High dietary K2 intake linked to heart health

Lysaker, Norway-based NattoPharma says that a new study demonstrated the association of high dietary vitamin K2 consumption with reduction of coronary calcification in humans. Accepted by the journal Atherosclerosis, the German evaluation investigated whether daily consumption of natural phylloquinone (K1) and menaquinones (K2) might be related to the extent of calcification within the vasculature of 564 healthy post-menopausal women.

This study was undertaken to examine the hypothesis that natural vitamin K plays a crucial role in the prevention of heart disease and discovered that high consumption of natural vitamin K2, about 45mcg daily, was associated with 20% decreased coronary calcification as compared with low consumption of K2, of about 18mcg daily. Preventing arterial calcification is important for a healthy and flexible vasculature. Furthermore, for Vitamin K1 no such correlation was found. Vitamin K expert Leon Schurgers, a senior scientist from VitaK, at the Maastricht University in the Netherlands, noted that, "while all K vitamins are important, it seems that especially the natural vitamin K2 intake is essential to cardiovascular health."