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Showing posts with label calcium supplements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label calcium supplements. Show all posts

Jun 24, 2011

Importance of Breast Feeding


Breast Feeding Important  :

There has been many BREASTFEEDING CAMPAIGN to make all mothers especially Urban ares Mother to take care of their child and start breastfeeding for six months and don't delay the process.

Ms Radhakrishnan says, "Infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months. Nothing else, not even water is necessary for the baby up to six months of age. The composition of breast milk will take care of all the requirements of the baby. A baby needs breast milk, not artificial milk to grow well."
 
Advantages of breast milk for a baby:

• More easily digested and absorbed.
• Contains more lactose than any other milk. Lactose is essential for energy and helps in calcium and magnesium absorption.
• Contains more polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and essential fatty acids (EFA). EFA cannot be manufactured in the body.
• The protein in breast milk contains essential amino acids while artificial milk does not.
Taurine which is plentiful in breast milk has been credited with favouring growth of the baby's brain.
• Contains vitamin D, correct amounts of calcium and phosphate.
• Contains antibodies (immunoglobulin) to fight against many infections.
• Has a substance called bifidus factor, which helps special bacteria to grow in the baby's intestine and prevent harmful bacteria.
• Has laxative properties so that the baby does not get constipated.
• Breast fed babies normally do not develop allergies.
Less burden on the baby's kidneys as there is less urea from protein and less sodium to excrete
 Moreover,risk of obesity at age five or six years could be reduced by 35 per cent if children were exclusively breast fed for three to five months.
The risk can be reduced further if children are breast fed for longer than five months.

Nature has packed the nutrients in breast milk in just the right quantities needed for the baby. 100 ml of breast milk contains: calories - 71, proteins - 1.2g, lactose - 7.Og, calcium - 33mg, vitamin A - 160 TU vitamin D - 1.4, vitamin B1 - 0.017mg, vitamin B2 - 0.04mg, vitamin B3 - 0.2m,g iron - 0.15mg. Colostrums', a yellowish fluid which is secreted for the first couple of days after the birth of the baby, is rich in vitamin A, copper, zinc and immunoglobulin, all of which are needed for the baby. "This is why breast feeds should be initiated within one hour after birth. Most mothers don't, either due to ignorance or pressure from their near and dear ones to avoid colostrums," according to Ms Radhakrishnan.

Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother:
• It has a contraceptive effect to some extent.
• It facilitates contraction of the uterus.
• It reduces hip girth and helps in return of original form.
• It helps to bond with the baby.
 

Oct 26, 2010

Key Functions of Vitamin A


Vitamin A can be very helpful in our life :

Maintenance of normal vision

  • Our eyes need vitamin A to function effectively as vitamin A is involved in the production of a chemical called visual purple, which helps us to see in dim light.
  •  Growth, repair and cell differentiation Vitamin A is necessary for the growth and repair of many body cells including those of bones, teeth, collagen and cartilage. 
  • It is also essential for a process known as cell differentiation in which un-specialised cells are modified so that they can perform specific functions. 
  • Thus vitamin A plays a central role in tissue development and maintenance. 

Health of epithelial cells

  •   Vitamin A is vital for the formation of healthy epithelial cells. 
  •   These cells cover the internal and external surfaces of the body and are found in the skin, lungs, developing teeth, inner ear, cornea of the eye, sex organs, glands and their ducts, gums, nose, cervix and other areas. 
  •    Many epithelial cells produce mucus which is necessary to lubricate body surfaces and protect against invading micro-organisms. For example, the good health of the digestive tract lining is important in protecting against ulcers, and maintenance of the lining of the vagina and uterus is important in fertility.

 Pregnancy and fetal development

Because of its vital role in cell development and differentiation, adequate vitamin A helps to ensure that the changes which occur in the cells and tissues during fetal development take place normally. It may be involved in cell to cell communication. 

Protection against infection  - 

Known as 'the anti-infective vitamin', vitamin A plays an essential role in protecting your body from infection. It keeps body surfaces healthy so they can act as barriers to invading micro-organisms. 
 
Vitamin A stimulates and enhances many immune functions including antibody response and the activity of various white blood cells such as T helper cells and phagocytes. This immune-enhancing function promotes healing of infected tissues and increases resistance to infection. 

Other actions

Laboratory experiments have shown vitamin A to have antiviral activity. Vitamin A also has antioxidant activity and has a role in protecting against free radical damage which contributes to many common diseases. Vitamin A is involved in iron metabolism and storage.

