Vitamin K2 preserves bone
by Newsletter Editor
Bone is a living tissue, constantly forming and breaking down by binding or releasing calcium. As long as bones form more than break down, bones stay strong. Vitamin K is essential for binding calcium to bone.
In this study, 244 healthy postmenopausal women took 180 mcg of vitamin K2 per day or a placebo. After three years, lumbar-spine bone mineral density in the placebo group had declined by 1.5 percent while the vitamin K2 group had lost less than one-half percent.
In order to bind calcium, bone produces a protein called osteocalcin. Doctors measured levels of circulating inactive osteocalcin, where high levels signal bone is breaking down. After the three-year study, there was a 4 percent increase in inactive osteocalcin levels for placebo while the vitamin K group had a 50 percent decrease, signaling better bone formation.
Reference: Osteoporosis International; March, 2013, Electronic Prepublication