Your Heart & Vitamin K2

Vitamin K2 is vital to how your body handles calcium. While Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium, K2 helps guide it into your bones and teeth instead of your arteries and blood vessels. This is important for heart health because calcium buildup in the arteries, called vascular calcification, can make them stiff and contribute to cardiovascular disease.

Currently, the recommended daily intake for Vitamin K overall is 120 mcg/day for men and 90 mcg/day for women. But current research has shown K2 to be highly beneficial for heart and bone health. Therefore, a separate recommendation of ~1 microgram (mcg) a day of vitamin K2 from food sources may be highly beneficial.

You don’t necessarily have to get K2 from a supplement, as it’s found naturally in food. However, the Western diet tends to be low in K2 food items. Reviewing your daily food sources or having your nutrition advisor review them for you can ensure you’re consuming enough K2 in your daily intake. Individuals with higher cardiovascular risk or low dietary intake are especially vulnerable.

Foods With High K (NIH info)

• Natto (as MK-7) - 850mcg per 3oz

• Collard greens, cooked - 530mcg per ½ cup

• Spinach, raw 145mcg per 1 cup

• Kale, raw 113mcg per 1 cup

• Broccoli, cooked 110mcg per ½ cup

Foods With Moderate K (NIH info)

• Soybeans, roasted 43mcg per ½ cup

• Edamame, cooked 21mcg per ½ cup

• Pumpkin, canned 20mcg per ½ cup

• Pomegranate juice, 19mcg per ¾ cup

• Pine nuts, dried 15mcg per 1oz

• Blueberries, raw 15mcg per ½ cup

• Iceberg lettuce, raw 14mcg per 1 cup

• Chicken breast (as MK-4), 13mcg per 3oz

• Canola oil, 10mcg per 1 tablespoon

• Cashews, raw 10mcg per 1oz

• Carrots, raw 8mcg per 1 medium

• Olive oil, 8mcg per 1 tablespoon

There are different forms of Vitamin K. Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) is mainly found in plant foods, particularly in dark leafy greens such as kale, spinach, and Swiss chard. Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) is primarily found in fermented foods, such as natto, as well as in certain animal products, and it is also produced by our gut bacteria. There are several subgroups of Vitamin K2 that are categorized by the length of their side chain, ranging from MK-4 to MK-13.

Among these, MK-7 and MK-4 are considered the most important forms of Vitamin K2 due to their significance in human health.

Foods containing MK-4 include:

• Pasture-raised egg yolks

• Grass-fed butter

• Liver and organ meats (such as chicken liver and goose liver)

• Dark poultry meat (including chicken thighs and goose legs)

Additionally, various cheeses can contain both MK-4 and longer-chain MKs, contributing to Vitamin K2 intake. Levels tend to be highest in less processed, aged, full-fat cheeses. Such as aged Gouda, aged cheddar, Raclette, Vacherin Fribourgeois, and Emmentaler. Particularly those made from grass-fed animals.

Consuming a balanced diet that includes these foods can be beneficial for maintaining adequate levels of Vitamin K in the body. If your daily meals don't tend to contain these items, talk to your nutrition advisor about possible supplementation.