Is vitamin K two more important than vitamin K one? What are the differences between vitamin
K one and K two? And what are the different dietary sources of vitamin K versus vitamin
K one? Also, should you take vitamin K one and K two together? Today we're going to go
a little bit deeper into the specifics of vitamin K one versus vitamin K two.
Since posting my last video, it has become very apparent that there is a
lot of interest and questions about vitamin K. I want to welcome all my new subscribers
and I want to really thank you for your comments and your feedback. I always
read the comments and I try to engage in the comments as much as possible.
Your feedback allows me to know what videos I can make in the future that will better
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Quick reminder that this video is not a replacement for medical advice. Please do not make
any changes to your diet or medications without speaking to your healthcare provider first.
Now we know that vitamin K is a group of fat soluble vitamins that are divided
into vitamin K one, vitamin K two and the synthetic form, which is vitamin
K three. These vitamins are essential to many processes in the body, including the
maintenance of adequate blood coagulation, as well as the formation of strong bones.
But there are other roles for these vitamins and you will see in my previous video,
how essential they are to so many different metabolic processes, including the production
of essential proteins. If we look specifically at the structure of vitamin K one and K2,
we will see that they share a methylated naftaquinone ring structure, and they do
vary in the aliphatic side chain attached at the three position. Now, if we look specifically at
vitamin K one, this form of vitamin K is responsible for maintaining adequate blood
coagulation. Though it may have other roles in the body, this is its principle function.
We do know that a vitamin K deficiency is quite rare and that the need for
supplementation of vitamin K one is rarely necessary though in my previous video,
I did go over groups of people with chronic illness or mal-absorption issues that may
be more prone to a vitamin K one deficiency. Vitamin K one is a yellow viscous oil. It is
soluble in different vegetable oils and it is also sensitive to sunlight, meaning that
it can be destroyed after about one hour in the sun, vitamin K two refers to a group of vitamins
known as the menaquinones and these menaquinone exist in several different isomers or analogs.
When we speak about vitamin K two supplement, we are usually referring
to MK-4 or MK-7 though MK-7 has a longer half life and is more commonly used for
supplementation. We also know that mammals can synthesize vitamin K two from vitamin K one.
This happens through a bacteria that are in our guts. And this is why people who
have been on long term antibiotics may be more susceptible to a vitamin K two deficiency. Now
we also don't know how well absorbed this type of vitamin K that is produced in the gut is so
there's still a question around the fact of, yes, our bodies can produce vitamin K two, yes,
it can be produced in the gut, but how much is it absorbed and how much of that can actually
be used by the body? And we still need more research to answer this particular question.
Now, there is a fair amount of research on how vitamin K2 may affect certain events
associated with aging, including osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and calcification of arteries and
tissues. We do know that in Japan, vitamin K2 has been recommended as a supplement specifically for
people over the age of 60, who are more prone to osteoporosis. And this is because vitamin K2 helps
to activate a protein called osteocalcin. That is involved in the formation of strong bones.
Now there are some studies that show that vitamin K2 can reduce the risk
of fractures. There are other studies that show that vitamin K2 may help to prevent
calcification of the arteries. However, we do need more research on this in order
for it to be conclusive. Now we do know that vitamin K2 is up to three times more
effective at activating different skeletal proteins than vitamin K one and so it's role
in skeletal metabolism and bone formation is fairly well established at this point.
Now in my last video, I mentioned that our body does not store large quantities of vitamin
K one or K2 and so we do need to acquire these vitamins from our diet or from supplementation.
So what are the specific sources of vitamins k one and K2 that we can get from our diet?
Before we get into this, I want to remind you that these are fat soluble vitamins,
and there is evidence that the absorption of vitamin K one specifically may be as
low as five to 10% if the vitamin K one is not consumed with some type of fat and so those who
are following a low fat diet may not be absorbing as much vitamin K one from these dietary sources.
The main dietary sources of vitamin K one include dark green,
leafy vegetables, lettuce, turnips, broccoli, carrots, vegetable oils,
blueberries and grapes. So you see here that vitamin K one is mostly found in
plants. Whereas vitamin K two is found in animal products as well as fermented foods.
Foods that are rich in vitamin K2 include sauerkraut, dairy products,
liver and organ meats, beef, pork, egg yolk, chicken, fatty fish, like salmon,
and essentially many of the organs, fats and dairy products that are produced by grass fed animals.
Can you take vitamin K one and K2 together? Now there are some
multivitamins available on the market that include vitamins K one and K two, however,
the amounts of vitamins K one and K2 in these multivitamins would not be enough
to correct a deficiency. There does not seem to be any interaction or contraindication to
having these vitamins together or to taking them at the same time.
However, I will warn you that there is a medication known as warfarin or Coumadin that
does interact with vitamin K and you should not be supplementing or making any drastic
change to your diet if you are on warfarin or Coumadin. If you enjoyed this video,
watch my Q and A with Dr. Bonnie Kaplan, where she discusses the
importance of micronutrients and brain health, including how the mitochondria
ages and different aspects of how micronutrient supplementation can affect the aging process.
Don't forget to like this video and leave a comment. I really
appreciate. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care and stay healthy. Bye bye.