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Vitamin K2 is produced by animal tissues, including the mammary glands, from vitamin K1, which occurs in rapidly growing green plants. A growing body of published research confirms Dr. Price's discoveries, namely that vitamin K2 is important for the utilization of minerals, protects against tooth decay, supports growth and development, is involved in normal reproduction, protects against calcification of the arteries leading to heart disease, and is a major component of the brain. Vitamin K2 works synergistically with the two other "fat-soluble activators" that Price studied, vitamins A and D. Vitamins A and D signal to the cells to produce certain proteins and vitamin K then activates these proteins. Vitamin K2 plays a crucial role in the development of the facial bones, and its presence in the diets of nonindustrialized peoples explains the wide facial structure and freedom from dental deformities that Weston Price observe

Deficiency of K2 in both mice and humans is associated with coronary calcification; low vitamin K2 levels are associated with increased activity of Gla matrix protein, an enzyme that causes calcium deposition in artery walls. People who take warfarin (Coumadin®), a potent blocker of vitamin K2, experience more arterial and heart valve calcification. The 2004 Rotterdam Heart Study was the experience that really brought this concept closer to our interests. This well-conducted study of 4800 Dutch demonstrated an association of vitamin K2 intake with 57% reduction in cardiovascular events and lesser degrees of aortic calcification (another surrogate for atherosclerosis). Benefit appeared to be associated with a daily K2 intake of 32.7 micrograms per day (Geleijnse JM et al 2004). An important corollary of this study is that it suggests that a vitamin K2-mediated reduction in coronary calcification is accompanied by reduced likelihood of heart attack and other events.

[Vitamin K2] Ishida Y. Clin Calcium. 2008 Oct;18(10):1476-82. Review. Japanese. PMID: 18830045 "Vitamin K2 has been approved for the treatment of osteoporosis in Japan since 1995. Vitamin K2 treatment in osteoporosis has been shown to inhibit the occurrence of new bone fractures and to maintain BMD. The uniqueness of the prevention of bone fractures by vitamin K2 is that there has been no direct evidence of the relationship between increase of BMD and a decrease in the occurrence of bone fractures. A recent systematic review of seven Japanese randomized controlled trials by Cockayne has also shown that supplementation with phytonadione (Vitamin K1) and menaquinone (Vitamin K2) , particularly menaquinone-4, is associated with increased BMD and reduced fracture incidence. To confirm these results, a larger well design RCT using fractures as the primary endpoint is clearly needed."

Weston Price established the importance of the MK-4 isoform of vitamin K2 (hereafter, K2) with a series of interesting experiments. He showed in chickens that blood levels of calcium and phosphorus depended both on vitamin A and K2, and that the two had synergistic effects on mineral absorption. He also showed that chickens preferred eating butter that was rich in K2 over butter low in K2, even when the investigators couldn't distinguish between them. Young turkeys fed K2-containing butter oil along with cod liver oil (A and D) also grew at a much faster rate than turkeys fed cod liver oil alone.

Vitamin K has been known as the coagulation vitamin, because of its role in the blood-clotting process. However, research over the last few decades has shown that the role of K Vitamins - and natural Vitamin K2, the menaquinones, in particular - has been greatly expanded. Of note, K Vitamins activity outside the liver is required for calcium utilization, the key factor in maintaining both bone and cardiovascular health.\n\nVitamin K2 helps to activate vitamin K-dependent proteins responsible for healthy tissues. In bone, it activates osteocalcin, a protein required to bind calcium to the mineral matrix, thus strengthening the skeleton. In circulation, Vitamin K2 participates in carboxylation of Matrix Gla Protein (MGP), the most potent inhibitor of arterial calcification known, lowering the risk of vascular damage.

Research has uncovered the fact that vitamin K also plays a crucial role in maintaining bone health. It was found that the amount of vitamin K required to halt bone absorption leading to osteoporosis requires much greater intakes than that required for blood clot regulation. Further, it appears that bone and vascular tissue (like coronary arteries) maintain a preference for a different form of vitamin K than that required for blood clotting regulation. Rather than vitamin K1 needed for clotting, vitamin K2 is the form preferred by bones and arteries (Schurgers LJ et al 2001). It appears that much of the information generated over the years for vitamin K focused on the K1 form, ignoring the K2 form necessary for bone and vascular health. Normal deposition of calcium occurs only in bone and in teeth. Abnormal deposition of calcium in the body occurs in three places: the inner lining of the arteries of the body (the intima) that causes atherosclerotic plaque; the muscle layer of arteries ("medial calcification"); and heart valves. K2 appears to be the form of vitamin K responsible for controlling these phenomena.

I'm always on the lookout for foods rich in vitamin K2 MK-4, because it's so important and so rare in the modern food system. I heard some internet rumors that marrow might be rich in fat-soluble vitamins. Google let me down, so I decided to look through the rat studies on K2 MK-4 in which they looked at its tissue distribution. I found one that looked at the K2 MK-4 content in different tissues of rats fed vitamin K1. Marrow was rich in K2, along with testes. It contains 10-20 times more MK-4 than liver by weight, and more than any of the other organs they tested (serum, liver, spleen, kidney, heart, testes, marrow, brain) except testes. They didn't include values for salivary gland and pancreas, the two richest sources.

The vitamin K2 story, though still preliminary, is becoming increasingly interesting from the perspective of CT heart score reduction. The origin of this concept came from some unexpected observations. One, the observation that osteoporosis (lack of bone calcium that leads to fractures) arises from deficiency of vitamin K2. Two, deficiency of K2 leads to unrestrained calcium deposition in animal models, leading to heart attack in just weeks.

