Category Archives: vitamin K2

AHS 2022 Lecture, Acute and Long Covid, Nutritional and Lifestyle Immunology

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I recently gave a talk at the AHS 2022 meeting held at UCLA. You can view the video here:

This first slide gives a good overview.

The presentation covers a quick review of my presentations given last year at the PAH 2021 annual meeting (virtual) with additional information on long Covid.

Multiple nutrients acting synergistically support a balanced response to viral infections, including SARS CoV-2. Here is a picture.

The take home message is that no single nutritional intervention is likely to have significant impact with an acute infection unless all but one nutritional component is optimal. Nevertheless, there is compelling evidence that Vitamin D deficiency is rampant in the developed world and if one nutritional intervention is likely to be of benefit, Vitamin D supplementation, particularly in high risk populations, presents the most likely candidate. As usual, preventive supplementation would be preferable to rescue high dose intervention.

In a study of frail elderly hospitalized patients, regular vitamin D supplementation was associated with decreased mortality as demonstrated here. Compared to no supplementation, regular supplementation was associated with a 93% reduction in risk of death.

A study from Spain with very high dose Vitamin D in the form of Calcifediol showed significant benefit in hospitalized patients, suggesting that Vitamin D deficiency was prevalent in that population and that such a treatment intervention should be widely considered.

Calcifediol Treatment and COVID-19-Related Outcomes

Click to access dgab405.pdf

The following graphic from another nutrition review article, with red additions added by myself, demonstrates the complex interaction between nutrition and the two main components of our immune system, innate immunity (immediate response) and adaptive immunity (based on immune memory). Again red highlights added by yours truely.

And here is a slide from my lecture with quotes from that article.

Yet most Americans are deficient in many of these essential nutrients as depicted here. The percentages represent the % of Americans that fall below the estimated amount required to prevent deficiency in HALF of adults (a very low standard).

The EAR is a very low bar to meet, yet many Americans fall below even that low standard.

The SARS CoV2 virus interferes with a crucial component of the the initial (innate) immune response, the production of interferon 1 and the signaling of interferon one to immune cell mediators as depicted in this graphic.

SARS CoV2 on the left is compared to Virus X on the right. On the left interferon 1 (IFN) production and signaling is blocked by the virus, interfering with an effective and controlled immune response, on the right IFN is not blocked. A cascade of events results in TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, AND THEN TOO MUCH of an immune response, producing a cytokine storm.

Obesity, insulin and leptin resistance, also interfere with the production and signaling of interferon. The result is that people with insulin and leptin resistance (pre-diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes as well as sarcopenia) experience a double hit. First the virus itself disrupts the immune response and superimposed upon the viral effect is the effect of insulin and leptin resistance on the immune response.

SOCS: suppressor of cytokine signaling. Several recent viral studies have shown that viral genes can hijack SOCS1 to inhibit host antiviral pathways, as a strategy to evade host immunity
On the left Interferon production and signaling are normal and a successful immune response is mounted. On the right the presence of insulin and leptin resistance, associated with obesity results in an initial inadequate response and a late excessive response. TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, THEN TOO MUCH.

Factors that can quickly impact insulin and leptin resistance include all the components of an ancestral lifestyle depicted in my website graphic. A paleolithic or ancestral diet that eliminates sugar added foods and beverages, replacing those empty calories with nutrient dense foods, exercise, adequate restorative sleep, stress reduction, avoidance of environmental toxins, social connection. All of these affect health in general, mitigate insulin and leptin resistance, and support a balanced immune response to viral infection. The circle of health depicted below is surrounded by the many deleterious aspects of modern living. Thus, a mismatch between our evolutionary biology and present day life.

Here is a slide from my lecture that lists many lifestyle factors that can impact infection with any virus, including SARS CoV-2

My lecture also included discussion of Long COVID, theories of etiology and pathophysiology which will be discussed in my next post.

For the full lecture which is about 34 minutes long, please follow the link above.

THIS WEBSITE PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. CONSULT YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.

Eat clean, drink filtered water, love, laugh, exercise outdoors in a greenspace, get some morning sunlight, block the blue light before bed, engage in meaningful work, find a sense of purpose, spend time with those you love, AND sleep well tonight.

