Dental Health and Vitamin K2
Believe it or not, as far back as 1945 the scientific community was aware of the value of vitamin K2 in preventing dental cavities. Back then American researchers conducted a proper double-blind, placebo-controlled study of chewing gum that had a precursor to vitamin K2 (menadione) added to it. Using the gum reduced the incidence of new cavities, and caused a dramatic drop in the bad bacteria in the mouth that is linked to causing cavities. (L. acidophilus, which in the gut is good, but not so in the mouth, which is why I am not a fan of most chewable probiotic products. However, there are exceptions like L. salivarius, which is a bacteria that belongs in the mouth).
Now, as we gain greater understanding of the role of vitamin K in the body, it is becoming obvious that vitamin K2 is especially necessary for good dental health. Simply knowing that vitamin K is required for maintaining skeletal health tells us something about dental health, since teeth are a part of the skeletal system and, generally speaking, the worse your teeth are the more likely it is that your bones will be weakening as well.
We also know that some of the highest concentrations of vitamin K2 stores in the body are in the salivary glands. In fact, in rat studies, even if the rats are fed only vitamin K1, almost all of the vitamin K found in their salivary glands will exist in the form of K2. (Source)
Dr. Weston A. Price and Dental Health
Wondering at the pathetic state of dental health in America of the 1930s and 40s, dentist Dr. Weston A. Price (1870-1948) was motivated to search for reasons why. Dr. Price traveled the world to study humans that had not modernized and followed their ancient, traditional diets. He visited communities in the Outer Hebrides, Inuit and Indians of North America, Polynesian Islanders, African tribes, Australian Aborigines, New Zealand Maori, and the Indians of South America. In all these areas he found the inhabitants to have mostly perfect teeth and dental arches, almost no tooth decay, and superior general health and resistance to disease.
His research ultimately concluded that a traditional diet high in vitamins A, D, and K, could together not only prevent cavities, but would also work to reverse them (for more information on his amazing research check out westonaprice.org ). As a result, he suggested the best foods for preventing and reversing dental cavities was cod liver oil and grass-fed butter oil, natural sources of vitamins A, D, and K2, and in fact he would often put his clients on this regimen instead of drilling and filling cavities.
We now know that the growth and re-mineralization of the teeth that Dr. Price observed, in response to feeding his patients a combination of cod liver oil and grass-fed butter oil, was a result of providing the dentin (the support structure beneath the enamel) its 3 essential cofactors: vitamins A, D, and K2 (which he called “Activator X” since K2 had yet to be “discovered”).
Dentin produces osteocalcin, a protein that requires vitamin K, and which channels calcium into the skeletal system. Since dentin creates more osteocalcin than bone does, we know that osteocalcin plays an important role in the growth of new dentin. The production of osteocalcin is also dependent on vitamins A and D.
The Role of Vitamins A and D
Those familiar with my other writings know that I believe vitamin A deficiency to be widespread, and that the dangers of too much vitamin A have been overplayed in the media. Dr. Price found that a traditional diet contained as much as 10 times more vitamin A than the standard Western diet (of his time period in the 1930’s and 40’s; and I’m pretty sure we don’t eat better than that now).
Vitamins A and D are required, along with vitamin K2, in order for the body to produce osteocalcin and MGP (matrix GLA protein), both required for moving calcium around the body and ensuring it arrives at the proper locations. Without vitamins A and D these protein substances cannot be made, but without vitamin K2 they cannot be activated, so all three nutrients work together. And, when supplementing with one of them, we should ensure that we have adequate amounts of the other two.
Many people are supplementing with high levels of vitamin D but forgetting about vitamin A, which is an essential cofactor of vitamin D. In nature both nutrients are found coexisting together in liver (fish or mammal), and would normally be consumed together, before we started taking nutrients in isolated forms.
It is most likely that the toxicity of excessive vitamin A may be due to the ensuing deficiency of vitamin D that follows, and vice versa. Fat-soluble nutrients are so interdependent that taking one fat soluble vitamin creates a need for the other fat soluble nutrients. Studies showing the dangers of supplementing with high levels of vitamins A or D, are based on them being taken in isolation and not in tandem.
Vitamin A is known to be necessary for the development and maintenance of the skeletal system because it is involved in the production and activity of osteoclast cells, which breaks down old bone material. This process is necessary to recycle bone tissue, both for maintaining bone density and for repairing fractured or broken bones.
Vitamin D produces the osteoblasts, those cells that build bone structure, so after the vitamin A breaks down old bone material, vitamin D steps in to help with the rebuilding of new bone tissue. Even though vitamin D can produce osteoblasts on its own, it has been found that when there is adequate vitamin A present, a synergistic effect occurs that produces more osteoblasts than vitamin D can do alone.
