I take 100mcg of Vitamin k2 daily, to prevent calcification of the arteries. A relative of mine had a major stroke which paralyzed him, and his carotid artery was 99% blocked with calcification. Here's the value of both vitamin k1 and k2.
The Rotterdam Study found that those who consumed the greatest amounts of K2 had the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular calcification, and the lowest chance of dying from cardiovascular disease.
This was a profound discovery, because such a correlation did not exist for K1 intake. Later on, other studies also showed that while K2 has health benefits, K1 has none. That�s when the investigation into the differences between K1 and K2 began in earnest.
�If you absorb vitamin K1 and K2, we showed that K1 is mainly going to your liver and stays there,� Dr. Schurgers says. �It has a relatively short half-life. After three to four hours after ingesting a dose of vitamin K1 from food, it is gone. It is taken up by the liver.
K2 also goes to the liver, but the liver redistributes it via the low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol fraction... [which] is going to peripheral tissues such as bone and vasculature.
Both K1 and K2 are fat-soluble, but K2 is more fat-soluble, at least in long-chain menaquinones such as MK7. MK7 is transported more to the vasculature as compared to the vitamin K1. We hypothesized that that is one of the main functions � that K2 has additional benefit in the cardiovascular system, and K1 is more present in the liver.�
So, in addition to activating MGP, which is a potent inhibitor of calcification, K2 also helps prevent arterial calcification by transporting calcium away from areas where it shouldn�t be (in the lining of your blood vessels) to where it�s really needed (such as in your bone).
K2 also appears to be important for vascular flow to your brain. Upon autopsy, many with Alzheimer�s are found to have vascular degeneration, which is thought to produce symptoms of Alzheimer�s.
And although there�s limited research in this area, evidence suggests vitamin K2 might help prevent Alzheimer�s by preventing plaque deposition.
According to Dr. Schurgers, at least one study has also shown that vitamin K2 has a major function in delivering cellular energy for Parkinson�s disease patients, and may be beneficial in the treatment of this disease.
I believe Dr Weston Price found the correlation with K2 and healthy teeth.
__________________ "We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me." George Orwell
I believe Dr Weston Price found the correlation with K2 and healthy teeth.
It's been a while since I read his book but I believe you're right. He called it the 'X factor' back then because vitamin K2 hadn't been discovered yet.
While noting that the diets of primitive peoples differed in their particulars�from the mostly animal diet of the Alaskan Eskimos to the tropical diets of South Sea Islanders�Price took pains to point out the common underlying characteristics of these diets, namely the high level of minerals and the very high level of fat-soluble activators. By activators, he was referring to vitamins A and D, and what he called Activator X (now believed to be Vitamin K2), found only in certain sea foods such as shellfish
Vitamin K2, the main storage form in animals, has several subtypes, which differ in isoprenoid chain length. These vitamin K2 homologues are called menaquinones, and are characterized by the number of isoprenoid residues in their side chains. Menaquinones are abbreviated MK-n, where M stands for menaquinone, the K stands for vitamin K, and the n represents the number of isoprenoid side chain residues. For example, menaquinone-4 (abbreviated MK-4) has four isoprene residues in its side chain. Menaquinone-4 (also known as menatetrenone from its four isoprene residues) is the most common type of vitamin K2 in animal products since MK-4 is normally synthesized from vitamin K1 in certain animal tissues (arterial walls, pancreas, and testes) by replacement of the phytyl tail with an unsaturated geranylgeranyl tail containing four isoprene units, thus yielding menaquinone-4. This homolog of vitamin K2 may have enzyme functions distinct from those of vitamin K1.
from what I have read, the body converts k1 to k2 and I may also be getting k2 from my diet as I eat fermented vegetables, it's the best I can do for now until I can find some way to tolerate supplemental k2
However, although animals can convert vitamin K1 to vitamin K2, a significant amount of evidence suggests that humans require preformed K2 in the diet to obtain and maintain optimal health. The strongest indication that humans require preformed vitamin K2 in the diet is that epidemiological and intervention studies both show its superiority over K1. Intake of K2 is inversely associated with heart disease in humans while intake of K1 is not (Geleijnse et al., 2004, pp. 3100-3105)
It was once erroneously believed that intestinal bacteria are a major contributor to vitamin K status. However, the majority of evidence contradicts this view. Most of the vitamin K2 produced in the intestine are embedded within bacterial membranes and not available for absorption. Thus, intestinal production of K2 likely makes only a small contribution to vitamin K status. (Unden & Bongaerts, 1997, pp. 217-234)
Importance of Vitamin K, Crucial for Health
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