Doctor Bob

The Bacteria in your Gut are essential to your health Part I

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Our human body consists of about 100 trillion cells but we carry about 1000 trillion bacteria in our intestines, that represents 10 times the amount of our own cells. (1) These bacteria are variously called our micro-flora, microbiome, gut flora, etc, along with viruses and other organisms that co-exist and co-evolved with us. Advances in rapid gene identification have enabled an explosion of knowledge related to our micro-flora, health and disease. We each carry an estimated 500 to 1000 different species of bacteria in our intestines and the balance/mix of these bacterial species can have profoundly positive or negative affects on our health. Patterns of micro-flora have been identified for a variety of human disorders including obesity, diabetes type I, several kinds of cancer and  inflammatory bowel disease to name a few. The issue of association vs. causation remains to be resolved but the beneficial and therapeutic effects of pro-biotics and fecal transplant (in rodent and human studies) in a variety of situations along with the observed deleterious effects of interrupting our micro-flora speak in favor of a causative or contributory role. (2) (3)

Accumulating evidences indicate that some diseases are triggered by abnormalities of the gut microbiota. Among these, immune-related diseases can be the promising targets for probiotcs. Several studies have proved the efficacy of probiotics for preventing such diseases including cancers, infections, allergies, inflammatory bowel diseases and autoimmune diseases. Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) is one of the most popular probiotics, benefits of which in health maintenance and disease control have been supported by several science-based evidences.(2)

Early microbial colonization of the gut reduces the incidence of infectious, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Recent population studies reveal that childhood hygiene is a significant risk factor for development of inflammatory bowel disease, thereby reinforcing the hygiene hypothesis and the potential importance of microbial colonization during early life. (3)

Early-life environment significantly affects both microbial composition of the adult gut and mucosal innate immune function. We observed that a microbiota dominated by lactobacilli may function to maintain mucosal immune homeostasis and limit pathogen colonization. (3)

The human GI tract starts with the mouth and ends with the rectum. In between lay the esophagus, stomach, and intestines which consist of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon.

The surface area of the intestines equals that of a tennis court providing a huge area for absorption, digestion and interaction between our immune system and the micro-flora. This large surface area is the result of the intestinal micro-villi which produce an undulating surface resembling a series of peaks and valleys. The constant interplay between our immune system (4) and our micro-flora from birth to death along with the signaling and communication that occurs between our micro-flora and our nervous system (5,6,7) present two physiologic mechanisms for potential symbiosis (mutually beneficial interaction) vs dysbiosis (disease causing relationship).

Before birth the mouth, skin and intestine of the fetus is sterile. The first major introduction of bacteria to the infant occurs with birth  when the infant swallows bacteria in the mother’s birth canal and the infant’s skin becomes colonized by the mother’s bacteria. Infants born by cesarean section lack this initial exposure and they suffer increased risk of allergic and auto-immune disease (8). The rate of cesarean section in the US is now about 30 % and along with that increase there has been an observed increase in allergy, auto-immune and other diseases.

The second major addition to human gut and skin flora occurs with breast feeding and again breast-fed infants show decreased rates of allergy and auto-immune disease as well as decreased infections compared to bottle fed infants.

The interaction between the micro-flora and the immune system presents many complex relationships and interactions. Immune tolerance allows the immune system to recognize “self” and “friendly bacteria”  limiting the development of auto-immune disease and enhancing anti-inflammatory processes. At the other extreme recognition of “non-self”  allows for the recognition and disposal of “foreign” invaders such as infections or mutated cancer cells.

“The Old Friends Hypothesis”
Common organisms interact with dendritic cells in the GI tract, leading to increased maturation of dendritic cells. When there is interaction with these organisms again, the dendritic cells increase Treg maturation; not Th1 or Th2. This increases the baseline amount of anti-inflammatory cytokines, producing a Bystander Suppression. Another consequence of the increased number of mature dendritic cells is as they interact with self antigens, they increase the number Treg specific to these antigens. This is referred to as Specific Suppression. Together these two arms lead to tolerance of both self antigens as well as those of helpful gut organisms. (8)

Translation:  Treg or Regulatory T cells regulate the immune system and help prevent auto-immune disease and allergic reactions. Th1 and Th2,  T helper cells , on the other hand, increase inflammation and help our bodies defend against infection. The balance between Tregs and Th1, Th2 cells governs inflammatory responses.

