Vitamin K2 - 60 Veggie Softgels

Vitamin K2 from AOR

Vitamin K2 from AOR provides MK-4 and MK-7, the two optimal forms of Vitamin K2 that help maintain bone health.

Vitamin K is an essential vitamin needed for cardiovascular, bone and liver health. Vitamin K2 is more effective than vitamin K1, the form found in plants, for these specific health effects. There are two effective and popular forms of Vitamin K2, namely MK-4 and MK-7. While MK-4 is the active form of vitamin K2 used by the body and has been used clinically in Japan for decades with good results, MK-7 has also been shown to provide good results at low doses in a sustained-release manner. AOR's Vitamin K2 provides a 50/50 blend of MK-4 and MK-7 to ensure the best of both worlds.

The most popular, albeit recently highlighted, use for vitamin K2 is for bone health. Vitamin K, along with vitamin D, is essential for proper calcium absorption and usage in the bones. Vitamin K2 also stimulates the synthesis of proteins that regulate bone growth. Vitamin K2 has been shown to reduce the incidence of osteoporotic fractures and improve bone quality.

Vitamin K is also essential to cardiovascular health. It is an important blood clotting factor: without adequate amounts, the risk of bruising and excessive bleeding increases substantially. By the same token, vitamin K enhances calcium absorption from the bloodstream into the bones, preventing arterial calcification and promoting healthy blood vessel function and heart health. Ultimately, Vitamin K2 is an excellent adjunct to conventional osteoporosis medications and is essential for those taking calcium supplements. Vitamin K2 may also be useful for those with a family history of cardiovascular disease, arterial calcification or for people who bruise or bleed easily.

Vitamin K2 Vsoftgel offers superior advantages that vegans/vegetarians can now benefit from. One of the biggest advantages of offering nutrients in a softgel is that softgels allow for better bioavailability of active ingredients. Inside a softgel, fat soluble nutrients, such as Vitamin K, can be suspended in an oil base which optimizes their potential for absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Vsoftgels offers these benefits to suit vegans and every lifestyle.

Improves calcium assimilation into bones
Supports bone and cardiovascular health, and normal blood clotting
Provides the ideal ratio of the bioactive vitamin K sources MK-4 and MK-7, for better efficacy
Oil based softgel enhances absorption of Vitamin K

AOR guarantees that no ingredients not listed on the label have been added to the product. Contains no wheat, gluten, corn, nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, mustard, dairy, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish or any animal byproduct.

Source:
MK-4 - pharmaceutical synthesis
MK-7 - biofermentation from natto

Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that can be made by the gut bacteria. It has two main functions in the body. The first is blood clotting. Vitamin K is needed for the production of the blood clotting factor prothrombin. Prothrombin regulates the cascade of reactions that is needed to form a fibrin coating over a break in a blood vessel. Secondly, vitamin K plays an important role in bone formation and repair by synthesizing osteocalcin.

Osteocalcin causes calcium to deposit in the bone, thus enabling proper bone growth and preventing osteoporosis. Vitamin K may also boost the immune system.

There are 3 different forms of vitamin K, K1comes from plants, K2 is manufactured by the gut bacteria and K3 is the synthetic form. K3 is only available by recommendation in Canada. Vitamin K is not commonly found in multivitamin supplements. The best way to increase your intake of vitamin K is to eat green leafy vegetables or take supplements containing these foods.

Mineral oil interferes with the absorption of vitamin K. Antibiotics kill gut bacteria and interfere with the absorption of vitamin K. Vitamin K is destroyed by radiation, freezing and air pollution.

Vitamin K and Bone, Vascular and Liver Health

The chief function of vitamin K is to act as a co-factor for vitamin K dependent proteins in the body. Vitamin K also converts the glutamate residues of some protein sin gamma-carboxyglutamate group via an enzymatic process known as carboxylation. Such proteins include coagulation factors, bone turnover molecules, vascular repair proteins, and proteins responsible for cell=cycle arrest, signal transduction and cell-cell adhesion.

Vitamin K plasma status is important for the maintenance of healthy bones. Osteocalcin is a small protein and the degree of its carboxylation (a sign of its vitamin K status) is a measure of bone health. Indeed, there is a direct correlation between the synthesis of osteocalcin and bone health.

Vascular Health

Studies have shown that vitamin K intake can have a protective effect and prevents the loss of elasticity in blood vessels, a key indicator of heart health. A recent clinical study has shown that vitamin K may protect not only against warfarin-induced calcification, but also may stabilize and help control anti-coagulation therapies. However, it is strongly recommended that patients taking blood-thinning medication like warfarin (Coumadin) should consult their physicians before taking vitamin K2.

Liver Health

Studies have suggested that high intake levels of vitamin K may be associated with a lower incidence of one particular type of unhealthy liver cells. The mechanism is postulated to be an effect pertaining to the inhibition of the cell-cycle, cell-cell adhesions, and possibly the ability to metastisize.