1. Vitamin K2 has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity; people who get the most vitamin K2 from their foods are about 20 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

2. One 2012 study found vitamin K2 has the potential to improve disease activity in those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

3. Another study, found that vitamin K2 serves as a mitochondrial electron carrier, thereby helping maintain normal ATP production in mitochondrial dysfunction, such as that found in Parkinson’s disease.

4. According to Dr. Holick’s paper, vitamin K2 has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-carcinogenic properties, and in addition to cancer and diabetes, MK-7 in particular may also offer benefits for age-related macular degeneration. Moreover, due to its structural similarity to coenzyme Q10, MK-7 may support ATP production in the respiratory chain.

Are You Getting Enough Vitamin K2?

As for a clinically useful dosage of vitamin K2, some studies, including the Rotterdam study, have shown as little as 45 micrograms (mcg) per day is sufficient. As a general guideline, It is better to get between 100mcg to 150 mcg of vitamin K2 per day.

If you are on blood thinners, consult your prescribing doctor before consuming any Vitamin K1 or K2 supplements, as well as any foods rich in vitamin K1 or K2.

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