Absorption and metabolism

The presence of fat and bile in the intestines is necessary for vitamin A absorption. Around 80 to 90 per cent of vitamin A in the diet is absorbed, although this is reduced in older people and those who have trouble absorbing fat, such as pancreatitis, celiac disease and cystic fibrosis sufferers, who may run the risk of vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A is joined to fatty acids in the intestinal lining, combined with other substances and transported to the liver, which stores 90 per cent of the body's vitamin A.

Aspects of deficiency.  

 Eyes

One of the first symptoms of deficiency is night blindness due to lack of visual purple. Prolonged deficiency leads to xerophthalmia, a condition in which eyes become dry, ulcers appear on the cornea, the eyelids become swollen and sticky, and which eventually leads to blindness. Vitamin A deficiency is the leading preventable cause of blindness in developing countries. 

Skin

Prolonged deficiency leads to thickened dry skin which is prone to infections. Small hardened bumps of a protein known as keratin may develop around the hair follicles. 

Growth

Deficiency causes growth retardation; weight loss; diarrhoea, thickening of bone shafts; congenital malformations; impaired hearing, taste and smell; wasting of testicles; and reduced sperm count. Inadequate vitamin A intake can lead to improper tooth formation in children and to gum disease. 

Immune system

Epithelial surfaces are adversely affected by vitamin A deficiency, causing increased susceptibility to skin and respiratory infections. 
Immune cells and antibody functions are also affected which may lead to an increase in pre-cancerous cells in the epithelial tissues of the mouth, throat and lungs. 
Many studies have shown that vitamin A deficiency is associated with increased risk of infection in developing countries.

HIV

Vitamin A deficiency is often seen in HIV-positive people and this may be due to metabolic changes associated with HIV infection. 
A 1995 study done on HIV-infected drug users in the US found that there was a higher risk of death in those with vitamin A deficiency. 
Vitamin A deficiency is often seen in HIV-positive pregnant women and severe deficiency increases infant mortality and the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. 

Thyroid gland -  

A deficiency of vitamin A can contribute to lower levels of active thyroid hormone with symptoms of low body temperature, depression, difficulty with weight loss, headaches and lethargy.

Cancer

Many studies suggest that high blood levels of vitamin A can help prevent certain forms of cancer, particularly cancers of epithelial tissue. This may be due to the importance of vitamin A in maintaining healthy epithelial cells, strengthening the immune system and stimulating the response to abnormal cells. Vitamin A deficiency may also increase the risk of breast cancer.

Lung cancer

Vitamin A-related compounds known as retinoids.  Of the six different types of retinoid receptors, three were found at lower levels in cancer cells. 
This studies have reflected the possibility that increasing dietary intake of vitamin A or taking supplements can be used to reduce the risk of lung cancer.

Lung function

Vitamin A supplements may be useful in treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Heart Disease

Low blood levels of vitamin A may be associated with the development of heart disease.

Arthritis

Vitamin A levels have also been found to be low in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus sufferers.

Leukoplakia

Vitamin A has also been shown to exert protective effects against leukoplakia, a pre-cancerous change in mucous membranes. It often occurs in the mouth and throat and is related to smoking.

Immunity

Adequate vitamin A intake, either from diet or supplements, is very important in boosting immunity and preventing sickness and death in children.  
Vitamin A eye drops have been used to treat eye problems including blurred vision, cataracts, glaucoma, conjunctivitis and dry eyes. 
 
Other disorders for which vitamin A has been tried include asthma, sebaceous cysts, fibrocystic breast disease and premenstrual syndrome. Vitamin A may also be useful in the prevention of ulcers.

May 27, 2009

CASE STUDY : Vitamin K2


Protecting Bone and Arterial Health with Vitamin k2 :
Millions of people take calcium supplements to maintain healthy bone. Yet few patients or physicians realize that optimizing bone integrity involves more than taking a single mineral supplement. A critical additional component for bone and cardiovascular health is vitamin K2.

Recent research has revealed that, without vitamin K2, calcium regulation is disrupted. In fact, low levels of vitamin K2 are associated with an increased risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis.1 Astute doctors have long known that people with a lack of calcium in their bones are more likely to possess an excess of calcium in their arteries, and vice versa. The resulting lack of calcium in bone leads to osteoporosis, while the deposition of calcium in the arterial wall leads to coronary heart disease and other manifestations of cardiovascular, renal, and neurodegenerative disease.

