Thinning bones, hardened arteries, decreased ATP production within the mitochondria (causing suboptimal energy and physical performance); What do these three degenerative health conditions have in common? It turns out that an insufficiency of a simple nutrient, vitamin K2, may be a key to reversing all three conditions. “Research has shown poor vitamin K2 intake may be associated with conditions such as bone fractures, bone loss and hardening of the arteries” says Sarah Booth, a vitamin K Researcher and Professor at Tufts University.

Bone Health

Without enough vitamin K2, calcium cannot be utilised for bone growth even if you are taking a healthy amount of Vitamin D, magnesium etc, leading to osteoporosis. Vitamin K2 is crucial for moving calcium into the bones instead of letting it deposit in arterial walls in the heart. 

(Image below taken from a lecture by Kiran Krishnan, available on YouTube)

Reduction in death from heart disease

A landmark Heart Study (over 4,800 subjects across a period of 10 years) demonstrated that participants who had the greatest quantities of vitamin K2 in their diet experienced a 57% greater reduction in death from heart disease than people who had the least. And below are the conclusions of a study of 16,057 women….

Protective against diabetes and cancer risk?

(Image below taken from a lecture by Kiran Krishnan, available on YouTube)

What Dosage Should I Take?

There are significant and worthwhile benefits from taking as little as 45mcg per day, and we do have a supplement that delivers that amount per capsule relatively inexpensively. That seems to be the starting point. However without being dismissive of 45mcg, much better results still are found on 150mcg or more. The upper dosage for the very best results possible seem to be when 300mcg per day is taken. I have not seen any evidence of any further benefits above 300mcg per day. The videos on our web site on our pages on Vitamin K2-7 go into the research on this in more depth and are very, very worthwhile viewing. 

Which K2 products are the best ones?

There are two that I recommend if you are looking for “top of the range” stuff. If you want to go into in depth, the web pages and videos explain why these K2-7 products are premium, and frankly far better than some of the cheap and almost worthless crap you can buy on Amazon. 

MegaQuinone was created to include a therapeutic dose of 320 mcg of vitamin K2-7, plus 200 mcg of Vitamin K1 (at label dosage of 2 per day) and magnesium and zinc as co-factors, to allow the K vitamins to function at their optimal level.

• The ONLY 320 mcg, natural MenaQuinGold® K2-7 supplement
• Contains both vitamin K2-7 + vitamin K1
• Soy-free, Allergen-free, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, GMO-free (most K2 supplements, and allof the cheaper one are derived from soya)
• Vegan, Paleo, Kosher and Halal friendly
• The ONLY K2-7 supplement with Ultra Absorption Complex
• Utilises pharmaceutical grade, all-natural vitamin K2-7 with published safety studies

If you are deficient in vitamin K1 (and most people are), and you take a vitamin K2 supplement, the liver will essentially steal the K2 to satisfy its own needs. Therefore, Cura Vitamin K2-7+ includes enough K1 in the formula to satisfy the liver’s needs, even in the most depleted individuals. This addition of vitamin K1 ensures that vitamin K2 is then available for the vital functions that it needs to perform in the body.

Vitamin K2 is only now achieving the recognition it deserves, as an omnipotent nutrient that exerts control and function in virtually every tissue type in our body, including the digestive tract. Dozens of large-scale studies have clearly illustrated its role in bone health, heart health via calcification and diabetes. K2 acts as an “activator” or carboxylating agent to activate key vitamin K dependent proteins. Given these major health benefits, it could be said that Vitamin K2 is one of the most important dietary supplements available to us, because Vitamin K2 is not typically found in sufficient quantities in the Western diet.

MyoMax® is a high-dose, 100% soy-free vitamin K2-7 supplement formulated to support healthy mitochondrial function and ATP (energy) production. The MyoMax formula includes 300 mcg of vitamin K2 with calcium pyruvate (at label dosage of 1 per day). Though very similar to Cura K2-7, this one is the preferable option for those seeking to improve sports performance, stamina and mitochondrial activity. 

• A high-dose natural vitamin K2-7 supplement (300 mcg) with calcium pyruvate – (preferable in those who are taking it to increase mitochondrial activity). 
• Safe for those who are taking a blood thinner medication (Contains NO vitamin K1 which is in Cura K2-7)
• Soy-free, Allergen-free, Gluten-free, Dairy -free, GMO-free (most K2 supplements, and allof the cheaper one are derived from soya)
• Vegan, Paleo, Kosher and Halal friendly
• Utilises pharmaceutical grade, all-natural vitamin K2-7 with published safety studies

Why MyoMax?

• 40-50% increase in ATP production within mitochondria
• 12% increase in cardiac output
• Improves aerobic capacity from cellular level
• Extends duration of peak fitness by 20-30%
• Increases efficiency in training and sports performance

MyoMax has been clinically shown to improve cardiovascular performance in healthy adults. The results were impressive, with the researching professor describing the effect of the 8-weeks of supplementation with MyoMax as being equivalent to 6 months of high intensity interval training.

Whilst nearly all vitamin K2 products on the market are either synthetic or soy-based the MenaQuinGold® K2-7 ingredient used in both Cura Vitamin K2-7+ and MyoMax is sourced from a pharmaceutical grade ingredient extracted from fermented chickpeas.  There are other benefits of taking a K2 supplement – such as helping prevent tooth cavities (remember, tooth is a form of bone, as discussed above). 

You can view ALL of the Vitamin K2 products we provide here. Personally I am taking MegaQuinone every day for general health. I was originally taking 320mcg per day (2 capsules per day), but after taking it for about 6 months, I reduced it to 160mcg per day (1 capsule per day of Cura K2-7+) since by then I felt confident that I had a healthy build-up in my tissues, especially as I am quite a small guy, and also because I was getting a small extra dosage from one of the other supplements I take. I plan to continue doing this indefinitely. It’s not something I notice benefitting from taking, but I am very happy to not get osteoporosis, heart disease, diabetes and so on as the primary benefit. I regard it as an investment in my long term health. It’s one of about 15 products that I take on a permanent basis for health and longevity (yes I know not everyone can or is willing to do this), but this is the first time I’ve written an article on this vital nutrient. I have covered many of the others in previous newsletters (such as the ‘obvious’ ones like Vitamin C and Vitamin D), and eventually, I will get around to all of them. 

PS Important note for vegans and vegetarians.

I was just about to send this newsletter, and then realised I had failed to mention one very important factoid. Because Vitamin K2 has no naturally vegan sources apart from fermented soy natto, pretty much all vegans and most vegetarians are chronically low in K2 – and that’s not good. Although almost everyone following a vegan diet is aware of the importance of supplementing with Vitamin B12, most vegetarians and vegan’s don’t know this (including myself until a few years ago). The body can convert Vitamin K1 (which is abundant in the vegan diet) into K2, but this is not done very easily or efficiently by the body, so people on plant based diets still tend to be very low in K2. I therefore recommend all veggies and vegans to take Vitamin K2 to optimise their health. 

I hope this article is of interest.

Best wishes
Mark G. Lester
Director – The Finchley Clinic Ltd
www.thefinchleyclinic.com