Vitamin K2: What you need to know

The glow of good health is linked to a complex range of chemical and biological actions that occur in the cells throughout our bodies.

We know that vitamins serve the body by providing essential nutrients for building bones, promoting heart health and maintaining our brain and nervous systems.  While most of us know about vitamin A, B, C, D, and E, I’d like to tell you about vitamin K2 – the “Forgotten Vitamin,” tells Katarzyna Maresz, PhD, a Scientific Coordinator and President of International Science and Health Foundation on Fox News channel.

1. Healthy Bone Building

Part of the family of nutrients called menaquinones (MKs), vitamin K2 helps your body use calcium to build bones. The entire skeleton is constantly being repaired so that it is completely replaced, more or less, approximately every seven years.

One of the most important proteins in bone building is called osteocalcin, which needs natural vitamin K2 to function properly. 

2. Calcification in Blood Vessels

Additionally, while vitamin K2 helps bind calcium to our bone structure, this nutrient simultaneously reduces calcium buildup. Too much calcification increases the stiffness and fragility of blood vessels, sometimes impeding healthy blood flow to and from the heart. 

Recent research has unequivocally linked the role of vitamin K2 to the prevention of vascular calcification.

3. Who needs vitamin K2?

-- Children: Bones grow and develop more intensively during childhood and adolescence.

-- Women and men over 40: Peak bone mass occurs in our 20s and 30s and begins to decline for most in our 40s.

4. Good Source of Vitamin K2

Vitamin K2 can be found naturally in many animal-based foods, such as meat and poultry, as well as cheese and eggs.

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