Recommended amounts of vitamin A and D vary depending on who you talk to, but one thing appears to be evident. As long as you have a reasonable amount of each, it will prevent toxicity overload from excess of the other. (The newsletter to follow this will be an updated version of my old blog “How 3 Nutrients Can Help Heal Most Ailments” where we will discover that vitamins A and D, along with iodine, are required for healthy mucous membranes. So, A, D, and iodine serve the mucosal lining of all of our insides, and A, D, and K serve the skeletal structure. Therein, I will discuss recommended doses of vitamin A, and D.)
Vitamin K2 and Parkinson’s Disease
Recent research on vitamin K2 has given new hope to people with Parkinson’s disease. Neuroscientist, Patrik Verstreken, stated “It appears from our research that administering vitamin K2 could possibly help patients with Parkinson’s. However, more work needs to be done to understand this better.”
In people who have Parkinson’s, the activity of their mitochondria has been disrupted, resulting in the mitochondria no longer producing sufficient energy for the cell. The mitochondria can be considered to be like power plants that drive the operation of each cell. As the cells in parts of the brain start dying off, communication between neurons is disrupted, resulting in the symptoms of Parkinson’s including lack of movement, tremors and muscle stiffness.
Upon discovering that the mitochondria in experimental fruit flies were defective, as with Parkinson’s patients, the flies were given vitamin K2. The flies with the genetic defect akin to the one associated with Parkinson’s, had lost their ability to fly but once they were supplemented with K2 their ability to fly was restored.
One analysis of such studies concluded: “Overall, VK2 has the potential to treat PD, mainly by repairing mitochondrial defects and improving the production efficiency of ATP as an electronic carrier.” (Source)
Vitamin D is also required for healthy function of the mitochondria. Researchers from Newcastle University found that muscle function improved with vitamin D supplementation. The study was led by Dr Akash Sinha, who said: “We have proved for the first time a link between vitamin D and mitochondria function.” (Source)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The main types of IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, which are characterized by chronic relapsing intestinal inflammation. Aside from the troublesome symptoms of stomach pain and diarrhea, “IBD increases the risk of colorectal cancer, especially in patients with intestinal microbiota disorders”.
Studies of patients with IBD have found that at least half of them exhibit micronutrient deficiencies, including deficiencies in vitamins D and K.
Although some vitamin K is synthesized by gut bacteria, dietary intake is our main source of vitamin K2 due to its low bioavailability, which is even worse in IBD patients who often have nutrient malabsorption due to intestinal damage. Thus, they are even more prone to vitamin K2 deficiency than most, and this will further exacerbate their condition.
Research into the relationship between IBD and vitamin K2 have determined that its benefits are due to the role it plays in regulating intestinal microbiota, antioxidant functions, and its “ability to reduce inflammation by modulating the interaction between gut microbiota and the immune system”.
Such studies have suggested that supplementing patients with vitamin K2 may be a promising therapy for mitigating the symptoms and risks of this disease. And, since the research I am referencing went on to state that, “the effect of VK on the diversity of intestinal microbiota is significant”, I would suggest that this is yet another reason for all of us to be faithfully using a vitamin K2 supplement. (Source)
K2 and MS
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS) causing neurological disorders. Up until recently, the primary nutritional deficiency associated with MS was vitamin D, a subject that has been well researched. (Source) However, newer clinical studies have now found that vitamin K2 “levels in MS patients are significantly lower than in healthy controls”.
From a technical perspective, MS is primarily caused by “an immune complex response induced by oligodendrocytes, which leads to CNS plaques or lesions, progressive destruction of myelin sheaths, and interruption of nerve impulse transmission”.
As one would expect, if we can generate new myelin sheaths around the CNS its function can be restored. And, guess what? Vitamin K2 “has been proven to be a good promoter of myelin regeneration and is now one of the candidate drugs for MS treatment”. This idea is supported by studies which found that concentrations of K2 in the brain are “significantly higher in myelinated regions than in nonmyelinated regions”.
As well, vitamins K1 and K2 have been found to protect the aforementioned oligodendrocytes from oxidative damage, further protecting the CNS from injury caused by the mechanisms of this disease.
While the primary study on this subject did conclude that, “taken together, VK1 and VK2 (MK-4) can effectively prevent MS or MS progression, and can be effectively used for the treatment of MS”, it must be pointed out that this was an animal study and that they did use the MK4 form of K2, rather than the MK7 form. (Source) (I do know people who have been able to import MK4 into Canada without any border problems, so if I did have MS I would attempt to get the form shown in the study to be effective. That being said, if I could not acquire MK4, I would certainly take the maximum dose of MK7 along with a diet that provided copious amounts of vitamin K1.)
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Like MS, RA is also considered an autoimmune condition, one which creates a chronic inflammatory condition in the body, especially in the small joints of the hands and feet. In severe cases, RA can cause deformities in the joints and disability, as it can ultimately result in bone destruction (often linked to systemic osteoporosis).
