Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola
Story at-a-glance
- Vitamin K2 helps prevent vascular calcification by guiding calcium away from your arteries and into your bones, reducing the risk of heart disease and arterial stiffness
- Research shows people with higher vitamin K2 intake have a 29% lower risk of peripheral artery disease, 44% reduction in Type 2 diabetes, and 41% reduction in hypertension
- Vitamin K2 activates proteins that bind calcium to the bone matrix, constantly supporting bone strength and reducing risk of fractures and osteoporosis
- The recommended daily dosage is 90 to 180 micrograms for adults, 90 micrograms for teenagers, and 45 micrograms for children under 10 years old
- Good sources of K2 include fermented foods like natto, aged cheeses, egg yolks, grass fed dairy products, and organic, grass fed beef
When it comes to vitamins, well-known examples that immediately come to mind include vitamins C and D. While these are certainly important, I believe that other vitamins also deserve their own spotlight, such as vitamin K2.
In this episode of the Wellness by Designs podcast, nutritionist Brad McEwen, Ph.D., explains the role of vitamin K2 in your body, and what happens when you don’t get enough of this nutrient.
How Vascular Calcification Occurs When You’re Deficient in Vitamin K2
One of the most significant benefits of vitamin K2 is its ability to support cardiovascular health. When calcium builds up in your arteries, it leads to stiffening and blockages.
The importance of vitamin K2 for optimal cardiovascular health
— Research shows that it activates biological processes that direct calcium away from your arteries and into your bones and other essential organs, but a deficiency can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.
McEwen explains further, “One of the areas we’ve been looking at is a deficiency of vitamin K2 has been linked to vascular calcification. Not just coronary, but just overall calcification.
And if you think of it this way, you got different mineral deposition, particularly calcium, of course, coming from the calcium hydroxyapatite — and we always say from the bones because that’s the main storage site into the vascular system and then going into the vascular wall because it gets trapped.”
Blockage occurs due to the molecular weight of calcium
— McEwen theorizes that the heaviness of calcium contributes to its propensity to cause arterial blockages.
“So, it’s like a big centrifugal force going through the arteries and then it just gets trapped because it’s, I don’t know, heavier? It’s like a big metal going through and then it embeds and over time, as you know, we talk about foam cells, atherosclerosis, etc., and it starts that calcium, you know, process,” he says.
From there, McEwen describes where the calcium actually embeds in your cardiovascular system, increasing your risk for clots that eventually block blood flow:
“The biochemistry all combines together leading to this complex which, then, sat in the arteries and it can sit in the basement membrane of the artery. It can be on the inner or outer side of that membrane, leading to an inflammatory process and oxidative process, leading to like a firestorm in there.
The body tries to heal it, you know, by laying down fibrin and different connective tissue to protect it — putting a Band-Aid down, I suppose. And then that’s when you get your atherosclerosis, your plaque formation and then your eventual clot in that area.”
Heavy Metals Increase the Risk of Vascular Calcification Further
It’s not just a lack of vitamin K2 that increases your risk for vascular calcification. Even the very environment you live in influences your risk. McEwen recounts a case study related to this observation, wherein he saw a patient whose previous physicians couldn’t figure out what was happening with her despite trying out “every test under the sun.”
•Heavy metals embed into your tissues — McEwen discovered that it was due to the presence of heavy metals in her childhood neighborhood, which embedded into her tissues. When she moved out of the area, the heavy metals circulated throughout her system, causing bone pain and increasing cardiovascular risk.
•Nutritional deficiencies contribute to vascular calcification via heavy metal exposure — According to McEwen, bone-related nutrient deficiencies do not direct calcium to where it’s needed the most.
“What I found out was due to her childhood, there was different heavy metals in the area, and that’s what deposited into the tissue. And when she moved around, that tissue left — because she didn’t have enough vitamin D, vitamin K, etc. — and then left the bone, so she had bone pain, and then embedded into her vascular system leading to cardiovascular link,” he says.
Research Surrounding the Benefits of Vitamin K2
The benefits of vitamin K2 regarding cardiovascular health have been well-studied for many years now.
This is an extract from the original article, Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola March 23 2025.
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Researched by Dr Joseph Mercola. To find more articles go to https://www.mercola.com