Premature infants have an increased risk of a developing a very severe illness called necrotizing enterocolitis. Human studies have demonstrated significant risk reduction for this problem with the administration of pro-biotics to infants in neonatal intensive care units. (9)

Similarly, administration of pro-biotics during the first few years of life (to mother and child)  have been associated with decreased risk of eczema in children. While some studies suggest reduction of allergies and asthma in children, the regular use of probiotics remains undecided relative to preventing food allergies or asthma (10, 11).

Due to the recent exponential increase in food allergies and atopic disorders, effective allergy prevention has become a public health priority in many developed regions. Important preventive strategies include the promotion of breastfeeding and vaginal deliveries, judicious use of perinatal antibiotics, as well as the avoidance of maternal tobacco smoking. Breastfeeding for at least 6 months and introduction of complementary solids from 4-6 months are generally recommended. Complex oligosaccharides in breast milk support the establishment of bifidobacteria in the neonatal gut which stimulate regulatory T lymphocyte responses and enhance tolerance development…Perinatal supplementation with probiotics and/or prebiotics may reduce the risk of atopic dermatitis, but no reliable effect on the prevention of food allergy or respiratory allergies has so far been found. A randomized trial on maternal fish oil supplementation during pregnancy found that atopic dermatitis and egg sensitization in the first year of life were significantly reduced, but no preventive effect for food allergies was demonstrated. (10)

Thus birth by cesarean section increases risk and  breast feeding decreases risk of immune related problems (allergies, auto-immune disease and infection ). Use of probiotics for mother and child decrease the risk of eczema but the use of probiotics in preventing asthma or food allergy remains unsettled. There are a host of possible probiotics available that include various combinations of “healthy bacteria”. Future posts will discuss some of these.

Our micro-flora are constantly exposed to potential changing agents. Known influences include antibiotics (as medications or in the foods that we eat), stress, sleep, and diet. Because of the ubiquitous use of antibiotics in agriculture and animal husbandry, and the sometimes excessive use of antibiotics in medicine our microbiome is frequently changed by external factors. Many experts on the microbiome  consider these influences harmful and attribute the rising rates of several diseases as consequences of disruption in our gut flora.

Clostridium Difficile Colitis , a serious infection or overgrowth of the bacterium Clostridium difficile in the intestine occurs most commonly as a result of antibiotic administration to treat infections. This serious problem responds to anti-biotic treatment (ironically both the cause and cure) 90% of the time with the first round of treatment but there is a high incidence of recurrence due to the fact that C-difficile spores are resistant to antibiotics and can cause recurrent infection. In refractory or recurrent C-difficile cases a fecal transplant (FMT or fecal microbiota transplant) from a healthy human results in a 90 to 95% cure rate with the first treatment.

Antibiotic usage disrupts the normal gut flora and leads to an increased predisposition to CDI. The risk of recurrent CDI after initial treatment of the first infection is approximately 20–25% [Kelly and Lamont, 2008; Khanna et al. 2012g] and is further increased up to 60% with the use of additional systemic antibiotics and subsequent CDI recurrences [Hu et al. 2009]. The pathophysiology of recurrent CDI involves ongoing disruption of the normal fecal flora and an inadequate host immune response. Standard CDI treatment with antibiotics such as metronidazole and vancomycin further disrupts colonic microbial communities that normally keep expansion of C. difficile populations in check. Since C. difficile spores are resistant to antibiotic therapy for CDI, they can germinate to vegetative forms after treatment has been discontinued and lead to recurrent CDI. (12)

The authors of this study review the data for fecal microbiota transplant and summarize by stating:

Therefore, existing literature suggests that fecal transplant is safe and effective with over 500 cases of recurrent CDI with no serious adverse events reported to date. FMT appears to be an appropriate treatment option for multiple CDI recurrences and may be considered for refractory moderate to severe C. difficile diarrhea, failing standard therapy. The FDA had recently announced that an Investigational New Drug Application would be required for use of FMT for CDI, but this was later changed to the use of an informed consent process to ensure communication of potential risks.

In the area of obesity rodent studies have demonstrated that fecal transplants from thin to obese subjects results in significant weight loss. Measurable differences in the microbiome of obese vs thin humans have been identified.

