Antioxidants - Fighters against free radical damage
Vitamin K - "For Klotting and Kalcium"
vitamin k
Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium,
Vitamin K tells your body where to
put it
Vitamin K is well known as a blood clotting agent,
without which, an injury could cause us to bleed to death.
In fact, vitamin K was named after
the German word "koagulation". Most people get sufficient dietary
K to maintain adequate blood clotting. HOWEVER,
they do NOT obtain enough or the right type of vitamin K to perform the more recently
discovered important functions/roles of vitamin K ,
including:
Supports bone health (helps body utilize
calcium in the right places)
Keeps calcium out of blood vessels, cartilage
and other soft tissue
Boosts immune system functiion
Ensures healthy skin
Relieves menstrual cramps
Enhances liver function
Encourages the flow of urine
Increases vitality and longevity (fights
premature aging)
Supports growth and development
Provides powerful antioxidant benefits
(Protectscells against oxidative damage)
Boosts memory function
Keeps your normal blood sugar levels
normal
Providing protection against:
Arterial calcification, cardiovascular
disease and varicose veins
Brain health problems, including dementia
Osteoporosis (maintains strong bones
in the elderly)
Cancer. Especially
Prostate cancer ,
Lung cancer ,
liver cancer and leukemia
Tooth decay
Diabetes / INSULIN resistance
Infectious diseases E.g. pneumonia
Fat-Soluble vitamin K exists in two basic natural
forms, K1 and K2. Each now found to have quite DIFFERENT
physiological functions:
(1) Vitamin K1 (PHYLLOQUINONE)
- ~90% of vitamin K intake in
typical Western diet
K1 is preferentially used by the liver
- where it helps maintain a healthy blood clotting system Found in leafy green
vegetables. olive oil and other plant foods.
E.g.Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, kale, leaf/romaine
lettuce, cabbage, spinach, parsley, watercress, cauliflower and mustard greens.
Cruciferous vegetables should be cooked to avoid suppressing thyroid hormone
production. Adequate
Vitamin K is important for those with blood
type O. Since type O's lack several clotting factors in
their blood
(2) Vitamin
K2
K2 is preferentially used by vessel walls, bones,
and tissues other than your liver
K2 benficially directs
calcium to be deposited in such as bones and teeth. Conversely,
prevents it from depositing in locations where it does not belong, such as the soft
tissues
Spronk, H.M., Soute, B.A., Schurgers, L.J., Thijssen,
H.H., De Mey, J.G., Vermeer, C., 2003. Tissue-specific utilization of menaquinone-4
results in the prevention of arterial calcification in warfarin-treated rats. J.
Vasc. Res. 40(6), pp 531-537.
Sperm contains a
protein that relies on K2 Your brain uses K2 Saliva contains
K2 to protect against tooth decay
K2
has several subforms (with repeating 5-carbon units
in the side chain of the molecule) -denoted as menaquinone-n or MK-n, where n is
the number of 5-carbon units) :
MK-4 (menatetrenone). Found in organ meats, marrow, brain,
and fish eggs; also butter fat from animals fed lush green grass or K-rich cereals
(e.g. greenalfalfa, wheat-grass); a little in egg yolks, a trace in meats; MK4 is
now known to be Dr. Weston A. Price's so-called "Activator X". During
the 1930's, this Cleveland dentist traveled the world investigating the health of
isolated primitive peoples. He found that when included in their diet,"Activator
X"(K2 MK-4) not only kept
people's teeth free of tartar, but also prevented and healed cavities, and is needed
for mineral utilization. Short half-life of about one hour -remains mostly
in liver as a blood clotting agent.
MK-7,
8, 9 and 10 come from bacterial fermentation.
MK-7.
Found only in natto (not in the other more palatable fermented soy products
e.g.miso and tempeh); The MK-7 form is longer acting (half life of about 3 days)
and is the usual supplement form (derived from natto).MK-8, MK-9, MK-10
and higher. Found in meat, fish, dairy products
Beneficial gut bacteria (called probiotics)
produce several subforms
of vitamin K2. These lactic acid bacteriapartially
contribute to body's K-status as the K2 is
absorbed in small amounts from the distal small intestine (ileum).
Broad-spectrum antibiotics
have been shown to reduce vitamin K2 in the gut by nearly 74%.
Conly,
J; Stein K (1994). "Reduction of vitamin K2 concentrations in human liver associated with the use of broad spectrum antimicrobials".