Although vitamin K has been around for decades, dietary recommend-ations have been overshadowed by the nominal amount required for healthy blood clotting—and have ignored the optimal amounts of vitamin K needed to maintain healthy bones and arteries. In this article, we’ll explore how vitamin K2 regulates calcium as well as the recent evidence supporting this unique vitamin in preventing heart disease and osteoporosis as well as certain types of cancer.


Vitamin K2—Essential for Healthy Arteries and Bones :
Osteoporosis and heart disease—they seem as unconnected as two conditions can possibly be. On the surface, they do share a few common features. Both conditions develop with age. It’s rare for someone to have either condition at age 30, but both are common in the sixth or seventh decade of life. Both conditions don’t develop overnight, but require many years to emerge. Just as osteoporosis requires decades to develop, coronary atherosclerosis also accumulates bit by bit over decades, starting in a person’s 20s (or earlier) and building gradually until a heart attack or other catastrophe occurs.
SVitamin K2—Essential for Healthy Arteries and Bones

But the resemblance appears to stop there—that is, until we dig beneath the surface. As long ago as the 19th century, scientists knew that an unknown material lining diseased arteries resembled a bone-like structure. For the next 100 years, however, this finding was dismissed as a curiosity, an inevitable accompaniment of aging, and evidence of “wear and tear,” just like arthritis.

Dr. Linda Demer and her team at the University of California, Los Angeles, were among the first to unravel this curious connection by successfully identifying a protein in human atherosclerotic tissue, which was previously believed to reside only in bone tissue. This protein, called bone morphogenetic protein-2, plays an important role in bone formation.2 Since then, several other key regulators of bone formation have been identified in atherosclerotic plaque tissue, such as matrix GLA-protein and osteopontin, suggesting that common factors might influence both arterial and bone health.3
Osteoporosis and Vitamin K2 Intervention—the Evidence

Another curious observation increased the momentum to find a link between bone and arterial diseases. People who had osteoporosis, or a lack of calcium in their bones, were more likely to possess an excess of calcium (bone) in arteries and vice versa. In fact, what had often been simply assumed to be calcium deposits or calcified plaque was actually fully formed bone tissue. Vascular calcification should therefore be more properly designated as vascular ossification—bone formation within blood vessels. Likewise, many “risk factors” for coronary atherosclerosis were also prevalent in osteoporosis: aging, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and high cholesterol.3 Scientists questioned why there was such a tight link between excess calcium in one organ (bones) and deficient calcium in another (arteries). And why, in some apparently healthy people, are the two present simultaneously to such extremes?

Initially, some proposed that there may be an abnormal transfer of calcium from bones to arteries. This did not hold up to scrutiny, however, since each system proved to be under its own regulation.

Although certain prescription drugs, such as raloxifene (Evista) and alendronate (Fosamax), addressed the problem of osteoporosis, no solution emerged to address both bone and arterial health, that is, until now. Current research is highlighting the importance of nutritional solutions to control the link between arterial and bone diseases by addressing calcium metabolism in the body—in particular, the role played by vitamin K2.


What Actually Is Vitamin K ?

In nature, vitamin K is found in two forms: vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) in leafy, green vegetab-les, and vitamin K2 (menaquinone) in organ meats, egg yolks, and dairy products.

Vitamin K is required by the human liver to manufacture blood-clotting proteins (factors II, VII, IX, X; and proteins S and C). This is the basis for administering the vitamin K-blocking drug, warfarin (Coumadin®) to people who have blood clots or are at risk for blood clot formation, since clot formation is effectively suppressed by the drug.

Determination of the human need for vitamin K was therefore based on the amount necessary to maintain a normal balance between blood clotting and thinning. Blood shouldn’t be excessively “thinned” and prone to abnormal bleeding, nor excessively “thick” and prone to clotting in the wrong place.

Beyond its role in blood clotting, recent research has revealed that vitamin K also plays a vital role in maintaining healthy bones and arteries by keeping calcium in the bones and out of the arteries.

Unfortunately, the recommended dietary intake of vitamin K required for blood clot regulation is much lower than that required for optimal bone and arterial health.

Osteoporosis and Vitamin K2 Intervention—the Evidence :

Since it was first discovered in 1929, vitamin K has been best been known for its crucial role in the blood-clotting process. Since that time, scientists have uncovered compelling evidence that vitamin K plays an equally important role in bone health.

