Dear Friends,
When most people think about vitamin K2, they think about bone health, because it helps support bone strength and density working alongside calcium and vitamin D.
But what’s often overlooked is how vitamin K2 helps support vascular health too.
And that matters a lot. Because just like weaker bone is a hidden threat to healthy aging, so is vascular calcification that can decrease blood vessel elasticity and flexibility.
One of the foremost researchers on vitamin K2 is Dr. Leon Schurgers from the Netherlands.
His work has led him to view vitamin K2 as an important healthy-aging nutrient because it can help protect bones from weakening, protect cells from aging due to oxidative stress and help your blood vessels stay flexible, functional, and resilient as you age.
As Dr. Schurgers has said - the loss of independence at age 80 typically begins in our 30s, and the aging you want tomorrow begins with the choices you make today. Good advice.
Now, before we get into the vascular story, let’s start with a practical point.
It’s actually hard to get recommended amounts of vitamin K2 from diet alone. Most vitamin K in the diet is vitamin K1, not K2.
And although K1 is important, it is structurally different from K2 and does not behave the same way in the body.
Research on the different vitamin K forms shows that MK-7 has a much longer half-life than K1 — roughly 3 days versus about 3 hours.
Plus, Dr. Schurgers’ research shows that most of the vitamin K bioactivity in the body is actually from K2, not K1 - underscoring the importance of K2.
Yet even if someone eats reasonably well, they still may not be getting much of the form of vitamin K that matters most for vascular and bone support.
Only a relatively small portion of vitamin K intake tends to come from MK-7-rich foods.
Fermented foods are among the better dietary sources, and certain fermented cheeses may contribute, but intake is still inconsistent for most of us.
What Does Vitamin K2 Actually Do?
Vitamin K2 helps activate vitamin K-dependent proteins. Two of the most important are: Matrix Gla protein, and osteocalcin.
Matrix Gla protein is especially important for the vascular story. It is produced in blood vessels and helps protect against calcium being deposited in arteries and soft tissues where it does not belong.
Osteocalcin, on the other hand, helps calcium bind to bone when activated by vitamin K2.
So one of the best ways to think about vitamin K2 is this: Vitamin K2 helps the body put calcium where it belongs — and helps keep it out of places where it doesn’t belong.
That is a very big deal. Because calcium itself is not the problem. The problem is mismanaged calcium.
Now, when it comes to vitamin K2, the form that has received the most attention in the research is MK-7.
The 7 just refers to the number of carbon atoms in the tail of the K2 molecule. And much of that MK-7 research has involved the MenaQ7 brand that we prefer to use.
By using the same researched form and brand, it gives us more confidence that we can experience what the studies are actually showing. And what they’ve revealed is impressive in terms of supporting the vascular system and promoting cardiovascular health.
Research Shows Benefits in Humans
One of the early studies involved healthy postmenopausal women who took 180 mcg of MenaQ7 vitamin K2 daily for 3 years — a true long-term study.
Compared with placebo, those taking vitamin K2 improved blood vessel elasticity from baseline.
The researchers also measured pulse wave velocity to see if vitamin K2 helped vascular stiffness.
The stiffer an artery is, the faster the wave will travel through it. Here too there was a significant benefit in those taking vitamin K2 for 3 years.
Similar findings have been noted in subsequent studies conducted in both healthy individuals and those struggling with cardiovascular health.
This supports the idea that vitamin K2 as MK-7 is doing exactly what we would want it to do: Helping activate Matrix Gla protein and support healthier vascular function over time.
And this is why the K2 story deserves more attention. Most people know calcium. Many people know vitamin D3. Far fewer understand vitamin K2.
But the conversation should not stop at calcium intake and calcium absorption.
Because once calcium is absorbed, the body still has to manage it properly.
That’s where K2 comes in. And in my opinion, this is one of the most important healthy aging stories in nutrition today.
As we age, protecting against vascular calcification and helping to preserve vascular elasticity become extremely important.
That has implications not just for the heart, but for circulation, blood vessel function, and overall health-span.
And there is also some emerging vitamin K2 data in another area: cellular health.
In addition to bone and vascular health, researchers are beginning to look at whether MK-7 may help protect cells against oxidative stress.
I would describe that as promising and emerging – and we’ll keep following it.
But the strongest story today is still the one involving bone and vascular health, and how vitamin K2 works to direct calcium to where you want it – in bones, not blood vessel walls or arteries.
Vitamin K2 is Part of a Nutrient Team
Now, one more important point. Vitamin K2 on its own is not all you need.
For example, vitamin D complements vitamin K2 by working to help produce the important proteins that K2 activates.
Another team member is magnesium – which works in a complementary way with vitamin D3 and vitamin K2, and it also plays a role in helping support vascular flexibility.
So when we think about healthy aging, we really should not think in terms of isolated nutrients. We should think in systems.
That’s exactly why we use vitamin K2 as MK-7 together with vitamin D3 in TrueK2D3.
And for those looking for broader support, formulas like TrueOsteo+ can help give you the vascular health benefits of K2, D3 and magnesium while also supporting bones from multiple angles.
Because in the body, bone and vascular health are more connected than many people realize.
If calcium is not properly directed into bone, it can end up in the vascular system instead — a true double negative.
So to summarize:
Vitamin K2 is not just a bone nutrient.
It may be one of the most overlooked nutrients for vascular health and healthy aging.
Most vitamin K in the diet is K1, but K1 and K2 do not behave the same way in the body.
The MK-7 form of vitamin K2 has received the most attention in the research and appears especially important for activating vitamin K-dependent proteins like Matrix Gla protein and osteocalcin.
Matrix Gla protein helps protect blood vessels. Osteocalcin helps support bones.
Vitamin K2 helps activate both.
That means the vitamin K2 story is no longer just about bones. It is increasingly a vascular health and healthy aging story too.
Yours for Good Health,
Carl Pradelli
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