The prevalence of obesity and related disorders such as metabolic syndrome has vastly increased throughout the world. Recent insights have generated an entirely new perspective suggesting that our microbiota might be involved in the development of these disorders. Studies have demonstrated that obesity and metabolic syndrome may be associated with profound microbiotal changes, and the induction of a metabolic syndrome phenotype through fecal transplants corroborates the important role of the microbiota in this disease. (13)

The issue of gut flora and obesity deserves a dedicated post. Multiple research articles and review articles have been published on the topic of fecal transplantation in relation to obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, autoimmune disease and cancer. (14,15,16)

Diabetes, obesity, allergy, auto-immune disease, infections, psychiatric disorders and cancer represent examples of the potential interplay between the human microbiome, human health and disease. Multiple sources of information suggest a cause and effect relationship. The results of fecal transplantation in human and rodent studies, manipulation of the gut flora with pro-biotics and pre-biotics, data on the effects of vaginal vs cesarean delivery, and the benefits of breast feeding all proclaim the importance of our micro-flora.

Most traditional cultures have one or more forms of fermented foods. Examples include yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kim chee, beet kvass, kombucha. Almost any food can be fermented to produce health promoting probiotics and there is a growing movement for home-fermentation and/or consumption of purchased fermented foods. In addition to the pro-biotic nature of fermented foods and beverages, fermentation offers other potential health benefits. These include reduction of the anti-nutrients found  in various neolithic  foods (such as mineral binding phytic acid found in grains and legumes, digestive enzyme inhibitors found in soy and other legumes). Other potential health benefits include the production of Vitamin K2 found in many fermented foods.

This discussion barely scratches the surface of gut flora, health and disease. Future posts will address how our gut bacteria produce essential nutrients and affect mental health as well as physical health. Other important topics include how our activity, food, sleep and stress affect the our gut ecology. The system is dynamic with effects going in both directions.

Following the references below you will find links to NPR discussions of related topics. You can choose to read the articles and/or listen to the NPR interviews and reports.

Peace, happiness and longevity.

BOB

(1) Microbes in Gastrointestinal Health and Disease

(2) Probiotics as efficient immunopotentiators: Translational role in cancer prevention

(3) Environmentally-acquired bacteria influence microbial diversity and natural innate immune responses at gut surfaces.

(4) Has the microbiota played a critical role in the evolution of the adaptive immune system?

(5) It’s a Gut Feeling – how the gut microbiota affect… [J Physiol. 2014] – PubMed – NCBI

(6) Metabolic tinkering by the gut microbiome: Impl… [Gut Microbes. 2014] – PubMed – NCBI

(7) The gut-brain axis rewired: adding a functional vaga… [FASEB J. 2014] – PubMed – NCBI

(8) Cesarean versus vaginal delivery: long-term infant outcomes and the hygiene hypothesis.

(9) Probiotics for prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants.

(10) Preventing atopy and allergic disease.

(11) Gut microbiota and allergic disease: new findings.

(12) Clostridium Difficile Colitis ,

(13) Gut microbiome, obesity, and metabolic dysfunc… [J Clin Invest. 2011] – PubMed – NCBI

(14) Fecal microbiota transplantation: indications, methods, evidence, and future directions.

(15) Fecal microbiota transplantation: past, present and future.

(16) Therapeutic potential of fecal microbiota transplantation.

Here are the NPR and other links.

Interview: Martin Blaser, Author Of ‘Missing Microbes’ : NPR

FDA Backs Off On Regulation Of Fecal Transplants : Shots – Health News : NPR

Human Microbiome Project – Home | NIH Common Fund

Staying Healthy May Mean Learning To Love Our Microbiomes : Shots – Health News : NPR

Gut Bacteria Might Guide The Workings Of Our Minds : Shots – Health News : NPR

Worried That Your Baby’s Sick? There May Be An Upside : Shots – Health News : NPR

Can goose liver, grass-fed meat, aged hard cheese, free range eggs and cod liver oil prevent a heart attack?

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The data suggests that the answer is yes. The first four of these health foods are rich sources of vitamin K2 and the last food item is packed with Vitamins A and D. The proposed mechanism for their protective effect rests in a wonderful biological quartet. The instruments of this quartet include  the fat soluble vitamins D, K2, and A playing harmoniously  with a ubiquitous human protein called Matrix gla protein  (MGP).

The basic science is exquisite. Vitamins D and A acting together enhance the expression of MGP.  In other words, these two fat-soluble vitamins cause our bodies to increase the production of MGP.  MGP resides throughout our bodies including the walls of our arteries. Vitamin K2 then activates the MGP which in turn regulates (prevents) the calcification of plaque in the walls of our arteries. MGP masterfully plays this role in many arteries and it’s artistry is particularly effective in the coronary arteries that supply blood and oxygen to heart muscle.