The majority of vitamin K research to date has focused on vitamin K1, the dominant dietary form of vitamin K that occurs in green, leafy vegetables. Yet it appears that vitamin K2, which occurs in organ meats, egg yolks, and dairy products, is a more important inducer of bone mineralization in human osteoblasts (bone-building cells) than vitamin K1.4
Vitamin K2 Protects Against Coronary Heart Disease

The Japanese long ago recognized the power of vitamin K2 to maintain or restore bone health. In certain regions of Japan, a staple dish called natto or fermented soybean, frequently eaten several times a week, is uniquely rich in vitamin K2. Recent scientific examination has pinpointed vitamin K2, and in particular vitamin K2 as menaquinone-7 (MK-7), as the active ingredient in this popular eastern Japanese dish, as having a supportive effect on bone quality during osteoporosis treatment.5

People living in the Japanese regions where this dish is eaten have several-fold greater blood levels of vitamin K2 (MK-7), accompanied by less osteoporosis and bone fractures.6

These findings are supported by clinical trials, in which vitamin K2 has been shown to successfully reduce the incidence of bone fractures. A two-year Japanese study found that vitamin K2 (MK-4) reduced the incidence of vertebral (spine) fractures by 52% in 120 patients with osteoporosis, compared with patients who did not receive this nutrient.7 The high dose used in this trial—as with most studies examining vitamin K2’s effect on bone density—was 45 mg/day, a prescription dose used in Japan to treat osteo-porosis that is unavailable in the US. As you will read later, lower doses of K2 found in dietary supplements appear to also provide significant benefits.

Heart Disease Linked with Osteoporosis :

Fit and trim at age 67, Walter had no reason to believe that he had any hidden health conditions.

He’d had annual physicals for the past seven years, passing them all. According to his doctor, his cholesterol numbers had been fine for years. But Walter’s brother-in-law, a physician whose own brush with heart disease prompted him to warn everyone else in the family about the possibility, suggested that he undergo a computed tomography heart scan. Walter’s heart scan score was 3,367, a high score that signaled a dangerous content of calcified atherosclerotic plaque in his coronary arteries linked to a high risk for heart attack. In fact, Walter’s score put him in the 99th percentile, meaning that his calcium score was in the worst 1% of all men in his age group (and carried an annual risk for heart attack of 25% without preventive efforts).

At about the same time, Walter enrolled for a screening service that came to his church offering ultrasound screening for abdominal aneurysm, carotid disease, and osteoporosis. While Walter proved to have no aneurysm or carotid issues, he did show the bone density of someone 20 years older, revealing an advanced state of osteoporosis.

While seemingly unrelated, Walter’s arterial calci-fication and osteoporosis were likely connected through the common mechanism of inadequate levels of vitamin K.


Vitamin K2 has also proven to be as effective as prescription drugs in reducing the incidence of bone fractures. In one Japanese study in post-menopausal women that compared the effect of K2 (MK-4) with the drug etidronate (Didronel®) on the incidence of vertebral (spine) fracture, women taking K2 at a dose of 45 mg per day experienced a fracture rate of 8.0% compared with 8.7% for those taking the drug therapy. Furthermore, women taking both MK-4 and the drug experienced a 3.8% fracture rate—a dramatic combined effect. In comparison, in a placebo group who received neither K2 nor drug therapy, nearly 21% of women experienced bone fractures.8

Experimental animal models of osteoporosis have also revealed that MK-4 improves bone architecture, increases bone mass and mechanical strength, stimulates mineralization (deposition of calcium), and enhances collagen architecture—a cross-linking of fibrous tissue that yields tough but supple bone that is more resistant to fracture.9

On the other hand, osteoporosis—the excessive loss of bone mineral density—results in fractures and leads to devastating events common in those over 65 years, even with minor injuries like a fall. Unfortunately, the drug industry focuses on prescribing drugs late in life when the risk for fracture is high. Strategies that involve nutritional supplements are different. Firstly, they lack the high cost and side effects of prescription drugs. Secondly, they can potentially be started at an earlier age and taken over 20, 30, or more years in order to yield possibly greater benefit than drug therapy started at the age of 60 to bail out a process that has developed over decades. Although there are no clinical trials for such an extended period, this is an area worthy of future investigation.


