Healthy bones and teeth and hearts....Today's post:  Tuesday, 10-16-2018

In the 1930’s a research Dentist from Canada, Dr Weston Price, decided to survey the groups of people around the world who still ate the traditional diets they had for the hundred years and more before that.

Other than eating zero sugar or wheat flour, these diets varied with the foods available in the location of each group.

What got Dr Price’s close attention is that bad and mis-aligned teeth were not to be found in any of these groups.

They also tended to not get broken bones.

Other than zero sugar or wheat flour, all the groups had these things in common.  He named this mystery, magical substance, “the intrinsic factor.”

It was vitamin K2!

We now know that vitamin K2 removes calcium from the blood vessels and puts it into the part of the bone marrow that uses the calcium and vitamin D3 and magnesium to build new healthy bone.

Research has even found that people with calcium deposits in their arteries can remove it within weeks by taking vitamin K2.  One study found 53% of these deposits were removed in just 6 weeks from beginning to take vitamin K2!

Since a high level of calcium deposits sharply increases the chances of a heart attack, this is very important.

(A statin was shown to increase calcium deposits in the arteries which surprised me at the time.  Since then I’ve learned that statins deplete the body of vitamin K2.

This means K2 protects your heart and statins are contraindicated as a heart event preventive agent.   This is besides being contraindicated by depleting the ubiquinol form of CoQ10 and harming the mitochondria in the heart and its nerves!)

I.  In a recent email, Dr Al Sears suggests K2 is so potent because it works with your body’s stem cells to keep your body’s critical systems in good repair:

“When I was in medical school, I learned about a real-life Indiana Jones. Like me, he didn’t subscribe to the mainstream way of medicine. He truly wanted to find out what makes people healthy.

This renegade researcher traveled the globe to finally discover a missing nutrient lacking in today’s modern food supply.

I’m talking about Dr. Weston Price.

Dr. Price discovered the “what” but now I know the “how.” He discovered the missing nutrient, but he didn’t realize the extent of its powers on the human body. And how it actually activates your stem cells.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that stem cells are the most powerful cells in your body. They are your reserve of healthy master cells that can grow into any other kind of human cell. It’s how your body was designed to repair itself.

You see, he found the tribes that stayed true to their native diets had no trace of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity... or even crooked teeth. They all had wide, attractive faces, full smiles and no hint of excess fat.

Dr. Price found that native diets contained 10 times the amount of fat-soluble vitamins, and at least four times the amount of calcium and other minerals than Western diets.

At the same time, their intake of omega-3 fats was at least 10 times higher than in today's diet. And their diets were rich in other ways...

Wherever Dr. Price went, he found all native diets had one essential nutrient in common — an all-important fat-soluble nutrient, which he labeled “Activator X.”

Today, we know Activator X as vitamin K2. This is one critical nutrient that we’re severely lacking today.

1.  Recent research has revealed K2 as a “youth nutrient,” because it boosts the production of stem cells in your body — providing you with an impenetrable immune system and a heightened ability to regenerate and heal.1,2,3

Studies now show that K2 is a powerful stem cell regulator that supercharges bone marrow stem cells, the very source of your body’s immune system. It’s the nutrient your immune system needs to stay strong and robust, so you don’t have to worry about chronic diseases.

2.  Bones and teeth are strengthened because K2 promotes the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into “osteo” cells — thereby generating new bone.4,5

Vitamin K2 has also been shown to reactivate “sleeping” adult stem cells, get them back to work keeping your bones and skeletal frame youthful and strong. 

These mesenchymal stem cells also bolster the function of bone marrow, which produces red blood cells, platelets, and immune cells that allow your body to stave off infections and diseases.6 

[This time of year with colds and flu, is a great time to begin to take vitamin K2 if you haven’t already!]

3. Other studies show K2 fights inflammation — the root of all disease — by controlling the production of certain immune system stem cells.7

Boost Your Stem Cells for Primal Health with “Activator X”

Dr. Price found his “Activator X” in fish, shellfish, organ meats and butter from cows eating green grass. 

Our primal ancestors got plenty from eating organ meats like liver, kidney, heart, eyes and brains. Fortunately, there are other ways to get enough K2.

