Medical Chronicle May 2017 | Page 32

CLINICAL
OSTEOPOROSIS CPD
found naturally in plants, especially green vegetables; K1 goes directly to your liver and helps you maintain healthy blood clotting 2. Vitamin K2, also called menaquinone, is made by the bacteria that line your gastrointestinal tract; K2 goes straight to your blood vessel walls, bones, and tissues other than your liver
3. Vitamin K3, or menadione, is a synthetic form I do not recommend; it ' s important to note that toxicity
has occurred in infants injected with this synthetic vitamin K3.
It also plays a role in removing calcium from areas where it shouldn ' t be, such as in the arteries and soft tissues.
The main function of Vitamin K is to activate the calcium-binding properties of proteins. K1 is mostly involved in blood clotting, while K2 helps regulate where calcium ends up in the body. Vitamin K2 activates the calciumbinding activity of Matrix gla protein and osteocalcin, which help to build
and maintain bones. It also works synergistically with a number of other nutrients, including calcium and vitamin D.
Vitamin K2 can be broken into two additional categories: 1. MK-4( menaquinone-4), a short-chain form of vitamin K2 found in butter, egg yolks, and animal-based foods 2. MK-7( menaquinone-7), longer-chain forms found in fermented foods. There ' s a variety of these long-chain forms but the most common one is
MK-7. This is the one you ' ll want to look for in supplements, because in a supplement form, the MK-4 products are actually synthetic. They are not derived from natural food products containing MK-4.
Vitamin K1 exclusively participates in blood clotting- that is its sole purpose. K2 on the other hand comes from a whole different set of food sources, and its biological role is to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, such as your bones and teeth.
The MK-7- these long-chain, natural bacterial-derived vitamin K2- is from a fermentation process, which offers a number of health advantages: a. It stays in the body longer b. It has a longer half-life, which meansyou can just take it once a day in very convenient dosing.

YOUR BONES AND HEART WILL LOVE YOU **

# 1 SA’ S SCRIPTED CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT * * Ref. Impact Rx, May 2016

MenaCal. 7™ is formulated with vitamin K2 to help keep calcium in your bones where it belongs and out of your arteries, reducing the risk of calcification and associated heart attack **
** Marsesz, Katarzyna PhD. Feb 2015, Integrative Medicine( Encinitas), Vol. 14 No. 1. Proper Calcium Use: Vitamin K2 as a Promoter of Bone and Cardiovascular Health. US National Library of Medicine, PMC4566462: 34 – 39. This medicine has not been evaluated by the Medicines Control Council. This medicine is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Health supplements are intended only to complement health or supplement the diet. MenaCal. 7 tablets: Composition: vitamin K2 as MenaQ7™ 45μg; Calcium carbonate 1300mg; vitamin D3 as chloecalciferol 1000IU. MenaCal. 7 Chews: Composition: vitamin K2 as MenaQ7™ 45μg; Calcium carbonate 1300mg; vitamin D3 as chloecalciferol 1000IU. MenaCal. 7 Chews4Kids: Composition: vitamin K2 as MenaQ7™ 45μg; Calcium carbonate 625mg; vitamin D3 as chloecalciferol 1000IU. Contains sugar. Ascendis Supply Chain( Pty) Ltd. Consumer care line / Verbruikersnavraelyn: 011 036 9420. healthinfo @ ascendishealth. com
HOW MUCH VITAMIN K2 DO YOU NEED?
The optimal amounts of vitamin K2 are still under investigation, but it seems likely that 180 to 200 micrograms of vitamin K2 should be enough to activate the body’ s K2-dependent proteins to shuttle the calcium where it needs to be, and remove it from the places where it shouldn’ t. A Western diet contains as little 10 % of that or less.
She estimates that about 80 % of Americans do not get enough vitamin K2 in their diet to activate their K2 proteins, which is similar to the deficiency rate of vitamin D. Vitamin K2 deficiency leaves patients vulnerable for a number of chronic diseases, including:
Osteoporosis
• Heart disease
• Heart attack and stroke
Inappropriate calcification, from heel spurs to kidney stones
• Brain disease
• Cancer When lacking vitamin K2, patients are at much greater risk for osteoporosis.
Researchers are also looking into other health benefits. For example, one recent study published in the journal Modern Rheumatology found that vitamin K2 has the potential to improve disease activity besides osteoporosis in those with rheumatoid arthritis( RA). Another, published in the journal Science, found that vitamin K2 serves as a mitochondrial electron carrier, thereby helping maintain normal ATP production in mitochondrial dysfunction, such as that found in Parkinson ' s Disease.
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32 MAY 2017 | MEDICAL CHRONICLE