Vitamin K regulates calcium in the body, preventing the buildup of calcium in the arteries and promoting healthy bones. Vitamin K2 is more powerful than K1 and helps prevent cancer. Vitamin K activates Gla-proteins, including osteocalcin, which pulls calcium to bone sites. Vitamin K2 helps build bones and prevent their destruction, while also restricting the formation of osteoclasts. A lack of vitamin K can lead to calcification in the arteries and increase the risk of heart disease. MGP, another Gla protein activated by K2, blocks the proteins that cause calcium buildup in the heart’s blood vessels.
Vitamin K and calcium have a very strong and important connection in maintaining the health of the body. Vitamin K regulates calcium in two important ways. With regard to healthy bones, vitamin K helps bind calcium to bone matter and also prevents the deterioration of bone tissue. Working in conjunction with special proteins in the bloodstream, vitamin K promotes the elasticity of blood vessels. This inhibits the buildup of calcium that causes hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart disease.
This vitamin occurs naturally in two forms, K1 and K2. Vitamin K1 comes from green leafy vegetables like spinach and broccoli, and K2 is produced by bacteria in the human intestines and some animals. Considered more powerful than K1, vitamin K2 is the form of vitamin K that prevents calcium buildup in the arteries and free radical oxidation in the bloodstream, which can lead to cancer.
The interaction between vitamin K and calcium is basically chemical. The vitamin acts as a kind of chemical power switch that activates the Gla-protiens through a process called carboxylation. These proteins perform health maintenance in many areas of the body, including regulating calcium levels. One of the Gla proteins activated by vitamin K is osteocalcin, which pulls calcium along with it to the sites where bone structure is formed.
Vitamin K2 helps both build bones and prevent their destruction. It works with vitamin D to increase the levels of Gla proteins within the body, including those in osteoblasts, which are the cells that form bone. At the same time, K2 restricts the formation of osteoclasts, the cells that break down bone matter.
The ratio of vitamin K and calcium is also important for a healthy heart. If the body does not get enough vitamin K, osteocalcin is not activated and only travels in the bloodstream. In this inactive state, osteocalcin does not transport calcium, which is then deposited as sludge in the arteries. The arteries become calcified, which means they lose their elasticity and begin to harden. Calcification in the area of the heart greatly increases the risk of heart disease.
Calcification can be minimized by another link between vitamin K and calcium. Another of the Gla proteins put into action by K2 is the matrix Gla protein (MGP). MGP is produced in the muscular area of the heart. Once activated by sufficient levels of vitamin K2, it blocks the proteins that cause calcium to build up in the blood vessels of the heart.
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