Vitamin K2: Everything you need to know about it

Benefits of vitamin K2

Vitamin K2 aids in blood clotting
One of the main functions of K vitamins is to allow your blood to clot. In fact, the “K” in vitamin K is in reference to the German word “koagulation,” which translates to “coagulation” or the ability to clot (or thicken) blood.
Blood clots may sound like a bad thing — and they can be. After all, blood clots can travel to your brain and cause strokes. And clots in your arteries cause heart attacks.
Vitamin K can help keep your blood not too thick and not too thin, it keeps your blood just right.

Vitamin K2 may help improve bone health and lower your risk of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis — which translates to “porous bones” — is common, especially among older adults. It strongly increases the risk of fractures.
Vitamin K2 activates the calcium-binding actions of two proteins — matrix GLA protein and osteocalcin, which help to build and maintain bones.
The people who took vitamin supplements that included calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K-2 were 25 percent less likely to have a bone fracture in their lifetime.
Vitamin K2 plays a central role in calcium metabolism, the main mineral found in your bones and teeth.

Vitamin D contributes to normal calcium absorption and the maintenance of healthy bones, making it the perfect partner for Vitamin K2.
Without D3 and K2, calcium cannot do its job effectively.
Vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 ensure that calcium is absorbed easily and reaches the bone mass, while preventing arterial calcification. Helping to keep your heart and bones healthy.

Vitamin K2 may help reduce the risk of heart disease
Calcium buildup in the arteries around your heart is a major risk factor for heart disease.
Anything that can reduce this calcium buildup may help prevent heart disease. Vitamin K is believed to help by preventing calcium from being deposited in your arteries. An increased dietary intake of either vitamin K1 or K2 was linked with a moderately reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
In addition to its positive effects on blood clotting and strong bones, vitamin K helps keeps your heart healthy. That’s because of the way it acts to clear out calcium from your blood vessels.
When calcium builds up in your body, it can lead to hardening (or calcification) of your tissues, organs and blood vessels. Calcium deposits in your arteries can lead to high blood pressure, kidney disease and more.
Vitamin K-2 may lower the risk of cardiovascular damage and improve overall heart health.

Vitamin K2 may help improve dental health
One of the main proteins regulating dental health is osteocalcin — the same protein that is critical to bone metabolism and is activated by vitamin K2.
Osteocalcin triggers a mechanism that stimulates the growth of new bone and new dentin, which is the calcified tissue underneath the enamel of your teeth.

Vitamin K2 may help protect against cancer
Vitamin K-2 has antioxidant properties that may help protect against cancer and may inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells.

Vitamin K2 may help protect from Anxiety and depression
High blood glucose levels may increase a person’s risk of developing depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment. Vitamin K may play also play a role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease, as older adults taking vitamin K were found to have improved cognitive abilities and less difficulty recalling memories.

Vitamin K deficiency
Vitamin K deficiency affects very few adults in the United States. Newborns and people with certain gastrointestinal disorders, such as celiac disease and ulcerative colitis, have a higher risk of vitamin K deficiency.
A severe deficiency increases the time it takes for the blood to clot, making a person more prone to bruising and bleeding and increasing the risk of hemorrhage.
A deficiency of the vitamin can also reduce bone mineralization, which can lead to osteoporosis.
Certain medications can affect vitamin K levels in the body. For example, long courses of antibiotics can kill the gut bacteria that produce vitamin K. Some cholesterol-lowering medications can also interfere with the body’s ability to absorb vitamin K.

The best way to absorb vitamin K is in combination with specific nutrients, such as vitamin D, calcium, or magnesium.
Vitamin K deficiency is rare — adults usually have enough vitamin K because normal bacteria in the gut produce it, and it is also in the fat of many commonly available foods.

Vitamin K deficiency symptoms
The main symptom of vitamin K deficiency is excessive bleeding. Keep in mind that bleeding may happen in areas other than at a cut or wound site. It can also make your periods heavier.

The bleeding may also be apparent if someone:

• bruises easily
  
• gets small blood clots underneath their nails
  
• bleeds in mucous membranes that line areas inside the body
  
• produces stool that looks dark black (almost like tar) and contains some blood

In infants, doctors may observe vitamin K deficiency if there is:

• bleeding from the area where the umbilical cord is removed
  
• bleeding in the skin, nose, the gastrointestinal tract, or other areas
  
• bleeding at the penis if the baby has been circumcised
  
• sudden bleeding in the brain, which is extremely dangerous and life-threatening.

Vitamin K deficiency causes
Although vitamin K deficiency is uncommon in adults, certain people are at increased risk if they:

• take coumarin anticoagulants such as warfarin, which thins the blood
  are taking antibiotics
  
• have a condition that causes the body to not absorb fat properly (fat malabsorption)
  
• have a diet that is extremely lacking in vitamin K

Coumarin anticoagulants interfere with the production of the proteins involved in blood clotting.
Some antibiotics cause the body to produce less of its own vitamin K. Other antibiotics may cause vitamin K to become less effective in the body.
Fat malabsorption leading to vitamin K deficiency may occur in people with:

• celiac disease
  
• cystic fibrosis
  
• a disorder in the intestines or biliary tract (liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts)
  
• part of their intestine removed

Newborn infants are at increased risk for vitamin K deficiency for a variety of reasons:

• breast milk is very low in vitamin K
  
• vitamin K does not transfer well from a mother’s placenta to her baby
  
• the liver of a newborn infant doesn’t use the vitamin efficiently
  
• newborns don’t produce vitamin K2 on their own in the first few days of life

See One More Dekamin, which contains (Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2, Magnesium and Vitamin C) is the basis of what our body needs to be healthy.