Bone and Heart Health

HEALTHY BONES PLUS HEART - PART TWO

by Dr.Perricone


Healthy Bones, Healthy Heart Vitamin K1

Many of us are familiar with vitamin K (phylloquinone, also known
as phytonadione), commonly referred to as vitamin K1, which is a
fatsoluble vitamin found in foods such as cabbage, broccoli,
cauliflower, spinach, kale, turnip greens, and other dark leafy
greens, cereals, and other vegetables. Vitamin Kl makes up about
90 percent of the vitamin K in a typical Western diet and plays
an important role in blood clotting. Because this is a
fat-soluble vitamin, it is important to eat these foods dressed
with a little extra-virgin olive oil to ensure absorption of the
nutrient. Some studies indicate that only 10 percent of the
vitamin K1 in foods is absorbed by your body.

(Wellll....I've not taken olive oil with my greens, and I'm doing
just fine at age 70 on 9/11 2012 - some things Dr's go just a
little too far in prescribing - Keith Hunt)

Today, emerging evidence in human intervention studies indicate
that vitamin K1 at a much lower dose may also benefit bone
health, in particular when co-administered with vitamin D.
Several mechanisms are suggested by which vitamin K can modulate
bone metabolism. Besides the gamma-carboxylation of osteocalcin,
a protein believed to be involved in bone mineralization, there
is increasing evidence that vitamin K positively affects calcium
balance, a key mineral in bone metabolism. The Institute of
Medicine has recently increased the dietary reference intakes of
vitamin K to 90 micrograms per day for women and 120 micrograms
per day for men, which is an increase of approximately 50 percent
from previous recommendations.
A new analysis by Joyce McCann, Ph.D., and Bruce Ames, Ph.D., of
Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute of data from
hundreds of published articles dating back to the 1970s also
advises that the current recommendations for vitamin K intakes be
increased.

(Lots of greens is the key - Keith Hunt)


Current recommendations are based on levels to ensure adequate
blood coagulation, but failing to ensure long-term optimal levels
of the vitamin may accelerate bone fragility, arterial and kidney
calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly even cancer.

Vitamin K2: Don't Leave Home Without It!

Though this is good news, the news about vitamin K2 is even
better when it comes to both bone and arterial health. Vitamin
K2, also known as menaquinones, stays in the body for a
significantly longer time than K1. It makes up about 10 percent
of a typical Western diet's vitamin K and can be synthesized in
the gut by microflora.

(Now remember what he said, it stays in the body longer than K1 -
for again I've found this K2 supliment just too expensive; you'd
have to be a millionaire to take all these things many of these
Dr's write about - Keith Hunt)

Menaquinones (MK-n) can also be found in the diet: MK-4 can be
found in meat; MK-7, MK-8, and MK-9 are found in fermented food
products like cheese, and an especially rich source of MK-7 is
natto, a popular, centuries-old breakfast dish in Japan made from
steamed fermented soybeans. Because of its rather unpleasant -
some might call it "slimy" - consistency, natto, said to be the
food of samurai warriors, can be a hard sell to the Western
palate.

Chairman of the Board Certified

My friend and colleague Stephen Sinatra, M.D., F.A.C.N., C.N.S.,
is board certified in both internal medicine and cardiology. The
buildup of arterial plaque is deadly to the healthy heart, and
Dr. Sinatra continually searches for effective strategies to
decrease this threat. A number of studies have demonstrated the
effectiveness of vitamin K2 in reversing plaque in blood vessels.
Vitamin K2 appears to assist in the decalcification of hard
plaque formations.
Dr. Sinatra has seen outstanding progress in his patients taking
the MK-7 (menaquinone-7) type of vitamin K2, which offers the
following unique benefits:


Provides the most active and bioavailable form of vitamin K2,
MK-7
Helps reduce the level of calcium in the bloodstream
Supports cardiovascular health
Helps strengthen bones
Aids in calcium absorption by bones
Helps increase bone density

I recently met with Dr. Sinatra to learn even more about this
remarkable nutrient. Although this is a chapter on bone health,
the remarkable discoveries about vitamin K2 demonstrate the
holistic nature of the body and how all systems are intrinsically
linked - in this instance, bone health and heart health. This
makes it difficult to compartmentalize each organ system into a
neat little chapter. There is tremendous overlap among bone
health, digestive health, the immune system, the cardiovascular
system, and so forth. As you will discover, a great bone
structure means much more than just getting us on the pages of
Vogue.
Dr. Sinatra had impressive news from Dr. Cees Vermeer, a
biochemist from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and one
of the top vitamin K2 researchers in the world. Two new studies
(published in Blood, the journal of the American Society of
Hematology) by Dr. Vermeer's team of researchers have reported
the following:

The first study showed that vitamin K2 is more absorbable by the
body than vitamin K1, so K2 is able to provide more support for
the enzyme process that contributes to bone health - and more
protection against osteoporosis. This absorbability puts vitamin
K2 at greater risk of interfering with Coumadin, which is a
vitamin K antagonist. Vitamin K promotes clotting, and Coumadin
is prescribed to keep the blood thin by preventing clotting.
According to Dr. Sinatra, new evidence from Europe suggests that
Coumadin may also interfere with a vitamin K2 protein system that
keeps calcium out of the arterial walls. It now appears that on
one hand, Coumadin thins the blood, but on the other, it
contributes to arterial calcification. Coumadin causes a
deficiency of both vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. It should come as
no surprise to learn that Coumadin takers suffer more
osteoporosis in conjunction with more abnormal calcium deposits
in other areas, such as the heart valves - in fact, twice as much
as those not taking the drug. Dr. Sinatra has become extremely
cautious about prescribing Coumadin because of these risks,
reserving its use for only the highest-risk patients.
To better understand the role of calcium in the body, consider
this:

Normal deposits of calcium occur only in bone and teeth. Abnormal
deposition of calcium in the body occurs in three places:
the intima, the innermost layer or lining of the arteries that
causes atherosclerotic plaque; the heart valves; and the medial
calcification, which is the muscle layer of the arteries.