Heavily calcified coronary plaque (the nasty stuff that produces atherosclerosis) as compared to un-calcified plaque is much more likely to rupture and create an acute blockage, thereby causing a heart attack. By inhibiting calcification of coronary plaque activated MGP decreases the risk of a heart attack. The biochemistry and physiology of this process are well accepted and discussed in the opening of several papers that address this topic. (1,2,3)

The data that support this theory includes a lot of basic science that describes the interaction between the four players as well as nutritional studies in humans and rodents.

The first major human study was the Rotterdam study published in the Journal of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences, 2004. Here is a quote from the summary.

“Vitamin K-dependent proteins, including matrix Gla-protein, have been shown to inhibit vascular calcification. Activation of these proteins via carboxylation depends on the availability of vitamin K. We examined whether dietary intake of phylloquinone (vitamin K-1) and menaquinone (vitamin K-2) were related to aortic calcification and coronary heart disease (CHD) in the population-based Rotterdam Study.”

The study followed 4801 adults for over 7 years and analyzed the relationship between Vitamin K intake and incidence of heart attacks, (fatal and non-fatal), death from all causes, and atherosclerosis in the aorta (the major artery of the body). The results were impressive. The analysis divided the 4801 people into three equal groups, 1/3 with the highest consumption of Vitamin K, 1/3 with the lowest consumption, and 1/3 in the middle. The higher and middle groups compared to the group with the lowest consumption had:

  • significantly fewer non-fatal heart attacks,
  • significantly fewer deaths from heart attack,
  • significantly fewer deaths from all causes.

In addition, the group with the highest consumption of Vitamin K2 had significantly less calcified plaque in the walls of their aortas.

Comparing the group of the highest intake of vitamin K2 to the group with the lowest intake, the highest intake group had 41% less risk of non-fatal heart attack, 57% lower risk of death from heart attack and 26% lower risk of  death from all causes after adjusting for multiple factors that are believed to play a role in heart attack risk.  (Those other factors included age, gender, total energy intake, BMI, smoking status, pack-years smoking, diabetes, education, alcohol consumption. consumption of saturated fat, poly unsaturated fat, flavonoids (anti-oxidants) and calcium.)

Vitamin K2  consumption showed these significant associations whereas Vitamin K1 did not. Vitamin K2 is found most abundantly in animal foods that contain  erroneously demonized saturated fat, Vitamin K1 is found in plants that do not contain much if any saturated fat. So this represents not only a strong statistical signal for the health benefit of Vitamin K2, but also supports the health benefit of consuming animal foods with saturated fat. The individuals who consumed more meat and more full fat fermented cheese (the two major sources of vitamin K2 in this study) had dramatically reduced risk of heart attack (both fatal and non-fatal), reduced risk of death from all causes, and less calcified plaque in the major artery of the body, the aorta. Vitamin K2 is a fat soluble vitamin which means it comes with the fat in these foods. Eating low fat foods misses this healthy opportunity.

Five years after the Rotterdam study was published, another study demonstrated similar findings. The title tells the story.

“A high menaquinone (vitamin K2) intake reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease.”

This study followed 16,057 women aged 49-70 years for 8 years. The study participants had no known heart disease at the start of the study. The results:

“After adjustment for traditional risk factors and (other) dietary factors, we observed an inverse association between vitamin K(2) and risk of CHD with a Hazard Ratio (HR) of 0.91 [95% CI 0.85-1.00] per 10 microg/d vitamin K(2) intake.”

Translation: for every increase in daily consumption of vitamin K2 by 10 micrograms per day, there was an average 9% reduction in risk of coronary disease events.

Let’s look at how much Vitamin K2 was consumed in the three groups described in the first study. Going from the lowest to the highest daily consumption the groups averaged 15.1, 26.9 and 40.9 micrograms per day. To put this in perspective, you can view a table of the Vitamin K2 content of various foods produced by Chris Masterjohn, a portion of which appears below. Before you do that, let me explain some facts about Vitamin K2.

Vitamin K2 actually represents a group of very similar vitamins that differ chemically only  in the number of specific chemical side chains. The  number of these side chains varies from 4 to 10, so these are referred to as MK-4 through MK-10. From Wikepedia:

All K vitamins are similar in structure: they share a “quinone” ring, but differ in the length and degree of saturation of the carbon tail and the number of “side chains”.[1] The number of side chains is indicated in the name of the particular menaquinone (e.g., MK-4 means that four molecular units – called isoprene units – are attached to the carbon tail) and this influences the transport to different target tissues.