II. "Vitamin K2 Steps Into the Spotlight for Bone and Heart Health"

This was in a recent news item on Medscape in their Cardiology news because of the positive effects of vitamin K2 on heart health:

Since its discovery nearly 90 years ago, vitamin K has enjoyed the uncomplicated status of an essential nutrient, respected but somewhat overlooked. Guidelines advised that we get our daily recommended intake of vitamin K (120 µg for men and 90 µg for women[1]) but most likely made no mention that it exists in two variants, K1 and K2.

Beginning in the 21st century, however, researchers started closely scrutinizing the structural differences between K1 and K2, which before had been considered largely irrelevant.[2] Their work has indicated that K2 may deserve special consideration as a treatment for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

The umbrella term vitamin K actually describes a family of fat-soluble compounds. The body has limited ability to store the vitamin and amounts are rapidly depleted without regular dietary intake.

Vitamin K2, also known as menaquinone (MK), is primarily bacterial in origin. K2 is mostly encountered in fermented foods, meats, and dairy products.[4] It is further subgrouped based on the length of its side chains, from MK-4 to MK-13.[4,5] For example, meat products typically include the MK-4 variants, whereas the traditional Japanese vegetarian dish natto ,made from fermented soybeans, contains MK-7, which provides the highest known vitamin K activity. K2 can also be produced by the human gut's microbiome, though the absorption and transport of K2 produced in this manner is less understood.[1]

Natto is high in MK7 K2 and butter and cheese egg yolks and chicken liver have useful amounts & tend to have the 4 or 8 & 9 varieties Beef has some but not much and fish has a little Calves liver has less than I thought but a big serving might be helpful

“Animals synthesize it from the K1 they ingest from eating grass. As agricultural practices have shifted animals away from grassy pastures toward grains, K2 levels have decreased.[2] Because K2 is usually present in only modest amounts, and even less so in low-fat and lean animal products, many Western diets are inadequate providers of a nutrient researchers consider increasingly important.”

[This may mean that liver and beef from cows fed only grass have more K2 than the table in this article suggests.]

“Although K2's effect has been studied across a variety of conditions, including cancer and arthritis, to date the strongest evidence exists to support its use in osteoporosis and cardiovascular health.[5]

Bone Health

Vitamin K's bone-building reputation is well earned, as it is necessary for activating proteins secreted by osteoblasts.[2] K2 draws calcium into the bone matrix and can inhibit bone resorption when administered with vitamin D3.[2] The MK-7 form of vitamin K2 has proven particularly adept in this process.[6]

Supplemental K2 has been associated with significant reductions (approximately 25%-80%) in fracture risk when used alone

Cardiovascular Disease

K2 activates matrix Gla protein (MGP), which keeps calcium deposits from forming on vessel walls. Research has shown that adequate K2 intake generally frees calcium up for its more beneficial roles, whereas K2 deficiencies will lead to a buildup of calcifications.[5]”

“….in the 2004 prospective population-based Rotterdam Study, which included 4807 individuals with no history of myocardial infarction.[12] After following the cohort for up to 7 years, researchers reported that high K2 intake led to significant risk reductions in coronary heart disease, all-cause mortality, and severe aortic calcification when compared with those with the lowest K2 intake. In comparison, K1 intake had no discernible protective benefits.

A cohort study of over 16,000 women free of cardiovascular disease also reported a strong correlation between increased K2 intake and reduced coronary events, but not for K1.[13]”

III. In another article recently on vitamin K2, Mike Matthews notes that for bone building and preventing or helping reverse osteoporosis, taking it with vitamin D3 magnifies this effect of vitamin K2!

Since a separate research study found that vitamin D3 helped heal damaged heart cells, this also means that taking vitamin K2 and D3 together works best for heart protection!

IV. Jarrow makes a softgel with 5,000 iu of vitamin D3 and Solgar makes one with 10,000 iu of vitamin D3.

Jarrow also makes a vitamin K2 supplement, MK7, that has 90 mcg of that form of vitamin K2.

So if you want to make use of this research you can take these.

AND, remember Dr Weston Price’s other finding:

Eat zero sugar or wheat flour.

The evidence for the harm these do to your heart and bones is as strong as the new research on vitamin K2 is good!

Note that artificial sweetners are worse than sugar in their effects as well!

Lastly, note that Dr Susan Peirce Thompson has shown that sugar and artificial sweetners AND wheat flour tend to be addictive and force those who consume them to be fat!

The better news is that if you don’t eat ANY, you escape that effect. 

She discovered the effects on the control circuits in your brain if you eat them and discovered the way to avoid this is to just not trigger the problem and eat zero sweeteners and flour.