Some studies have found that patients with RA have “lower levels of vitamin K2 in serum and stool, which is negatively correlated with the clinical severity of the disease”. While other studies have “shown that VK plays a positive role in reducing RA activity and delaying RA’s onset and progression when taken orally”. (Source)
(My perspective on the root cause of “autoimmune” conditions is detailed in the “How 3 Nutrients Can Help Heal Most Ailments” newsletter to follow this one.)
What Depletes Vitamin K2?
- Excessive antibiotic use, by killing off intestinal flora, can negatively affect the ability of the body to create vitamin K2 from the K1 found in the diet.
- Any substances that interfere with absorbing fat-soluble nutrients can reduce vitamin K levels. This includes drugs that reduce cholesterol, Olestra, fat-blocking supplements, and even low fat diets. In the case of low fat diets, one should be aware that the oil found in salad dressing allows the vitamin K1 found in the leafy greens to be absorbed.
- Mineral oil commonly used as a laxative can prevent absorption of vitamin K.
- The preservative BHT interferes with the function of vitamin K.
- Vitamin K deficiency can be caused by gallstones, diseases of the GI tract, liver disease, lack of gallbladder and estrogen drugs.
Warnings
- Extremely high levels of supplemental vitamin E, above 1200 IU daily, can affect vitamin K’s ability to coagulate blood, if vitamin K levels are dangerously low in the body.
- People on blood thinning drugs such as warfarin or heparin should not take vitamin K since these drugs work by interfering with vitamin K activity in the body.
- Since vitamin K is a fat-soluble nutrient, if you are taking it in a softgel pill form (more effective than powder or tablets) you need to take it with a meal containing fat, in order to fully absorb it. This does not hold true with liquid vitamin K products which can be taken under the tongue and will absorb through the mouth. And, when taken as a liquid, and dispersed around the mouth and over the teeth, vitamin K2 offers more protection against cavities than swallowing a pill does. An excellent liquid vitamin K2 product is our NutriStart: QUICK K2.
Bonus Round
In Part 2, I briefly discussed the protection offered by vitamin K2 against prostate cancer. As this 3-part newsletter is a synthesis of a few older blogs (no longer on our site), I will here include a bit on the bad science that led to the medical community believing that vitamin E can worsen the prognosis of those with prostate cancer. This piece of disinformation needs to be known by everyone, lest they avoid a nutrient that can in fact be protective of the prostate.
Refuting the Prostate Cancer and Vitamin E Study
Results released from “The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT)” in 2008, suggested that “taking vitamin E supplements, specifically 400 IU of vitamin E daily, increased the risk of prostate cancer diagnosis in men. The study found a 17% higher rate of prostate cancer diagnoses in the vitamin E group compared to the placebo group, according to the National Cancer Institute. This finding was a significant outcome of the SELECT trial, which was originally designed to investigate whether these supplements could prevent prostate.”
Following the release of this information, media across the world broadcast the results with headlines like this one, “Prostate cancer risk linked to vitamin E”. Similarly titled articles and news reports were put out frequently (and for years following) with none of the authors bothering to actually examine the original study, nor question its results.
However, this study was easy to refute (even by a non-scientist, like myself) by simply looking at it with a critical eye, where I found that they used synthetic, petroleum-derived vitamin E (racemic alpha-tocopheryl). Now, no one familiar with how to use vitamins would ever suggest the use of synthetic vitamin E, which is not only debatable as to how effective it is, but also actually blocks vitamin E receptors in the body, forbidding the body from properly absorbing vitamin E from foods.
As I mentioned in Health Secrets for the 21st Century: Volume 1, you show me a study that swings one way and I will find you one that says just the opposite. For example, on PubMed I found another study involving over 35,000 men (followed for a decade), showing a distinct protective advantage against advanced prostate cancer by taking 400 IU of natural vitamin E daily. (Source)
So, don’t let bad science steer you wrong, for, as we have seen with vitamin K2, the benefits of one critical nutrient go far beyond one or two benefits, as I have demonstrated in my two part series on The Importance of Vitamin E.
In closing, I will tie the bonus round back into the theme of this newsletter by offering one more benefit of vitamin K that also involves prostate health.
Varicose Veins
Recent research has uncovered the role of vitamin K in the calcification of varicose veins as well as a role in the proliferation of smooth muscle cells in the vein wall. Vitamin K deficiency has clearly been proven to be involved in the formation of varicose veins. “The hypothesis is that poor prostate health is essentially a vitamin K insufficiency disorder. By providing vitamin K in the right form and quantity, along with other supporting nutrients and phytochemicals, it is likely that excellent prostate health can be extended much longer, and perhaps poor prostate health can be reversed.” (Source)
(Author: All newsletters and blogs are written by Ken Peters who has worked as a nutritional consultant for the last 30 years, and as product designer for NutriStart for the last 25 years. He has also authored two books - Health Secrets Vol. 1&2. He may be reached at: kenpetersconsulting@gmail.com)