Vitamin K2 is a fat soluble vitamin, meaning it stores in your tissues and liver. The vitamin works with the fat in your body to work and is eliminated at a slower pace than a water-soluble vitamin.
For the record, there are two primary forms of vitamin K -
Vitamin K1 (Phylloquinone)
Vitamin K2 (Menaquinone)
While your body uses both vitamins K1 and K2, K2 is harder to come by and is the vitamin that holds more powerful health benefits.
According to numerous studies, vitamin K1 has shown little effect in reversing and preventing health issues related to the bones and heart. The amount of K1 in your daily diet can be up to 10 times higher than the amount of K2, and the majority of your diet gives you K1.
Vitamin K2, on the other hand, has impressive results. A powerful antioxidant, K2 has been shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, reverses and prevents calcifying of the arteries, protects from osteoporosis, helps combat rheumatoid arthritis, promotes healthy brain function, maintains healthy skin and strengthens teeth. It has also shown promise of maintaining intestinal and joint health.
If you have heard of K2, you may have only heard about one of its primary uses with blood clotting, as it promotes natural coagulation of the blood.
Amazingly, vitamin K2 prevents calcium from depositing in your soft tissues and arteries, re-directing the calcium to your teeth and bones.
In early research, vitamin K2 was known as “Activator X” indicating that when working with other vitamins such as A and D, in addition to good nutrition, was a key factor in the prevention of tooth decay, bone and
heart diseases, namely issues involving calcification.
Food sources of vitamin K1 include green, leafy veggies such as spinach, Brussel sprouts and broccoli. It can also be found in green tea, olive oil and cheese. Although you can easily consume K1 in your diet, less than 10% of the vitamin gets into your bloodstream and it leaves the body fairly quickly.
When K2 gets into your system, it absorbs deeply into the bloodstream so it can travel to do its job in the teeth, bones, tissues and arteries. K2 stays in your body longer, as well.
Food sources high in vitamin K2 include high vitamin (organic) butter, egg yolks and chicken breasts. K2 also shows up in fermented foods like cheeses and a soy-based item from Japan called natto. Natto contains the highest level of K2, but it is pretty hard to choke down.
Other foods high in K2 are maybe not the most appetizing to many of us, and include consuming organs like brains, kidneys and especially cartilage and bone. Bone soup with a side of brains, anyone? Uh - no thanks.
While it is always best to try to get vitamins from good nutrition and eating the right foods that your body needs, I would recommend a vitamin K2 supplement if the foods are too expensive, hard to come by, or just plain gross.
A bone health supplement that fights heart disease and so much more. With all the anti-aging and health benefits of vitamin K, it even makes bone soup sound tempting.
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