Vitamin K1 has been know for its ability to help our blood clot for many years.  Vitamin K2 has been know for about the same amount of time but has been mislabeled as just a clotting factor vitamin.  Indeed, it does aid in clotting but that is a more minor role.  Its major roles deal with cardiovascular and brain health, calcium metabolism, immunity and as a co-factor with Vitamin D in its roles in the a same area plus both Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 are known to reduce the risk of cancer.

Vitamin K2 is necessary in the diet if Vitamin D is going to be most effective. They are found in similar foods, but K2 is in the fermented soybean dish from Japan called Natto.  Westerners mostly do not like this food but sauerkraut, fermented and aged cheeses, organ meats like chicken liver and fish eggs all contain various amounts of Vit K2.

I first heard of K2 from Dr. Larry McCleary in an interview with him done by Jimmy Moore.  Dr. Moore mentioned gouda cheese as containing large amounts of K2 and that eating an ounce or less a day was excellent for you.  You may want to visit Jimmy’s site Livin’ La Vida Low Carb to access Dr. McCleary’s interview. This information is in McCleary’s book, The Brain Trust Program.

Some old literature reports that K2 is made in the large bowel by intestinal bacteria.  This is true in that E.Coli and similar intestinal flora do produce K2, but very little has been available to the host (US) to absorb.  K2 is best obtained from our diet.  I tell my patients all the time that our food is too sterile and this is just another example that it is true.

In medical studies published in Japan and Germany, there is an association between low rates of osteoporosis and Vit K2 intake and between low rates of advanced prostate cancer and high intake of K2.

What should you do?  If you have a question, ask me by leaving a comment.  If you want to take more vitamin K2, add a small amount of fermented, aged cheese to your diet.  Discuss with your doctor any issues around changing your diet and any therapy already prescribed.  If your Doctor is not aware of the benefits of Vitamin K2, download the PDFs I have attache here, put them on a disc - one of them is 174 pages - and give your doctor the disc.  Let me know what you think and what you know about K2.

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