Vitamin K2-MK-7 has finally emerged to be recognised for what it is – a life saver!

The French and Japanese have the lowest rates of heart disease in the world, yet they are known to be significant smokers. That, and the fact that the French have a high fat diet: indeed just the opposite of that which has been recommended in the western world for 40 years, but which has given us increased rates of type 2 diabetes, a global obesity epidemic and no significant change in the rate of heart disease. How could this be? It should have occurred to someone in the epidemiological world that perhaps smoking is not a major risk factor for heart disease, but is part and parcel of poor lifestyle choices – i.e., eating lots of sugar, desserts, bread, pizza, pasta and fruit with a good smattering of processed junk (things that come out of plastic, cellophane bags and plastic bottles and jars).

Perhaps a donut and coffee with a cigarette in the morning break might not be in one’s best interest but given the low rates of heart disease in the Japanese and French, the cigarette might not be as deleterious for heart disease (while being an absolute risk for lung cancer) as we once might have thought. But what then, is the protective factor that gives the Japanese and the French such an advantage?

Recently identified as cardio-protective is a member of the family of Vitamin Ks: Vitamin K2 especially in the natural form known as MK-7, not the synthetic version MK-4. K2 works in partnership with Vitamin D to regulate calcium transport in and out of bone, with one surprising result: it can reverse calcium buildup in the coronary arteries. It may slow the progress of, and even reverse osteoporosis and it also seems to decrease the risk of prostate cancer. What’s not to like?

As you can see aged and curdy cheeses are a good source, as are organ meats like liver (think pâté), kidneys, bone marrow, butter and caviar. It takes a lot of meat, milk and eggs to get sufficient K2. You can see why this vitamin is lacking in the typical Westerner’s diet!

Natto, a fermented soy bean dish, is a great sourcce of K2-  but it is an acquired taste; sort of like Vegemite!

The dose range can be anywhere form 150 to 1000 micrograms a day. It is EpigenX recommendation to use a combination of 5,000 I.U of Vitamin D3 and 150 ug of MK-7 K2.