Clinical and investigative medicine. Médecine clinique et experimentale 17(6):
531-539. PubMed
Probiotics also aid
in digestion and assimilation of vitamins. Including
vitamin K . The best source of probiotics
is fermented foods and drinks.
Probiotics
K2 subforms
found in animal foods (especially organs and pastured dairy),
curds and fermented Many of them containing saturated fat:
Natto, miso (fermented soybeans)
Sauerkraut
Hard and soft fermented no
K2 ).
Egg yolk
Butter from grass-fed animals
Chicken liver
Salami
Chicken breast
Ground beef
Amount of
K2 in fermented
Foods is dependent on type K2- producing
bacteria used for fermentation:
Cheeses - E.g.Swiss Emmental cheese and Norwegian Jarlsberg cheese use the genus
Proprionibacterium (creates CO2 bubbles that make the familiar holes in the
cheese) . These bacteria can make large amounts of
vitamin K2 in the form of MK-9
Fermented soy foods
- the most important K2 -producing bacteria
are Bacillus K2 . Studies demonstrate that higher blood
levels of MK-7 (obtained by consuming Bacillus in fermented soy) are associated
with lower risk of hip fracture in older Japanese women. Natto has been an integral
part of Asian cuisine for many centuries. Bacillus (E.g. B. subtilis var.
natto strain used in natto production) has the potential ability to stay alive
for several days in the lower intestine after consumption providing the body with
MK-7.
Newborns are sometimes given
K1 shots to prevent intracranial hemorrhage
- to tide them over until at just over a week old, their intestinal
bacteria produce K2 and the the infant has
been ingesting K in colostrum, breastmilk
or non-soy based formula (contains more K
than breastmilk);
K1 to K2
in body?Under ideal circumstances, gut bacteriaor enzymes
in cell metabolism can convert
K1 from
food and convert it into K2
- maintaining an optimal balance between the
K1 and K2
forms of this vitamin. The mammary glands are especially efficient at producing
K2 from K1 ,
presumeably to supply growing breast-fed infants.
Certain factors can interfere with the
K1
to K2
conversion:
Aging - Older individuals (over age 70) require
higher levels of vitamin K .
Tsugawa N, Shiraki M, et al. Am J Clin Nutr
2006
Liver problems
Fat absorption problems
The body's
K1 => K2
conversion ratio is said to be about 10:1 and is enhanced by the presence of
fat
Although animals can convert
K1Ã K2
, evidence suggests that the human diet needs
to contain preformed K2 for optimal
health:
Gut bacteria can convert
K1 into K2
(MK-7 homolog) but we seem unable to affectively absorb
more than a small amount of the K2
they produce - since most of the
vitamin K2 produced in the intestine are embedded
within bacterial membranes.
Unden, G. and J. Bongaerts (1997). "Alternative
respiratory pathways of Escherichia coli: energetics and transcriptional regulation
in response to electron acceptors." Biochim Biophys Acta 1320(3): 217-234.
Dietary K1 is preferentially
used by the liver to make blood clotting factors. Whilst K2
is preferentially used for other tissues, and much more than just bonesIntake of
K2 is
inversely associated with heart disease in humans while intake of
K1 is not
Geleijnse JM, Vermeer C, Grobbee DE, Schurgers LJ, Knapen
MHJ, van der Meer IM, Hofman A and Witteman JCM. "Dietary
intake of menaquinone is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease:
The Rotterdam Study J Nutr
134:3100-3105
Vitamin K2
is at least three times more effective than vitamin
K1 at activating proteins related to skeletal
metabolism - K2 (MK-7)
increased the percentage of OSTEOCALCIN in humans three times more powerfully than
did synthetic vitamin K1 .
Schurgers LJ, Vermeer C., 2000. Determination of Phylloquinone
and Menaquinones in Food. Haemostasis. 2000; 30: 298-307
Study by European
Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), Heidelburg, Germany
K
AbsorptionK2 is better absorbed than
K1 and remains active much longer
K1 is cleared by the liver within 8 hours, but measurable levels of
K2 have been detected 72 hours
after ingestion
Schurgers LJ, Teunissen KJ 2007
K2
absorption from natto (fermented
soy) is almost 100%, compared to
K1 absorption rate from 200-400g green vegetables,
which ranges from 5-15% depending on how much fat is present.
interestingly,
absorption rate is higher for smaller portions (~5oz spinach is 17%, ~2oz
serving is 28%)
Gijsbers et al ., 1996; Garber et al, 1999
Phylloquinones present in green leafy vegetables
are tightly bound to the thylakoid membranes in plant chloroplasts, and are not
well solubilized and absorbed without the concomitant intake of fat, which stimulates
bile secretion
Gijsbers et al ., 1996; Schurgers and Vermeer, 2000;
Schurgers, 2002; Vermeer et al ., 2004
K2 is carried in
the lymph in mixed micelles composed of bile salts, and subsequently released into
the circulation.
