Vitamin K2: Bone and Cardiovascular Health

Vitamin K2: An Essential Nutrient for Bone and Cardiovascular Health Support According to the "Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics" report updated in 2015 by the American Heart Association and compiled from health information of 190 countries, cardiovascular disease maintains its position as number one among causes of death globally, with 17.3 million deaths annually. The report projects this figure to exceed 23.6 million by 2030. Meanwhile, the International Osteoporosis Foundation reports that osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures worldwide annually, equivalent to one fracture related to bone loss every three seconds. Globally, one in three women and one in five men over 50 years of age experience fractures related to bone loss.

What if the world population could protect both bone health and cardiovascular health by simply taking a single vitamin?

Yes, this is entirely possible: Vitamin K2 (as MK-7 – menaquinone-7) is a recently recognized vitamin demonstrated by clinical studies to support both bone and cardiovascular health by activating proteins that enable the body to utilize calcium optimally. Unfortunately, a large population experiences a deficiency of this important nutrient through diet alone, making nutritional supplements a necessary alternative. Researchers' purpose in conducting this research, supported by NattoPharma ASA, which supplies its MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 (as MK-7) product, is to confirm the contributions of MK-7 as Vitamin K2 to bone and cardiovascular health. Therefore, when a food supplement is needed to support bone and cardiovascular health, you can consider products containing MenaQ7®, the only Vitamin K2 (as MK-7) clinically proven.

What is Vitamin K2?

K vitamins are a group of fat-soluble vitamins. The two most important forms are vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and vitamin K2 (menaquinone). Vitamin K1 is found in plant sources, while vitamin K2 is a fermentation product found in foods such as natto (a traditional Japanese food obtained by fermentation of soy) or cheese. Vitamin K2 is a group of compounds called menaquinones (designated by numbers between 1 and 13). Vitamin K2 plays a role in activating proteins that enable the body to utilize calcium optimally. Osteocalcin and Matrix Gla (MGP) proteins are examples of such proteins. Calcium is first directed to bones and teeth where it is most needed, and then is swept from there like a broom toward soft tissues less in need, such as arteries and blood vessels. These proteins, which require cofactors to function properly, already exist in the body. These cofactors are helper molecules such as vitamins and minerals. For example, vitamin K2 is a cofactor of an enzyme called vitamin K-dependent carboxylase. Vitamin K-dependent proteins (VKDP) are activated through a process called gamma-carboxylation. In this process, the addition of a different carboxyl group modifies the structure of osteocalcin and MGP proteins, thereby enabling the relevant proteins to bind to calcium. In vitamin K2 deficiency, these proteins cannot be adequately carboxylated and remain inactive. Matrix Gla protein (MGP) plays an important role in vascular calcium metabolism. Production of this protein is initiated by vitamin D3, and production of vitamin D3 is initiated by vitamin K2 – as in the case of osteocalcin protein. MGP can be found in bones and body tissues such as the heart, kidneys, and lungs. When activated by vitamin K2, MGP can bind to calcium and accompany it in external environments such as arteries and blood vessels where calcium would be destructive. No other productive mechanism has been discovered to date to protect the walls of elastic blood vessels; this makes MGP the only known and therefore the most powerful existing cardiovascular calcification inhibitor. Optimal vitamin K2 intake is essential to prevent calcium plaque accumulation in atherosclerosis and thus keep calcification risk and rate as low as possible.

Clinically Proven Benefits of MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 for Heart and Bone Health

NattoPharma has funded an extensive clinical study to investigate and document the effects of daily MenaQ7® intake on bone and cardiovascular health. The double-blind, randomized study conducted by scientists at Maastricht University included 244 healthy postmenopausal participants. Results have been published in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals – bone data in Osteoporosis International (2013) and cardiovascular data in Thrombosis and Haemostasis (2015). Data published in Osteoporosis International demonstrated for the first time clinically statistically significant protection against bone loss in the spine and hip (femoral neck). This was achieved with a daily nutritional dose of 180 mcg MenaQ7®. The MenaQ7® supplement group significantly increased circulating active osteocalcin (cOC), a well-known biological marker for bone and vitamin K status. Inactive osteocalcin (ucOC) in the MenaQ7® group decreased by 51 ± 21 percent, compared to the placebo group where comparable data was +4 ± 49 percent. After three years of supplementation, protection in both bone mineral content and bone mineral density was statistically better in the MenaQ7® group. Moreover, bone strength was statistically improved, demonstrating therapeutic benefits in the MenaQ7® group compared to the placebo group. The emerging cardiovascular results were published in the May 2015 issue of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, where 244 healthy postmenopausal women were monitored for three years using pulse wave velocity and ultrasound techniques. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 180 mcg Vitamin K2 (MK-7) daily (as MenaQ7®) or placebo capsules. After three years of treatment, the stiffness index (Stiffness Index ß) in the MK-7 group with the highest baseline arterial stiffness was significantly reduced compared to the similar subpopulation in the placebo group (0.67 ± 2.78 and +0.15 ± 2.51, respectively, p = 0.018). The results confirmed that vitamin K2 as MK-7 not only prevented age-related arterial wall stiffening but also provided statistically significant improvement in vascular elasticity. This study is a significant milestone because its results are the first to demonstrate the relationship between K2 vitamin intake and cardiovascular risk, confirming the association made with previous population-based studies. According to the researchers, with the demonstrated data, vitamin K2 at a specific nutrient dose actually improves cardiovascular health.

Conclusion

Optimal protection of cardiovascular and bone health represent two of the most critical areas that enable us to age healthily. MenaQ7® is the only clinically documented Vitamin K2 in the MK-7 form demonstrated to work and promising to help people keep their bones and arteries healthy as they age. Written by: Dr. Hogne Vik - Medical Director / NattoPharma ASA Compiled by: Gürkan Altunok - Technical Manager, Pharmaceutical Division / IMCD Türkiye

References

[1] Shea MK et al. Circulating uncarboxylated matrix gla protein is associated with vitamin K nutritional status, but not coronary artery calcium, in older adults. J Nutr.2011 Aug;141(8):1529-34. [2] Rheaume-Bleue K. Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life.2013. Harper; Reprint edition. [3] Willems AG et al. The realm of vitamin K dependent proteins: Shifting from coagulation toward calcification. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2014.58,1620-1635. [4] Braam LA et al. Beneficial effects of vitamins D and K on the elastic properties of the vessel wall in postmenopausal women: a follow-up study. Thrombosis and Haemostasis.2004.91(2): 373-80. [5] Schurgers LJ et al. Matrix gla-protein: the calcification inhibitor in need of vitamin K. Thrombosis and Haemostasis. 2008. 100(4): 593-603. [6] Knapen MHJ et al. Three-year low-dose menaquinone-7 supplementation helps decrease bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2013 Sep;24(9):2499-507. [7] Knapen MHJ et al. Menaquinone-7 supplementation improves arterial stiffness in healthy postmenopausal women: double-blind randomised clinical trial. Thrombosis and Haemostasis. 2015 113 5: 1135-1144.