Have you ever considered that bone and heart health are integrally linked? While both are impacted by age (i.e., age-related wear), compromised bone and heart health are actually an implication of a vitamin deficiency: Vitamin K2.

Protecting hearts and bones is an important facet of aging in a healthy way, but it’s a foundation that must be established early. Simply adding a vitamin to one’s daily routine has been clinically proven to do both.

Even more exciting is that new research is linking the mechanism of this essential nutrient to impacting other health areas beyond just bone and heart, including brain health, vision health, general/respiratory health, pain and inflammation, and more, lending to the argument that Vitamin K2 could be one of the most important healthy aging nutrients on the market today.

Why is Vitamin K2 supplementation so important?

Vitamin K2 is a fat-soluble vitamin that activates proteins already present in the body that help it properly utilize calcium. When Vitamin K2 activates the protein osteocalcin, this protein binds calcium to the bone mineral matrix, helping to create strong bones. Simultaneously, K2 activates the matrix GLA protein (MGP), which inhibits calcium from depositing in arteries and blood vessels, where it can cause harm.

Observational studies have shown that populations consuming ample Vitamin K2 have superior bone and heart health, yet the state of global bone and cardiovascular disease has reached epidemic status. The issue truly comes down to confusion: even those trying to live the healthiest lifestyles do not understand the almost insurmountable struggle to correct this deficiency through diet alone, leaving almost 97% of the global population K2 deficient.

What is Vitamin K2’s potential?

Rogue calcium in the bloodstream can have a detrimental impact on health. For example, when calcium deposits in arteries (instead of binding to the bone mineral matrix), it causes them to stiffen, impairing blood flow and increasing cardiovascular risks. Yet rapidly surfacing evidence connects soft-tissue calcification to other systems’ deterioration, including the brain, vision, general/respiratory, pain and inflammation, and more, highlighting the potential impact Vitamin K2 can have on keeping calcification at bay.

Vitamin K2 is the only compound to date clinically shown to impact calcification by activating a specific K-dependent protein already present in the body. While interventional studies with cardiovascular endpoints have proven this, new research demonstrates how this mechanism could play an essential role in supporting full-body health—not only as a standalone ingredient, but when formulated in tandem with complementary nutrients, such as Vitamin D3 and Omega-3s.

All of this evidence lends itself to the argument that correcting a widespread Vitamin K2 deficiency can greatly impact global health. The first step in correcting that deficiency is establishing a Vitamin K2-specific recommended daily intake.

It is truly an exciting time with tremendous potential for a simple vitamin to address many of the issues that challenge us as we age.

Want to learn more? Register now for an illuminating talk on this very topic at the Naturally Informed virtual event Healthy Aging: Mastering the Market on September 29-30, 2021. We hope you will join us for the presentation, and an interactive roundtable.