MK-4 is made in the tissue of grass-eating mammals that convert Vitamin K1 (from the green plants) to Vitamin K2 (MK-4). This can be obtained from animal muscle, organ meats, or the milk and milk products of mammals, including human breast milk.

The other forms of Vitamin K-2 (side-chain length > 4) are made by bacteria during the fermentation of foods (such as cheese, sauerkraut, kim chee and Natto). Here is the table from Chris Masterjohn. Go here for the original table.

The percentage of vitamin K2 present as MK-4 represents that synthesized by animal tissues, while the remainder represents that synthesized by bacteria during fermentation.

FOOD VITAMIN K2 (MCG/100G)
Natto 1103.4 (0% MK-4)
Goose Liver Paste 369.0 (100% MK-4)
Hard Cheeses 76.3 (6% MK-4)
Soft Cheeses 56.5 (6.5% MK-4)
Egg Yolk (Netherlands) 32.1 (98% MK-4)
Goose Leg 31.0 (100% MK-4)
Curd Cheeses 24.8 (1.6% MK-4)
Egg Yolk (United States) 15.5 (100% MK-4)
Butter 15.0 (100% MK-4)
Chicken Liver 14.1 (100% MK-4)
Salami 9.0 (100% MK-4)
Chicken Breast 8.9 (100% MK-4)
Chicken Leg 8.5 (100% MK-4)
Ground Beef (Medium Fat) 8.1 (100% MK-4)
Bacon 5.6 (100% MK-4)
Calf Liver 5.0 (100% MK-4)
Sauerkraut 4.8 (8% MK-4)
Whole Milk 1.0 (100% MK-4)

Where did our paleolithic hunter-gatherer ancestors get their Vitamin K2? They did not consume dairy products. Vitamin K2 is heavily concentrated in the pancreas, brain and liver of humans and animals. Hunter-gatherers do not waste these valuable fatty organs, in fact offal was deemed the most treasured part of a successful hunt among many hunter-gatherer societies studied during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Not many Americans eat offal such as pancreas, brain and liver so similar to Holland (where these studies were conducted) most Vitamin K2 in the American diet probably comes from hard cheese and egg yolks.

But what is the weakness in drawing conclusions from these two studies?

First they were epidemiological studies, the data was obtained from FFQs (food frequency questionnaires). They were not randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs). There have been no RCTs that have looked specifically at Vitamin K2 relative to coronary artery disease and deaths. Having said that, you should be aware that most nutrition studies that have been published (in particular those that  demonize saturated fat ) fall into the same category, they are epidemiological studies based upon food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and such studies have been criticized with regards to reliability of data and for lack of controlling the multiple dietary and non-dietary factors that can influence health outcomes.(4)

Unlike the two studies discussed here that statistically adjusted for multiple known or argued risk factors, the epidemiologic studies that are alleged to suggest potential harm from saturated fat did not control or adjust for other statistical “con-founders”. In addition, the review papers that have so overwhelmed our society causing fat-phobia have ignored the large body of evidence that demonstrates the health benefits of consuming animal foods that contain fat soluble vitamins as well as many other vital nutrients. (4)

Regarding randomized controlled trials, there have been many convincing RCTs in rodents that demonstrate not only prevention of calcified plaques in arterial walls but actual reversal of atherosclerosis in rodents with high doses of vitamin K2. (5)  Furthermore, a certain breed of experimental rodent that completely lacks MGP suffers from early death caused by severe atherosclerosis further supporting the fundamental role of activated MGP in maintaining vascular health. (6)

1. Dietary Intake of Menaquinone Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: The Rotterdam Study

2. A high menaquinone intake reduces … [Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009] – PubMed – NCBI

3. Vitamin K status and vascular calcification: eviden… [Adv Nutr. 2012] – PubMed – NCBI

4. Dietary Fats and Health: Dietary Recommendations in the Context of Scientific Evidence

5. Regression of warfarin-induced medial elastocalcinosis… [Blood. 2007] – PubMed – NCBI

6. Two sides of MGP null arterial disease: chondrogenic lesions dependent on transglutaminase 2 and elastin fragmentation associated with induction of adipsin.