Author: Sameer Ather

The Importance of Vitamin K2 and What Foods Have It

Most people don’t know much about K vitamins. If they are familiar with the name, they only know of the vitamin K1. If they are knowledgeable enough, but not experts, they will probably simply call it ‘vitamin K’ and will also be able to tell you it’s good for blood clotting. While vitamin K1 is indeed useful and blood clotting is among its chief benefits, K vitamins in your body have many other benefits.

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Why Is Vitamin K2 Important and Why Haven’t You Heard of It

The reason you’ve probably never heard of vitamin K2 is due to the current Western diet. K2 is rarely found in the traditional diet of the average American, and too few studies were done on this topic in the last century. The medical awareness surrounding vitamin K2 was unfortunately lacking, and only recently have doctors and researchers started focusing on this vitamin’s amazing potential. In Eastern countries, and especially in Japan, not only does the traditional diet offer higher concentrations of vitamin K2, public health officials have realized its importance and have included it in their list of recommended supplements.

Vitamin K2 may be one of the ‘missing links’ between diets and the incidence of diseases. Even though several studies have pointed out the connection between the Western diet and the high prevalence of chronic and degenerative diseases versus the lower incidences of these diseases for those following Eastern diets, doctors are still unsure of the exact causes and factors which weigh in this effect. We know our diet isn’t healthy in the long run, but don’t really know how much of this harmfulness is due to red meat or how much it is due to industrially processed vegetable oils and so on. Vitamin K2 is turning out to be quite the neglected factor in this equation.

Main Benefits of Vitamin K2

Both types of vitamin K (K1 and K2) are important to your health, and both play an active role in the way your body metabolizes calcium. However, their exact roles are quite different, insofar that they could very well be classified as completely separate nutrients.

While vitamin K1, has an active role in activating the calcium-binding proteins that help in issues like blood clotting, vitamin K2 is essential for activating the proteins that tell your body how to use this properly absorbed calcium. Basically, the vitamin K2 is crucial for your body’s ability to efficiently manage itself, allowing it to use resources in a smarter way. Therefore, vitamin K2 has the following benefits:

  • May prevent osteoporosis. In Japan, the state has already approved vitamin K2 supplements as a treatment for this condition, and it has been reported that the vitamin is able to prevent the incidence of new fractures by 87%.
  • May prevent heart disease. A main cause of heart disease is the build-up of calcium residue in the arteries. By helping your body use calcium more efficiently, vitamin K2 ensures your arteries will be freer.
  • May improve dental health. Osteocalcin, the same protein involved in bone metabolism, is also crucial for the health of your teeth. Vitamin K2 is known for triggering an activation of this protein, making your teeth stronger and less prone to disease.
  • May help in preventing and fighting cancer. While a vitamin K2 rich Eastern diet lowers the risk of cancer, there aren’t that many studies yet to confirm the link. However, some studies have started to be conducted on the matter, and one of the definite conclusions is that the vitamin reduces the recurrence of liver cancer and increases the survival rates and life expectancy of patients.

More studies about vitamin K2 and the way it prevents diseases and treats conditions already contracted are on the way. Soon, the scientific community will know more about this wonderful and previously neglected vitamin, and more official programs of including it in people’s diets will begin.

How to Include More Vitamin K2 in Your Diet

Until official vitamin K2 promoting strategies are contoured (so you can get your prescription directly from the doctor’s office), there can be only two ways of including this vitamin in your diet more. One of them is through supplements you independently buy (they can be found online), but you should know that these aren’t yet FDA approved. Vitamin K2 supplements are expected to become officially approved soon, as they are in other countries, so there’s probably nothing to worry about if you go ahead and take them anyway.

The second method is one we’d actually support more since the natural way is always best (unless you’re dealing with the need of treating an actual and serious condition). That method is to get vitamin K2 through your diet. Here is what you need to know. Vitamin K1 is mainly found in leafy greens like salad, spinach and so on. Vitamin K2 can be found in animal products and fermented foods. These are the main natural sources of vitamin K2:

  • Dairy from grass-fed cows (especially high-quality butter);
  • Fermented cheeses (anything produced naturally and matured for a long time, but not with the help of moulds);
  • Egg yolks
  • Fermented foods like brine pickles, sauerkraut, miso and natto (another traditional Japanese food which provides a huge chunk of the vitamin K2 present in the diet of modern Japanese people).

The bottom line is that you can find significant amounts of vitamin K2 in most animal foods and in naturally fermented foods as well. The vitamin is produced by the fermentation of gut bacteria, so small amounts are also produced in your body, but you still need to find extra sources. Be careful to only look for vitamin K2 in foods fermented with the help of bacteria, not yeasts or moulds (those produce other types of beneficial substances). If you’d rather keep your diet vegetarian or vegan to a higher degree (and understandably so), then such fermented foods like sauerkraut, miso soups, and natto (a fermented soybean product) are ideal sources of vitamin K2.

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