The Secret to Strong Bones
In the January 2008 issue of Naturally Well Today, I touch on the connection between oral health and bone health. In addition to providing you with my comprehensive at-home oral health plan, I also encourage you to be a proactive patient who gets the most out of every trip to the dentist. One way you can do that is to make sure that your dentist is up-to-date on all the new x-ray technologies. For example, a Dutch computer program is now available to dentists in the US that can actually measure bone density directly from your dental x-rays. This is a fantastic way to kill two birds with one stone. At your regular dental exam you can check on the health of your teeth and your bones. Ask your dentist about this technology at your next appointment.
No matter where or when you get your bones checked, the important thing is that you regularly monitor their health and density and that you work hard to prevent any future bone loss. Though you might think that drinking milk and taking calcium pills is all you need to have strong bones, the “calcium cure” is just one small part of the bone health picture.
The Incomplete Calcium Solution
The American Dairy Association and the calcium supplement industry pay big bucks to make sure you believe that good bone health is as simple as getting a little extra calcium every day. To protect their multi-billion dollar paychecks, they’ll make every effort to keep you believing it, even though the “science” behind their position has more holes than their Swiss cheese. American bones are getting weaker every year as a result of this misinformation.
In truth, good bone requires an interplay of hundreds of nature’s nutrients in a constant exchange of breakdown and rebuilding. It doesn’t matter whether a particular nutrient is needed in trace amounts or by the pound—each plays an indispensable role. If just one tiny ingredient is missing, the entire system can buckle under the burden of that deficiency, no matter how abundantly the other ingredients are supplied. Simply stated, you can take calcium ’til you’re blue in the face, but if other bone-essential nutrients aren’t there your bones will get weaker.
With that said, one overlooked nutrient is simply indispensable, no matter how much “bone-building” calcium you take. Meet vitamin K2.
Why K2?
People who take anticoagulant drugs are already acquainted with vitamin K, because their doctors tell them to avoid it—to not eat green foods or take K in their supplements. Well, it just so happens these people have a higher fracture risk. Related? You bet.
Vitamin K is like most things in nature: complex. In addition to helping blood coagulate so we don’t bleed to death from a minor injury, it helps keep arteries free of plaque, and it’s involved in the formation and maintenance of healthy cartilage. There’s even evidence that vitamin K is an ally in the treatment of liver cancer. And, a report out of Harvard Medical School notes that vitamin K deficiency is common in otherwise healthy adults.
If we neglect our need for K, brittle bones are the likely result. Part of the reason is that vitamin K chemically prepares a bone protein called osteocalcin so it can bind to bone minerals. The protein carries calcium into the bone matrix piggyback. Without adequate levels of vitamin K, osteocalcin can’t deliver enough calcium to the matrix. And so, even if you take calcium religiously, your bones keep losing calcium. At the same time your bones are dumping the mineral, it’s accumulating in your arteries—what’s called the “calcium paradox.”
Now, I must point out that “vitamin K” isn’t a single vitamin. There are several types of “Ks,” including K1 (phylloquinone) and a group of K2s (the menaquinones, or “MKs” for short). There’s also a K3, but it’s synthetic and has toxicity issues. Although green vegetables such as broccoli and kale are the most common dietary source of vitamin K in the developed world, they contain only K1, and only about 10 percent of their K1 is bioavailable. K1 is also the only kind of K you’ll find in most multivitamin supplements—if they contain vitamin K at all, which many do not. Does this matter?
It sure does. K1 has long gotten all the credit for keeping arteries healthy, but more recent animal studies show that tissue levels of K2 are 50 to 100 times higher in healthy aortas than they are in plaque-laden ones, while K1 appears uninvolved. K1 has also gotten kudos for preserving bone density. Given enough K1, your body can convert it to K2, which explains the bone-protective effects seen with K1. But K2 has far more widespread bioactivity, and it’s the major “K” contributor to bone health.
Be OK with K2
There are several subtypes of K2, including MK4, MK7, MK8, and MK9. (The numbers refer to how many side chains are attached to the main molecule.) They’re found in meat, fish, and liver (which contain mostly the MK4 subtype), cheese and cheese curds (mostly MK9), and certain fermented foods (in which friendly bacteria create mostly MK7, 8, and 9). Our own intestinal bacteria have the ability to manufacture some K2, but that’s variable and unreliable. And, unlike K1, there’s no significant storage of K2 in the liver, so it must be taken into the body on a regular basis. What’s the best way to do that?
First, it’s important to know that of all the subtypes of vitamin K2, the one emerging as the major player in strong, healthy bones is MK7. A European clinical study published in the journal Blood (December 2006) showed that MK7 proved more effective in promoting and activating markers of bone building, and it’s the most bioavailable form of vitamin K—achieving blood levels up to 8 times higher compared to K1 and MK4. So, for the sake of your bones, you should get your K2 from a source that includes abundant MK7. That source is fermented foods—hands down the top dietary producers of MK7.
The Richest Source of MK7 Known Today
Here’s the confusing thing about vitamin K2 supplements. Some are labeled “vitamin K2,” but they contain only synthetic MK4 (menatetrenone). So, how can you be sure of getting the highest levels of bioavailable, natural MK7? By using a product derived from the ancient food natto—a fermented soybean product that’s a dietary staple in certain regions of Japan, where researchers have found the highest serum MK7 levels. That same study showed that where natto consumption was high, fracture incidence was low, and where natto consumption was low, fracture incidence was high. In another Japanese study, eating just one gram of natto increased circulating levels of MK-7 by about 700 percent.
Natto is available primarily in better health food stores and Asian groceries, or online at such outlets as www.AsianFoodGrocer.com. Or, take a natural vitamin K2 supplement derived from natto, available in health food stores and increasingly recognized as a vital part of a healthy-bones routine. Population studies report that a dose of 45 mcg of MK7 per day is safe and effective, while amounts over 100 mcg will have no additional clinical benefit. Personally, I prefer the products from Jarrow and Source Naturals. Note: An expert European panel has determined that taking doses up to 100 mcg per day will most likely not interfere with anticoagulant therapy. Still, if you’re taking anticoagulants, don’t take vitamin K2 without first talking to your doctor.
The great thing about taking MK7 is that it’ll increase the amount of minerals that actually get to your bones. To take advantage of this great benefit, you’ll want to take an excellent bone mineral supplement. I highly recommend MCH-Cal from New Zealand. It has a bone-ready mixture of essential calcium and other minerals, plus enzymes and other factors to speed healthy bone growth.
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References
- Cancer Sci. 2007;98(3):431–437.
- Clin Calcium. 2006;16(9):1526–1534.
- J Bone Miner Res. 2000;15(3):515–521.
- J Nutr Sci Vitaminol. 2006;52(5):297–301.
- Nutrition. 2001;17(4):315–321.
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