Higher /more stable
plasma levels of vitamin K
were reached with supplements containing
vitamin K2 (MK-7)
compared to those
achieved with vitamin K1
Vermeer, 2003
The length of the
side chain of the menaquinone form affects bioavailability.
Medium-length side chains (e.g., MK-7) are better absorbed compared to those
with short (MK-4) or long (e.g., MK-8 and MK-9) side chains
Schurgers and Vermeer, 2000; Schurgers, 2002.
Humans appear
to have a finite ability to absorb vitamin K1 from vegetables, which dietary source
may not be enough to support skeletal needs. US mean intake of
K1 is <150 mcg/day and blood levels increase with dietary intake up to 200 mcg/day,
after which they plateau. The Dutch have a mean intake of 250 mcg/day, but their
K1 plasma levels have no relationship to dietary intake,
( McKeown
et al, 2002) suggesting that humans
are unable to absorb much more than 200 mcg of K1 /day from vegetables. As mentioned
above, our absorption of K1 declines as the amount we consume increasesstrengthening
the interpretation that we might only be able to absorb ~200 mcg/day. Study subjects
required an oral dose of 1000mcg of a highly absorbable pharmacological preparation
of vitamin K1 to maximize the activation of proteins important to bone metabolism.
(Binkley et al, 2002)If we can only absorb one-fifth of this amount
from vegetables, we cannot support our skeletal system with vitamin K1 regardless
of how efficiently we may be able to convert it to vitamin K2
Absorption of
vitamin K ( as other fat-soluble vitaminsE.g.
A, D and E) depends on healthy liver, gallbladder
and digestive function. Deficiency is more likely in people
with digestive problems such as pancreatic disease, celiac disease, irritable bowel
syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease or those who have had intestinal
bypass surgery.
Am J Clin Nutr . 2002; 76: 1055-60.
J Nutr. 1999; 129: 1201-1203.
vitamin K absorption in human volunteers. Br J Nutr . 1996; 76: 223-229.
J Nutr .
2002; 132(6): 1329-1334.
Haemostasis . 2000; 30: 298-307
Schurgers LJ, Teunissen KJF,
Hamulyak K, Knapen MHJ, Hogne V, Vermeer C.2007.
Vitamin K -containing dietary
supplements: comparison of synthetic vitamin
K1 and natto-derived menaquinone-7.
Blood .
2006; [Epub ahead of print].
vitamin K2
Vermeer,
C., Shearer, M.J., Zittermann, A., Bolton-Smith, C., Szulc, P., Hodges, S., Walter,
P., Rambeck, W., Stocklin, E., Weber, P. 2004. Beyond deficiency: Potential benefits
of increased intakes of vitamin K
for bone and vascular health. Eur. J. Nutr. 43(6), 325-335.
Although
vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, the body stores very little of it, and
its stores are rapidly depleted without regular dietary intake
Unlike the other fat-soluble
nutrients (vitamins A, D and
E), vitamin K
is NOT significantly stored in the body. Beneficial
bacteria(called probiotics) produce vitamin K2 ,
but absorption of this source is poor (especially in those with digestive problems)
and most people are short of these beneficial bacteria.
Vitamin K must be provided daily to avoid
a K- deficiency, which can develop in as few as 7 days on a
vitamin K -deficient diet
Israels LG, Israels ED, et al,
The riddle of vitamin K1 deficit in the newborn .Semin Perinatol . 1997 Feb;21(1):90-6.)
Vitamin K
cycle conserves K.
Allowing a small amount of
vitamin K to be recycled many times in the
gamma-carboxylation of proteins. (see
Health Benefits of Vitamin K ). Warfarin/Coumadin blocks this
recycling, effectively creating a functional K-deficiency
Linus Pauling Institute:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminK/
Weston A.Price Foundation:
http://www.westonaprice.org/fat-soluble-activators/x-factor-is-vitamin-k2
Vitamin K2 as source of vitamin K added for nutritional
purposes to foodstuffs
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/scdocs/doc/nda_op_ej822_vit_k2_en.pdf?ssbinary=true
