Topic: Vitamins & Supplements
Superstar #3 - Vitamin K2
One of the vitamins that has had a lot of surprising research recently is vitamin K2. Studies are showing that vitamin K2 helps deliver calcium from the bloodstream directly to the bones, where it's needed most. Research also suggests that vitamin K2 may actually remove calcium from parts of the body where it doesn't belong, such as in arteries, heart valves, and soft tissues.
It's difficult to get vitamin K2 from our diet because the best sources are fatty meats, egg yolks, and fermented products such as cheese, sauerkraut, and natto--these contain a lot of saturated fat, so we have to limit our consumption of them. That means that the best way to get the amount of K2 that we need is from a supplement.
But there are different types of vitamin K2 supplements and not all contain the best form, known as MK-7. This is the form that is more active and bioavailable, so it stays in your system longer, which gives it extra time to deliver calcium to your bones and remove it from your arteries and other detrimental places.
Benefits
In addition to the benefits that vitamin K2 provides for your bones and for getting calcium out of places it doesn't belong, it's also been proven to be beneficial for artery health. One large study in Europe showed that subjects with the highest intake of vitamin K2 exhibited the best cardiovascular health and had the lowest incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD).
For a very informative document that was written by an Internal Medicine doctor who researched vitamin K2, read the Dr. Howenstine article. You may want to print that document and give it to your doctor to help educate him or her on the latest research and benefits of vitamin K2. The pharmaceutical companies and cardiology surgeons sure aren't going to tell your doctor about this--it would seriously diminish their profits made from all the cholesterol drugs, bypass surgeries, angioplasties, and stent surgeries.
Note: Before taking vitamin K2, check with your doctor because it may interact with any prescription drugs you are taking. Be sure to specify it is vitamin K2 and not vitamin K1 because K1 is very different and is known to interfere with the action of anticoagulation ("blood thinner") drugs.