Studies also show that people with coronary disease, in
conjunction with reduced blood levels of vitamin K2, show more
advanced atherosclerotic plaque. It also appears that calcium is
an active participant in the buildup of coronary plaque-and not
the innocent bystander once supposed!

In a second study, Dr. Vermeer found that a diet high in both
vitamins K1 and K2 could prevent and reverse Coumadin - induced
arterial calcification in rats. The rat arteries that were
studied resembled human arteries affected by common diabetic and
age-related sclerosis (hardening of tissues).
Traditionally, calcification has been thought to be an
irreversible end-stage process in arterial disease. There is a
very real possibility that a vitamin supplement could roll back
the sclerosis that destroys the arteries. Imagine what this could
mean to individuals with diabetes and heart disease.

Could it be that many detrimental physical processes associated
with age are not part of the so-called normal aging process? More
and more, the answer is yes, and many of the pillars supporting
the "carved in stone" scientific beliefs are toppling. As this
information demonstrates, many of these processes can actually be
reversed - and, equally important, prevented altogether.

The calcium link between arteries and bone is fascinating to me.
One of the biggest tragedies of aging is osteoporosis, which
predisposes us to weakness, frailty, and dangerous bone
fractures, greatly limiting our mobility. Unfortunately, the
calcium that belongs in our bones is transferred to arterial
walls, predisposing us to cardiovascular disease and more.
Adequate intake of vitamin K2 can stop this from occurring. We
now have what appears to be a highly effective strategy to keep
bones strong and arteries free of dangerous plaque. As you can
see, strategies that can keep bones healthy have significant
impact on our cardiovascular systems as well - absolutely
critical information for women with each passing decade.

Although it is breast cancer that puts the fear of death into
women, the fact is that women have a much greater chance of dying
of heart disease. Vitamin K2 can greatly reduce your odds of
developing this disease. Although heart disease was thought of as
a "man's disease" in the past, it is the leading cause of death
for both women and men in the United States, and women account
for 52.6 percent of the total heart disease deaths. In 2005,
heart disease was the cause of death in more than 454,000
females. Heart disease is often perceived as an "older woman's
disease," and it is the leading cause of death among women age 65
and older. The fact is that heart disease is the third leading
cause of death among women age 25 to 45 and the second leading
cause of death among women aged 45 to 64. Remember that many
cases of heart disease can be prevented!


Number of Deaths

TOP TEN CAUSES OF DEATH FOR WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES

Diseases of the heart 329,238
Alzheimer's disease 51,038
Breast cancer 41,116
Influenza and pneumonia 34,581

Source: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)
Program (www.seer .cancer.gov) SEER*Stat Database: Mortality-All
COD, Public-Use with State, Total U.S. (1969-2005), National
Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer
Statistics Branch, released February 2008. Underlying mortality
data provided by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. For
more information and facts, visit the CDC's Heart Disease site.
http://wwwcdc.gov/heartdisease/.

As you can see, you are eight times as likely to die of heart
disease than breast cancer. Not to downplay the breast cancer
risk, but you are also more likely to die from an accident than
you are from breast cancer! I personally find this lack of
awareness by many women about their most dire health threat a
matter of great concern.

According to the American Heart Association, nearly 37 percent of
all female deaths in America occur from cardiovascular disease.
Many women simply do not understand the dangers of heart disease
and stroke. Keeping this in mind, we take stock of the promising
heart and vascular research on Pycnogenol to date.
..........

Now of course if you have a problem where you need to take K2
suppliment pills - you should.
But if on a balanced diet that is full of greens, a normal supply
of K2 should already be in your diet - especially if you buy
organic greens. It is just that most people in the Western world
do not eat enough greens and fruits, although Governments are
trying to tell people to have more of them in their diets.
Governments have wised up to the fact that if people eat a better
diet, including lots of greens, other vegetables and fruits, they
will be healthier and hence the cost of "health care" (trying to
fix bad eating habits) will be less.

I cannot over-state BALANCE - AND GREENS AND FRUITS. GOD MADE AN
ABUNDANCE OF THEM FOR US. YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN NEED TO EAT
PLENTY OF THEM. IF POSSIBLE HAVE A GARDEN - GROW VEGETABLES -
GROW SOME FRUITS IF YOU CAN - OR BUY ORGANIC.

I DO BELIEVE IN SOME SUPPLIMENTS - I DO TAKE THEM - BUT TO TRY
AND TAKE EVERYTHING THAT EVERY "DOCTOR" WRITES ABOUT, YOU'D HAVE
TO BE A MILLIONAIRE.