K2 plays a key role in moving calcium to all the right places in your body. It helps get calcium into your bones and teeth where you want it, instead of your arteries where you don’t. This could help keep your bones strong and your arteries clear – a good thing!
There are two main types of K2 – MK4 that comes from animal foods, and MK7 that comes from fermented foods like natto. Research shows MK7 sticks around longer in your body, so getting just a serving or two a day can give you benefits.
Studies1 suggest K2 may improve bone density, lower fracture risk, reduce artery stiffness and inhibit artery calcification. So it’s good for your bones and heart! Vitamins D and A help it work best, so get enough of those too. Take K2 with a meal that has fat since it needs fat to absorb properly.
While you can take K2 supplements, getting it from real foods is best if you can. Talk to your doctor before taking supplements to be safe.
The main point is getting enough K2 from your diet can support bone and heart health. It’s another reason to eat a balanced diet with all the important vitamins and minerals.
Now you may be wondering – where does someone score some of this magical K2? Well, you can get small doses from certain real foods – grass-fed dairy products, liver, and funky fermented foods like natto. But those foods can be hard to find and you’d need to eat tons of the stuff to really get enough K2.
That’s why many folks turn to K2 supplements. They let you fine tune your K2 intake to levels that research shows could be helpful for bone density and heart health. Doctors recommend around 100-200 mcg of K2 daily . Some specialty supplements go higher but you gotta be careful with megadosing anything.
Here’s the catch – it’s probably smart to still eat some real foods with K2 rather than supplements alone. Whole foods give you other nutrients that likely work together with K2 for added benefits.
So here is a strategy – Add gouda cheese to your signature salads to slightly bump up your K2 from foods, then take a basic MK-7 supplement to bring yourself into the ideal range. And you know what? It will also help to improve your bones and cholesterol numbers.
Check with your doctor to see if optimizing your K2 intake could be helpful for you!
References
- MDPI and ACS Style
Simes, D.C.; Viegas, C.S.B.; Araújo, N.; Marreiros, C. Vitamin K as a Diet Supplement with Impact in Human Health: Current Evidence in Age-Related Diseases. Nutrients 2020, 12, 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12010138
AMA Style
Simes DC, Viegas CSB, Araújo N, Marreiros C. Vitamin K as a Diet Supplement with Impact in Human Health: Current Evidence in Age-Related Diseases. Nutrients. 2020; 12(1):138. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12010138
Chicago/Turabian Style
Simes, Dina C., Carla S. B. Viegas, Nuna Araújo, and Catarina Marreiros. 2020. “Vitamin K as a Diet Supplement with Impact in Human Health: Current Evidence in Age-Related Diseases” Nutrients 12, no. 1: 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12010138 ↩︎
