On Health

[Skybird]

On Vitamin K2


In the past month I rediscovered the meaning of the word "underestimating".
I often mentioned in context with Vitamin D that taking it should be seen as a triade of taking D, Magnesia, and K2. But in the vitamin D "scene", in recent two years there has been a creeping raise in awareness of the relevance of K2, which before was seen just as a deputy for Vitamin D: Magnesium acitvates fat-cell-stored Vitamin D into a metabolically usable/active format, D then takes more calcium into the blood from the food in the guts, K2 brings it from the bloodstream into the bones, end of story. For me, this understanding saw a revolutionising in the past couple of weeks, due to reading a book I stumbled over, “Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox” by Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue from Canada.

Originally Posted by From the book

Even without any of these [previously discussed] health concerns, another very compelling factor points to the strong probability that you are K2 deficient: according to recent research, most people are. A 2007 study revealed that the majority of “apparently healthy” individuals have substantial levels under-carboxylated osteocalcin and matrix gla protein (MGP), caused by vitamin K2 deficiency. In other words, most people do not have adequate vitamin K2 levels to fully activate the proteins needed for optimal bone and heart health. If you can be K2 deficient and apparently healthy, then what’s the big deal? Based on the most current understanding of how and why we grow old, the triage theory of aging, undetected vitamin K2 deficiency now will take its toll later in life. Poor vitamin K2 status must be regarded as a serious risk factor for increased postmenopausal bone loss, artery calcification, diabetes, end-stage kidney disease and aging itself.

I have moved K2 since then much morte central into my focus and pushed it to near the top ranks of my nutrients priority list. HJowever, its not to be understood as "take A and B and forget the rest, they are not imprtantr", its always about interactions of many factors, thats why I tell everbyody asking "Do not supplement just this and that, but supplement in full range and width". For exmaple Vitmains D and A are mutally interlinked, somewhat, and if you take big doerses of D and too small doses of A, you can suffer earlier from toxicity of Vtimain D, however the same Vitamine D toxicity symptoms may raise their head if you have too much Vitamine D. And what both do for your bones if both vitamins are present in healthy balance, they cna only do if you have a good supply of K2 as well. And Magnesium plays into this as well. And Zinc. And Bor. You see - its never one or two supplements alone that do the trick. Go all the way, only then you can see all the sights and viewing points.

I very strongly recommend this book, since it touches on a mechanism that is utmost profound for our health and wellbeing, and it gives a great overview over the 70 year history of activator-X, as it was formerly known as, and its importance for a healthy diet cannot be overestimated. A very significant share of civilizational deases are due to malnutrition, especially in context with teeth problems, osteoporosis, arterosclerosis, cardiovascular health issues, strokes, diabetes, etc. I mean I had it on radar after understanding the relation between Vitamine D and K2, but somehow I missed to think it to the real very end and understanding of the conclusions to the full and extremely existential ends. This book has changed it.

The following is a review and overview on the book. I do not know the author of that text, its just what I could find on reviews on the book.

https://lauraschoenfeldrd.com/book-r...lcium-paradox/

A brief summary of the key message:

So, what exactly is the role of K2 in the body? As Rheaume-Bleue explains in a nutshell, “Vitamin K2 funnels calcium into bones to strengthen mineral density and fight fractures while it prevents and even removes dangerous arterial calcification” (p. 4). But what does this mean in the context of the body? And how does K2 affect calcium regulation? Vitamin K2 activates, through carboxylation, a protein called osteocalcin, which attracts calcium into bones and teeth. K2 also activates matrix GLA proteins (MGPs), which remove calcium out of the soft tissues like arteries (p. 12). These K2-dependent proteins are essential for moving calcium around the body, and are regulated by the body’s levels of vitamins A and D. Therefore, when K2 is deficient, not only does bone mineral density suffer, but the calcium plaque that arises in atherosclerosis is inevitable. Your arteries literally begin to turn into fully formed bone tissue, marrow and all (p. 17). Yikes… sounds like this vitamin K2 thing is pretty important.

For those cautious people with raised eyebrows: I believe that everything becomes poisonous if it is too much. They searched for the toxicity treshhold level of K2, and the stood on teir toes and stretched their arms and fingers over their heads to feel the ceiling, but they did not reach any. No doubt there is a ceiling, but i tell you, it is really damn high, and I am confident to claim that you are most likely find it impossible to overdose K2 and suffer toxic setback symptoms of any kind. No case for that has been described in literature! Thats why I was not hesitent to triple the dose of K2 I took so far. (Interesting side-effect: doing so has almost doubled my tolerance level for Magnesia, and I conclude this again has probably raised my efficiency rate of making use of my stored Vitamine-D reserves). Why I do such "extreme" things? Because I red so very often now about food comparisons back then and now, that our modern food, even if claimed to be "organic/Bio", has a content of nutrients that is, four, six, eight and even ten factors below what our ancestors used to eat in food quality (not necessarily quantity!) lets say a thousand years ago. I also cannot rule out completely that my gut health already has suffered and thus absorption of nutrients does not work as well anymore as it should be, reducing further my intake quota of nutrients, and I also consider the deficits I help to raise by still commiting some bad deeds relating my eating habits and stuff I eat though I know I shouldn't, and not eating enough of that stuff I know I should eat more of. Well. 50% of 100 is more than 100% of nothing. Thats clever rationalising... LOL

Read that book by Kate Rheaume-Bleue. Its worth its weight in gold. Its available already in many languagesm and was publishe din 2012. Sometimes the structure is a bit on the wild side, means: there is room for improvement in this regard, but she packs an incredible ammount of documented info into a format that laymen can understand and enjoy to read, while not loosing the academically founded fundament , I would claim that everybody can benefit from K2 in our modern malnutritioned world. We eat plenty of calories. But we do not eat sufficient ammounts of nutrients. We are starving while being fed up. A calcium-dysbalance - which K2 is very much about - effects practically every civilizational desease that plagues modern man: bones, cardiovascular system, plaques, diabetes...

If you deal with osteoporosis, insuline resistence, artery plaques, cardiovascular risks and coronary heart desease, consider this book a mandatory reading.

Sad truth is that not just a few doctors are out there who still give calcium carelessly easily, and still mistake the role of Vitamine D and K2 in the Calcium cycle, and still mistake the different role of K1 and K2 and think its all the same. Sad, but true. Be warned. Many doctors have K2 not even on their radar. It should not be so, but it is so with quite some of them.