VitaK2 - natural Vitamin K2

by Vitality Nutritionals

Advantages of VitaK2:

protects your arteries and heart
keeps your bones strong and healthy
activates Vitamin K dependent proteins
highest possible bioavailability
works for up to 72 hours naturally
contains 45mcg Vitamin K2 per capsule

Description
Suggested Use
Nutrition Facts
Order

Vitamin K2 for a healthy heart and strong bones

Imagine a vitamin that could keep calcium in your bones and out of your arteries. In doing so, that vitamin could stop heart attack and osteoporosis at the same time. Sounds incredible? Maybe, but research shows that vitamin K2 does exactly that. It works by regulating calcium. Bones need it, arteries can't stand it. Vitamin K2 accommodates both.

Vitamin K2 - essential for healthy arteries and strong bones
Osteoporosis and heart disease - they seem as unconnected as two conditions can possibly be. On the surface, they do share a few common features. Both conditions develop with age. It´s rare for someone to have either condition at age 30, but both are common in the sixth or seventh decade of life. Both conditions don´t develop overnight, but require many years to emerge. Just as osteoporosis requires decades to develop, coronary atherosclerosis also accumulates bit by bit over decades, starting in a persons 20s (or earlier) and building gradually until a heart attack or other catastrophe occurs. But the resemblance appears to stop there - that is, until we dig beneath the surface.

What is Vitamin K?
Vitamin K is not just one vitamin, but a whole group of fat soluble vitamins that are essential for the body to utilize calcium for healthy bones, and healthy arteries. Vitamin K is also needed by the liver to effectively clot our blood. Hence, this group of vitamins is essential for life.

The function of Vitamin K is unique among other vitamins. It activates clotting factors, osteocalcin and MGP-proteins that are made in different organs in the body: Clotting factors in the liver, osteocalcin in bones and MGP in the vasculature. These proteins help coagulate blood, bind calcium to the surface of bones and "clean-up" calcium deposits stored in the arteries.

Vitamin K regulates Calcium
Recent research has revealed that, without vitamin K2, calcium regulation is disrupted. In fact, low levels of vitamin K2 are associated with an increased risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis. Astute doctors have long known that people with a lack of calcium in their bones are more likely to possess an excess of calcium in their arteries, and vice versa. The resulting lack of calcium in bone leads to osteoporosis, while the deposition of calcium in the arterial wall leads to coronary heart disease and other manifestations of cardiovascular, renal, and neurodegenerative disease.

How Vitamin K2 works
Vitamin K works through an amino acid called "GLA," which stands for gamma-carboxyglutamic acid. GLA is part of a certain kind of protein that controls calcium. Fifteen such proteins have been found so far; and researchers believe there are at least one hundred scattered throughout the body. Vitamin K makes them work and it's the only vitamin that does.

Vitamin K performs a feat on the proteins called "carboxylation." Carboxylation gives the proteins claws so they can hold onto calcium. Once the protein grabs onto calcium it can be moved around. Proteins that don't get enough vitamin K don't have the claws. They're "undercarboxylated" and can't control the mineral. Without a functioning protein to control it, calcium drifts out of bone and into arteries and other soft tissue.

Vitamin K2 protects the bones
The most famous GLA protein is "Osteocalcin." You may have heard of osteocalcin in connection with bone density. What you might not have heard is that it requires vitamin K to work. Undercarboxylated osteocalcin (Osteocalcin without vitamin K) can't regulate calcium. When this happens, calcium leaves bone and teeth. Women with "undercarboxylated osteocalcin" excrete calcium, and their bones are porous. Vitamin K reverses this trend.

Vitamin K2 protects the arteries
Vitamin K controls calcium-regulating proteins that are present in vascular tissue. These vitamin K-dependent proteins (including osteocalcin and matrix GLA protein) have been shown to specifically inhibit vascular calcification, i.e. keep calcium out of the arteries. Activation of these calcium-regulating proteins depends on the availability of vitamin K. When there is not enough vitamin K to turn on these proteins, the result is deposition of calcium into atherosclerotic plaque, thus worsening cardiovascular disease risk and leading to a condition that the lay public sometimes refers to as ¿hardening of the arteries.¿ This helps explain why patients who take anti-coagulant drugs (like Coumadin®) that deplete vitamin K in the body suffer from accelerated atheriosclerosis.

Studies show the effectiveness of Vitamin K2
The Rotterdam Study (published 2004) showed that people who ate foods rich in natural vitamin K2 over the 10 year observation period, had significantly less calcium deposits in their arteries and far better cardiovascular health. No benefits from K1 consumption was shown in this study. Natural Vitamin K2 as MK-7, has been shown in human studies to significantly improve the levels of active MGP, the potent inhibitor of vascular calcification.

