How Does Vitamin K2 Help Prevent Diabetes and Improve Health?
A recently published Canadian study has discovered the cellular process that allows vitamin K to protect against diabetes, as well as cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s.
Here are all the data confirming the tremendous work this substance does for human health.
However, the majority of healthcare professionals never recommend it…
This new study opens new ways to treat and prevent this growing epidemic currently affecting 415 million people worldwide, which is expected to rise to 700 million by 2045.
Vitamin K assists with gamma-carboxylation, one of the countless biochemical processes our cells perform, transforming one substance into another for various functions in the body. Gamma-carboxylation is important for many bodily functions; for example, it produces proteins used in bone formation and blood clotting.
Researchers are unsure of what other roles gamma-carboxylation plays in the body, but they know that it requires vitamin K.
They also know that the enzymes that facilitate this process are present in greater numbers in the pancreatic beta cells of the pancreas.
These are the cells that produce insulin, a vital hormone that helps move glucose from the blood into cells and tissues where the body can use it to produce energy. Diabetes occurs when there are not enough of these beta cells, or when the beta cells no longer produce enough insulin.
Researchers at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute have discovered a new protein called ERGP, which needs vitamin K that has undergone gamma-carboxylation to function and is very important for diabetics.
Our study shows that this protein plays an important role in maintaining physiological levels of calcium in beta cells in order to prevent a disorder in insulin secretion,” said Dr. Julie Lacombe, a researcher involved in the study, in an article about the institute.
Dr. Mathieu Ferron, Associate Professor of Medicine at Université de Montréal, led the team that conducted the research:
“Diabetes is known to be caused by a reduction in the number of beta cells or their inability to produce enough insulin, hence our keen interest in this new discovery. To clarify the cellular mechanism by which vitamin K maintains beta cell function, it was essential to determine which protein was targeted by gamma-carboxylation in these cells”.
The results also support a link between gamma-carboxylation and the way beta cells adapt to stress. Researchers have found that glucose regulates the activity of gamma-carboxylation and that treatment with vitamin K1 can protect beta cells from the harmful effects of high glucose and endoplasmic reticulum stress.
The endoplasmic reticulum is a network of sac-like and tubular membranous structures within the cytoplasm of a cell.
The Canadian study builds on previous research that implicated vitamin K deficiency in the development of diabetes, although the mechanisms underlying this were not clear until now.
Grass Fed Ghee Butter is Rich in Vitamin K2.
Increase in Dietary Vitamin K and Reduction of Diabetes Risk
In a prior prospective cohort study published in 2010 in Diabetes Care, researchers investigated whether dietary intake of vitamin K1 and K2 was correlated with the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The study initially involved 38,094 Dutch men and women aged between 20 and 70 years and followed them for over 10 years.
The study, led by Dr. Joline WJ Beulens of the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, found that those who received more vitamin K from their diet had a roughly 20% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the decade that researchers followed them.
At the time, the results were among the first to demonstrate a relationship between vitamin K intake and a reduced risk of diabetes.
While they did not show vitamin K as the cause of the risk reduction, they laid the groundwork for further studies on whether vitamin K deficiency plays a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.
In the study, a higher intake of vitamin K1 and K2 was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but the effect was more pronounced with vitamin K2.
The results were based on questionnaires completed by the participants, including a detailed dietary survey used to estimate vitamin K intake and questions about their general health and lifestyle habits. The findings were adjusted for other factors, such as weight, age, and level of physical activity.
They discovered that the quartile of participants with the highest intake of vitamin K2 had a 20% lower chance of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes compared to the quartile with the lowest intake of vitamin K2.
As for vitamin K1, the researchers did not see a decrease in the risk of type 2 diabetes until the vitamin levels were relatively high. These results were similar, however, as the quartile of participants receiving the most vitamin K1 had a 19% lower chance of developing type 2 diabetes compared to the quartile with the lowest levels.
Why We Need Vitamin K?
