Vitamin K has been known as the coagulation vitamin, because of its role in the blood clotting process. However, research over the last few decades has shown that the role of K Vitamins - and natural Vitamin K2, the menaquinones, in particular - has greatly been expanded. Vitamin K2 helps to activate vitamin K - dependent proteins responsible for healthy tissues.
Skeletal metabolism and particularly bone metabolism depend on two Vitamin K dependent proteins, osteocalcin and matrix Gla protein (MGP). Osteocalcin is a non collagenous protein found in bone and dentin. It is secreted by osteoblasts and believed to be involved in bone mineralization and calcium ion homeostasis. Osteocalcin specifically appears to influence the functional quality of bone and its shape. As osteoblasts secrete protein rich bone matrix, they also secrete osteocalcin in response to vitamins A and D. Osteocalcin however only appears to accumulate if it is activated by Vitamin K2. The exact dynamics of this process are not completely clear.
What is known is that by drawing a person's blood and measuring osteocalcin that is activated versus inactivated, we can determine whether that individual's bone cells have enough Vitamin K2 to build healthy bone. According to research people with highest percentages of inactive osteocalcin are at a more than five fold increased risk of hip fracture.
There is good evidence that Vitamin K2 is the preferred K vitamin of the bones.
Humans are very limited in absorbing Vitamin K1 from whole foods. By contrast, large amounts of Vitamin K2 are readily absorbed from foods. According to a study from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, Vitamin K2 was three times more effective at raising the percentage of activated osteocalcin compared to Vitamin K1. The percentage of inactive osteocalcin in the blood can therefore be considered an accurate marker of Vitamin K2 status. It appears that Vitamin K2 deficiency is universal. This means that variations in K2 status within the population may simply reflect varying degrees of deficiency.
These findings provide significant new information regarding the risks and management of osteoporosis.
Please join me next week as I explore the findings of several Japanese trials showing that Vitamin K2 can completely reverse bone loss and even increase bone mass in populations with osteoporosis.
For more information click;http://www.vitamink2.org/ http://64.71.152.183/basicnutrition/vitamin-k2.html#summary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteocalcin
No comments:
Post a Comment