K2 reduces the risk of cardiovascular death by 50%.
Findings in the Rotterdam Study showed that high dietary intake of Vitamin K2 - but not K1 - has a strong protective effect on cardiovascular health. Research conducted in a population-based study including 4807 men and women >55 years of age at start indicated that eating large quantities of natural vitamin K2 (at least 32 mcg per day) reduces the risk of both arterial calcification and cardiovascular death by as much as 50% - with no undesirable side effects.

A systemic review of 7 randomized controlled trials that gave adults either vitamin K1 or K2 supplements for at least six months, vitamin K2 proved most effective, reducing the risk of vertebral fractures by 60%, hip fractures by 77%, and an astounding reduction for all non-vertebral fractures of 81%.

Vitamin K in our food
The two most important forms are vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and K2 (menaquinones). Vitamin K1 is the principle source of dietary vitamin K and is needed for proper blood coagulation. Vitamin K2 exists in several forms and the most common ones are the synthetic menaquinone-4 (MK-4) and the natural menaquinone 7 (MK-7). Vitamin K2 as MK-7 is found in fermented foods such as mature cheeses, curd, and the traditional Japanese dish natto which contains more MK-7 than any other food product. Vitamin K2 is essential to build and maintain strong bones as well as avoiding calcium deposit in the arteries.

Vitamin K cannot be synthesized by the body: and people are therefore largely dependent on a regular intake from the food they eat. However, there are clear indications that western populations have insufficient intake of vitamin K2 from their regular diets. It is therefore important to supplement the body´s need with additional vitamin K2.

Vitamin K1 is found in leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli and kale. However, vitamin K1 from food is very poorly absorbed. Only about 10% of it reaches circulation, meaning a small amount has the potential to reach peripheral parts of the body. Morever, the liver takes what it needs of K1 with little left for other tissues. This is evident as K1 has no or very poor effect on cardiovascular health.

VitaK2 is produced during bacterial fermentation, and is present in foods such as cheese and curd. These products contain relatively small levels, which would require high amounts of food consumed. The best source of natural vitamin K2 is the traditional Japanese dish Natto, which is an unusually rich source of VitaK2 in the form of the long-chain menaquinone-7. Natto consumption in Japan has been linked to significant improvement in Vitamin K status and bone health in several studies. The intense smell and "controversial" taste however makes Natto less attractive in the western world. Hence, supplementation with additional vitamin K2 would be a wise solution. The optimal supplement is natural vitamin K2 (MK-7).

MK-7 - the optimal Vitamin K2
VitaK2 contains MK-7, the most active form of supplemental Vitamin K available which is a pure natural extract derived from Natto. Natto has been used safely for generations for improved bone and heart health. MK-7 is essential for the body to utilize calcium to build healthy, strong bones and inhibit calcium deposits in the arteries, known as hardening of the arteries.
Vitamin-K2-MK7

All K vitamins are similar in structure: they share the same basic composition, but differ in the number of carbon and hydrogen atoms constituting the "side chain". The length of the side chain influences the Vitamin K effect and efficiency. The longer the side chain, the better absorption, bioactivity and time to remain in the bloodstream, hence being available for the whole body. Consequently, the long-chain menaquinones (specially MK-7) are the most desirable.

Advantages of VitaK2:

has a very high bioavailability of up to 72 hours
stays in our blood for the longest time, being available for all tissues whenever they need it
is also active in tissues outside the liver, namely bones, arteries and soft tissues
activates the most bioactive, significantly impacting Vitamin K dependent proteins
contains 45mcg Vitamin K2 per capsule

How save is VitaK2?
VitaK2 contains a pure natural extract from Natto, which is the richest known source of natural Vitamin K2 (MK-7). MK-7 is recognized in the literature for providing optimal activity and vitamin K status in the body, making it the obvious choice for supplements. MK-7 is essential for the body to utilize calcium to build healthy, strong bones and inhibit calcium deposits in the arteries, known as hardening of the arteries.

- VitaK2 is effective at very low doses - experts recommend just 45 mcg per day to maintain bone and cardiovascular health.

- VitaK2 has no adverse effects - Natto/MK-7 has been consumed in Japan for thousands of years with no negative effects - only benefits of MK-7 were found

- VitaK2 will not cause "blood thickening" or "hypercoagulation" in healthy people. VitaK2 activates several of the coagulation proteins in the liver. When these are maximally activated, no further activation can occur even if vitamin K is in abundance. Other stimuli are required before clotting is initiated.

- VitaK2 is safe. 45 mcg (1 capsule) is not likely to interact negatively even with patients undergoing anticoagulant treatments with Coumarin/Warfarin, however this must be administered under the care of a physician.

Description
Suggested Use
Nutrition Facts