If you've been following the Track Your Plaque conversation, you know that, contrary to prevailing opinion among many cardiologists, there is an emerging notion that coronary calcification is an active process, a true part of the disease. Vitamin D3 is an important aspect of this question. So is vitamin K2. Not to be confused with K1 that plays a role in blood coagulation, K2 has an important role in calcium metabolism. Thus, vitmain K2 deficiency is related to osteoporosis and to coronary calcification.

Strong correlations have been noted between cardiovascular diseases and low bone density / osteoporosis-connections so strong that the presence of one type of pathology is considered a likely predictor of the other. This potentially causal relationship has led to the hypothesis that these conditions share core mechanisms. Recent advances in our understanding of the complimentary roles played by vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 in vascular and bone health provide support for this hypothesis, along with insight into key metabolic dysfunctions underlying cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Part I of this review summarizes current research linking vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease, the physiological mechanisms underlying vitamin D's cardiovascular effects, and leading vitamin D researchers' recommendations for significantly higher supplemental doses of the pro-hormone. Part II reviews the vitamin K connection to cardiovascular disease; the ways in which vitamin D and vitamin K pair up to prevent inflammation, vascular calcification and osteoporosis; and the necessity of providing vitamin K along with vitamin D to preclude adverse effects associated with hypervitaminosis D, which include vascular and other soft tissue calcification.

Increased intakes of vitamin K2, but not vitamin K1, may decrease the risk of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women, says a new study.\nFor every 10 microgram increase in the amount of vitamin K2 consumed, researchers from the Netherlands report a 9 per cent reduction in the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD).

Strong correlations have been noted between cardiovascular diseases and low bone density / osteoporosis-connections so strong that the presence of one is considered a likely predictor of the other. This relationship has led to the hypothesis that these conditions share core pathophysiological mechanisms. Recent advances in our understanding of the complimentary roles played by vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 in vascular and bone health provide support for this hypothesis, along with insight into key metabolic dysfunctions underlying cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Part II, The Vitamin K Connection to Cardiovascular Health, reviews the ways in which vitamin K regulates calcium utlization, preventing vascular and soft tissue calcification while complimenting the bone-building actions of vitamin D, and also discusses vitamin K safety and dosage issues, and the necessity of providing vitamin K and vitamin A along with vitamin D to preclude adverse effects associated with hypervitaminosis D.

A study recently published by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has revealed that increased intake of vitamin K2 may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent. The authors point out that the benefits of K2 were most pronounced for advanced prostate cancer, and, importantly, that vitamin K1 did not offer any prostate benefits.

Vitamin K2 is emerging as an exciting player in the control and possible regression of coronary atherosclerotic plaque. Only about 10% of dietary vitamin K intake is in the K2 form, the other 90% being the more common K1.

"As far as I can tell, MK-4 is capable of performing all the functions of vitamin K. MK-4 can even activate blood clotting factors, which is a role traditionally ascribed to vitamin K1. Babies are often born clotting deficient, which is why we give newborns vitamin K1 injections in the U.S. to prevent hemorrhaging. In Japan, they give children MK-4 to prevent hemorrhage, an intervention that is very effective. Could that have to do with the fact that Japan has half the infant mortality rate of the U.S.? Today, I found another difference between MK-4 and MK-7. I was reading a paper about SXR-independent effects of vitamin K2 on gene expression. The investigators found that MK-4 strongly activates transcription of two specific genes in osteoblast cells. Osteoblasts are cells that create bone tissue. The genes are GDF15 and STC2 and they're involved in bone and cartilage formation. They tested K1 and MK-7, and in contrast to MK-4, they did not activate transcription of the genes in the slightest. This shows that MK-4 has effects on gene expression in bone tissue that MK-7 doesn't have. That being said, MK-7 may still have a place in a healthy diet. Just because it can't do everything MK-4 can, doesn't mean it has no role. It may be able to fill in for MK-4 in some functions, or reduce the dietary need for MK-4. But no one really knows at this point. Hunter-gatherers would have had a source of longer menaquinones, including MK-7, from livers. So it's possible that we're adapted to a modest MK-7 intake on top of MK-4. "

LYSAKER, Norway, April 11, 2008-An increased intake of vitamin K2 may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 35 per cent, suggest results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). The findings, based on dietary intake from 11,319 men taking part in the EPIC Heidelberg cohort, are published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In 1945, Dr. Weston Price described "a new vitamin-like activator" that played an influential role in the utilization of minerals, protection from tooth decay, growth and development, reproduction, protection against heart disease and the function of the brain. Using a chemical test, he determined that this compound-which he called Activator X-occurred in the butterfat, organs and fat of animals consuming rapidly growing green grass, and also in certain sea foods such as fish eggs. Vitamin K2 is produced by animal tissues, including the mammary glands, from vitamin K1, which occurs in rapidly growing green plants. A growing body of published research confirms Dr. Price's discoveries, namely that vitamin K2 is important for the utilization of minerals, protects against tooth decay, supports growth and development, is involved in normal reproduction, protects against calcification of the arteries leading to heart disease, and is a major component of the brain

"Cyanotech Corporation (Nasdaq Capital Market: CYAN), a world leader in microalgae-based, high-value nutrition and health products, announced its Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica® has achieved another nutritional first. Already the most nutritious Spirulina in the world, it is also a good source of Vitamin K2. "The discovery of Vitamin K2 in Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica is exciting and further supports its nutritional superiority," said Andrew H. Jacobson, President and CEO of Cyanotech. "Analytical results from an independent contract laboratory indicate that Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica provides approximately 15 mcg / 3g serving size or 19% of the Daily Recommended Value." "

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin. The "K" is derived from the German word "koagulation." Coagulation refers to the process of blood clot formation. Vitamin K is essential for the functioning of several proteins involved in blood clotting (1). There are two naturally occurring forms of vitamin K

nightsurfer's vitamin K2 related Diigo list