Better+Nutrition+June+2019

(^18) • JUNE 
checkOUT/GUIDE TO CUTTING-EDGE SUPPLEMENTS
Vitamin K Types and Benefits
What you need to know about this crucial nutrient /// BY VERA TWEED
Vitamin K is gaining attention because it
has a much greater effect on our health
than previously thought. It isn’t a single
substance, but a family of nutrients
that plays a critical role in preventing
disease, including osteoporosis and
hardening of arteries that leads to
heart attacks and strokes.
Traditionally, vitamin K has been
viewed as essential for healthy blood
clotting—we could bleed to death from
a minor cut without it. In this sense,
deficiency has not been viewed as a
problem for healthy people, but this holds
true for only one form of the vitamin: K 1.
Vitamin K 2 is another story. In nature,
it exists in 10 subtypes whose names—
MK-4 through MK-13—designate
different molecular structures within
the K 2 family. All of their functions are
not fully understood yet, and there is
no established daily requirement for
vitamin K 2 , but the need is clear.
Why Vitamin K Is Essential
Research has shown that vitamin
K 2 has a pivotal effect on how
our bodies utilize calcium.
Higher levels of K 2
correlate with calcium
being deposited in bones,
where it helps to prevent
osteoporosis, while low
levels correlate with harmful
calcium deposits in arteries. In
Japan, vitamin K 2 is an approved
treatment for osteoporosis. It’s been
shown to stop decline in bone mineral
density and, in some cases, to reverse it.
Here are some research highlights:
*In the Netherlands, the effects of
vitamins K 1 and K 2 were examined
among 4,807 healthy men and women,
who were aged 55 or older at the
outset. Their diets and health
were monitored for up
to 10 years. Dietitians
calculated the amounts
of vitamins K 1 and K 2 in
participants’ diets and
found that those who
consumed the most K 2
developed the least coronary
artery disease and were least
likely to die. There was no similar
correlation with vitamin K 1.
D i d You
Know?
Antibiotics and
cholesterol-lowering
drugs interfere with
vitamin K and can
deplete levels.
BN0619_D_CheckOut_JS.indd 18 4/30/19 12:35 PM