Some Facts :

* While calcium is essential for good health, aberrant calcium metabolism can lead to disorders such as osteoporosis and cardio-vascular disease. Vitamin K2 is emerging as a key factor in regulating calcium in the body.
* Insufficient vitamin K2 leads to decreased bone mineral density, a key factor in osteoporosis, and an excess of calcium in the arterial wall, which increases the risk of heart disease.
* In Japan, vitamin K2 has been shown to substantially improve osteoporosis when given either as a high-dose prescription agent or in the staple Japanese dish called natto, which is particularly rich in K2.
* Studies have also shown that even modest amounts of vitamin K2 fight heart disease by controlling calcium-regulating proteins in vascular tissue, which keeps calcium out of the arteries and prevents the formation of dangerous calcified plaques.
* Vitamin K2 occurs in much smaller quantities in the diet than vitamin K1. Most of us, therefore, get little of these K2-rich foods.
* Current dietary guidelines for vitamin K focus on how much is needed to regulate blood clotting and have largely ignored the much higher amount needed to maintain healthy bones and arteries.


Vitamin K2 Protects Against Coronary Heart Disease :

Normal deposition of calcium occurs in two organs: bone and teeth. Abnormal deposition of calcium in the body occurs in three places: the inner lining of the arteries (the intima) where athero-sclerotic plaque accrues; the muscle layer of arteries (“medial calcification”); and heart valves. Vitamin K2 appears to be the form of vitamin K that contributes to controlling all of these phenomena.

However, calcium has historically been viewed as a passive marker, certainly not an active participant in heart disease. Some maintained that calcium was nothing more than a remnant of prior “rupture,” a scar from dangerous inflammatory activity of soft plaque. They even argued that calcium was, in fact, a reflection of increased plaque stability, as the “hard” material was not itself prone to rupture. Thus, they believed that calcium played no active role in contributing to atherosclerotic plaque.
Does Vitamin K2 Prevent Cancer?

Those arguments have now been dashed by new observations. A definitive connection between vitamin K2 levels and heart disease, in terms of a large-scale, well-controlled clinical trial, was first described in 2004 in the Rotterdam Heart Study—a Dutch trial that tracked 4,800 participants for seven years.1 The study revealed that participants who ingested the greatest quantities of vitamin K2 in their diet experienced a 57% reduction in death from heart disease than people who ingested the least. The same relationship did not hold for vitamin K1. Unfortunately, in this study MK-4 and MK-7 intake and levels were not separately analyzed but were grouped together, along with other MK categories such as MK-8 and MK-9.

Higher intakes of vitamin K2 also corresponded to less calcium deposition in the aorta (an indirect measure of atherosclerosis), whereas participants who ingested less K2 were more likely to show moderate or severe calcification. The lowest risk of heart attack and aortic calcification was seen in participants who included more than 32.7 mcg a day of vitamin K2 in their diet.1

The size and quality of the Rotterdam Heart Study gave credibility to the powerful association between vitamin K2 dietary intake and heart disease and suggests that vitamin K2 may confer cardiovascular benefits by inhibiting arterial calcification.

Physicians and scientists are now intensely interested in monitoring and halting the accumulation of coronary calcium, since they know that it comprises a significant portion of atherosclerotic plaque volume.

It appears therefore that the accumulation of calcium signals actively growing atherosclerotic plaque and that vitamin K deficiency may set the stage for this pathogenic process.


Vitamin K2 Encompasses a Group of Important Substances Known as Menaquinones :

The menaquinones make up about 10% of vitamin K consumption and can also be synthesized in the gut by healthy microflora. There are several different forms of menaquinone. Menaquinones are short-listed using the notation MK-n, where the ‘n’ specifies the number of prenyl side chains. MK-4 is available in high doses by prescription. MK-8 and MK-9 are found in fermented food products like cheese. Soy natto is a rich source of the highly bioavailable form of K2 known as MK-7.

MK-4, also known as menatetrenone, is distinct from other menaquinones because it is not a major constituent of MK-n produced by gut microflora.


Does Vitamin K2 Prevent Cancer?

Exciting preliminary evidence is emerging that vitamin K2 may suppress cancer.

In a serendipitous study, initially conducted to explore whether vitamin K2 provided protection against bone loss, investigators noticed that this nutrient dramatically reduced the risk of liver cancer.

In this small Japanese study of 40 women who had liver cirrhosis from viral infections, there was a marked difference in the incidence of liver cancer, with only 2 of 21 developing cancer in the MK-4 group compared with 9 of 19 in a control group.15 The chart on this page shows the significant protective effect against primary liver cancer conferred by vitamin K2 in this study.

Similarly, a pilot study in 61 people recovering from surgical removal of hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) showed that 45 mg/day of MK-4 (the dose used in Japan to treat osteoporosis) enhanced cancer-free survival by a wide margin.16

In the laboratory, vitamin K2 demonstrates inhibitory effects against myeloma and lymphoma, suggesting possible applications for individuals fighting these hematologic cancers.17

Perhaps this is just the tip of the iceberg with vitamin K2’s fascinating effects on cancer. As most of the observations are just getting underway and some have arisen by chance observations, this is an area worth watching. Perhaps even more exciting for our purposes is discovering whether vitamin K2 prevents cancer if taken over a long period.