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin and is best known for its vital role in blood clotting.
Vitamin K comes in two biologically active forms, K1 (phylloquinone), which is found in plant foods like green leafy vegetables, and K2 (), which is found in meat, cheese, eggs, fermented foods, and the gut microbiome, which is how the body naturally processes some vitamin K2.
Vitamin K is crucial for several body functions, such as blood clotting, bone formation, and heart health, and is essential in how the body utilizes calcium.
Vitamin K helps control the amount of calcium deposited to create strong bones, while also limiting the amount that accumulates in the arteries, which can contribute to atherosclerosis, a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and death.
Some research suggests that vitamin K also has anti-cancer properties and recent studies have found that one form of vitamin K acts as an antioxidant, which may be key in preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions.
The daily recommended intake of vitamin K is 120 micrograms per day for men and 90 micrograms per day for women.
Below is a list of foods rich in vitamin K:
- Broccoli rabe
- Kale
- Swiss chard
- Broccoli
- Carrot juice
- Pumpkin
- Pomegranate juice
- Spinach
- Dry-roasted cashews
- Beef liver
- Chicken breast and liver
- Goose liver pâté
- Egg yolks
- Grass-fed ghee butter
- Sauerkraut
Very little vitamin K is stored in the body, so it is crucial that we consume enough of this vital vitamin in our diet to avoid becoming deficient.
Without enough vitamin K, we become more susceptible to osteoporosis, heart disease, and bleeding disorders.
For this reason, supplementation with vitamin K2 in the form of MK7, which lasts several days in the blood, is recommended.
Dosage: 100 mcg for every 1000 IU of vitamin D.
After analyzing this study, it is clear that high-quality Vitamin K2-MK7 deserves your attention and investment.
Do not settle for cheaper alternatives that might not offer the same efficacy and safety.
- It is not MK4, which peaks quickly but has a very short duration in the blood
- It is not derived from soy, which many are allergic to, but from plants.
But there are also problems.
Many basic vitamin K2 products from soy contain levels of this substance lower than those stated, which risks not providing the promised health benefits.
For example, 101 basic K2 products were tested, and 81% did not meet the content indicated on the label.
This also happens because vitamin K2, like all fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, and E), degrades in certain environments and formulations if not adequately protected.
This has been known for decades, so much so that products combining D and calcium were low in vitamin D within a month or two of production time, which also happens to K2 if formulated together with calcium or magnesium.
Everything changed in 2013, when the first vitamin K2 MK-7 produced by organic synthesis and microencapsulated to avoid interference with minerals was launched, whereas previously all were produced using the traditional fermentation process from soy.
The “Primal K2 1000” contains this microencapsulated Vitamin K2-MK-7 to solve the problem of compatibility with calcium/magnesium, supported by stability test data at 12 and 24 months against unprotected soy-fermented K2.
To understand the difference with other products, consider that the majority of other products have shown that unprotected Vitamin K2 or soy-fermented or naturally was unstable in formulations with calcium at 25ºC where it lost 60% of its content after 12 months, while at 40ºC the percentage was 29%.
The results for K2 combined with magnesium were significantly worse, i.e., after 12 months, only 1% of the unprotected K2 remained. In comparison, 96% of the microencapsulated K2 from “Primal K2 1000” protected with calcium was detected after 12 months at 25ºC and 86% was detected after storage at 40ºC.
The results when formulated with magnesium were similar, at 92% and 80% respectively.
A total of 96 other Vitamin K2-based products were tested, only 8% of the products unprotected by the microencapsulation of “Primal K2 1000” were close to the values stated on the label.
In comparison, all protected and microencapsulated K2 MK-7 products like “Primal K2 1000” met or were close to the label.
But if K2 degrades in the presence of calcium and magnesium, it would be problematic because these minerals are fundamental for many formulations of products for bone and heart health, as well as for products targeted at the multivitamin, women’s health, and healthy aging markets.
Bibliography: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(23)00511-9