Obtaining Optimal Amounts of Vitamin K2 :

Vitamin K1 occurs naturally in green leafy vegetables, whereas vitamin K2 is found in relatively few foods. Organ meats, egg yolks, and the Japanese condiment natto, are sources of vitamin K2, of which natto is by far the richest source. Unfortunately, natto is an acquired taste and a dish that the average American may be unwilling to try. Vitamin K2 is also found in modest quantities in traditionally fermented

cheeses, in particular, Swiss Emmental and Norwegian Jarlsberg.18 Of total vitamin K dietary intake, only about 10% is the K2 form.

Vitamin K deficiency can also result from impaired absorption, in addition to not getting enough in the diet. It can also be caused by prolonged use of anti-biotics, since bacteria that normally reside in the colon (and are obliterated by antibiotic use) are responsible for producing approximately half of the vitamin K needed every day.

Unfortunately, the present recommended dietary intake of vitamin K, 90 mcg/day for women and 120 mcg/day for men, may be inadequate to maintain optimal heart and bone health.4,9,19

Although vitamin K1 is rapidly cleared from the blood, K2 lingers in the blood for an extended period when taken orally and can rise to much greater levels than seen with K1. Vitamin K2 appears to be safe, with no side effects identified even at high doses. In Japan, K2 substantially improves bone density and prevents osteoporotic fractures, given either as a high-dose prescription agent (45 mg/day) or in the Japanese dish natto.7,20 Together, these findings suggest that vitamin K2 may be the preferred form of vitamin K for supplemental use.

What dose of vitamin K2 is best? Scientists are still debating this question. Supplements generally contain between 50 mcg and 1,000 mcg of vitamin K2. Even the low end of the supplement dose of 50 mcg a day may help to support healthy bone density and protect the arterial wall from calcification. Life Extension has long recommended about 1,000 mcg a day of vitamin K2, along with 9,000 mcg vitamin K1 for most people.


Calcium-Regulating Proteins :

The possible role of vitamin K2 in preventing coronary plaque development has emerged from observations of its effects on several bone proteins, whose main function is to keep calcium where it belongs in the body.

Osteocalcin is a calcium-regulating protein that is controlled by vitamin K2. When vitamin K is present, osteocalcin normally undergoes a process called carboxylation, which binds osteocalcin to the mineral portion of bone. However, in vitamin K2 deficiency, osteocalcin cannot perform this function, resulting in unrestrained calcium resorption (removal) from bone tissue that leads to osteoporosis.

The opposite situation seems to occur in the arteries. Calcium is deposited because another protein called matrix GLA-protein, which is a calcification inhibitor and is also K2-controlled, cannot undergo the process of carboxylation in a vitamin K-deficient state. Because only carboxylated matrix GLA-protein inhibits calcification, undercarboxylated matrix GLA-protein has been found to occur in unusually high concentration at the edge of calcified and atherosclerotic plaques, suggesting it plays an active role in depositing calcium in plaque.4 Impairment of the function of osteocalcin and matrix GLA-protein due to incomplete carboxy-lation results in an increased risk for developing osteoporosis and vascular calcification, respectively.

Further evidence for the connection between vitamin K2 and arterial calcium comes from other research:

People with more advanced atherosclerotic plaque have reduced levels of carboxylated matrix GLA-protein, a vitamin K-dependent protein.10

* In animal studies, mice genetically bred to lack a protein that uses vitamin K2 develop unrestrained calcium deposition in the arteries (aorta and coronary) so powerful that they die within a few weeks of birth.11
* A similar mutation in the human gene that controls vitamin K production doubles the likelihood of atherosclerotic diseases like coronary disease, stroke, and aortic disease.12
* Furthermore, pregnant women taking the potent blood-thinning agent and vitamin K blocker, warfarin (Coumadin), give birth to babies with severe abnormalities of bone structure.
* Likewise, people who take Coumadin suffer more osteoporotic fractures.14 They also show substantially more abnormal calcium deposition in other areas, such as heart valves—twice as much as non-Coumadin takers.



The vitamin K2 experience requires further exploration to establish the scope of this exciting and underappreciated nutrient. Given the compelling science behind vitamin K2, enormously powerful benefits of supplementation may soon be realized for both good bone and arterial health ...