PHARMACEUTICAL FOCUS
MenaQ7 K2
– a proven guardian of bone and cardiovascular health
MenaQ7® vitamin K2 was created from a desire to substantially impact people’s health through all stages of life. Years of clinical research have established its safe and effective health benefits, ranging from bone health benefits in children and adults to cardiovascular health benefits in adults. In this article, Dr Hogne Vik, chief medical officer of NattoPharma, explores the clinical validation of this wonder vitamin.
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very hour in South Africa, five people suffer from a heart attack and ten people have strokes. Of those events, for ten people they will be fatal, according to The Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa.1 Meanwhile, estimates from the National Osteoporosis Foundation of South Africa show that one in three South African women and one in five South African men could develop osteoporosis within their lifetime – which means potentially between 4m and 6m South Africans suffer from compromised bone health.2 But what if we could simultaneously promote bone health while protecting cardiovascular health simply by taking a vitamin? Vitamin K2 as MK-7 (menaquinone-7) is a newly-recognised vitamin shown in clinical studies to support bone and cardiovascular health by activating proteins that help the body properly utilise calcium. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to obtain this vital nutrient from diet alone, leaving 97% of the Western
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population deficient,3 making supplementation a viable alternative.
WHAT IS VITAMIN K2? It is a family of vitamins comprised of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and vitamin K2 (menaquinone). Phylloquinone and menaquinone share similarities, such as working in the liver for blood clotting. Chemically, they share a quinone ring called menadione. But that is where their similarities end.
" Vitamin K2 as MK-7 is a newly-recognised vitamin shown to support bone and cardiovascular health"
Vitamin K2 has several molecules, called menaquinones, which are available beyond the liver for other systems such as bones and heart. There are actually multiple forms of K2, but the two most common forms as dietary supplements are K2 as MK-4 (menaquinone-4) and K2 as MK-7 (menaquinone-7). Vitamin K2 as MK-7 is superior since it requires a single daily microgram dose and works for 72 hours compared to K2 as MK-4, which requires multiple daily milligram intake and works for only 90 minutes.4, 5
THE K2 MECHANISM Vitamin K2 activates vitamin K-dependent proteins (VKDP) already present in the body. Most of the research focuses on two VKDPs: • matrix gla protein (MGP) inhibits calcium from depositing in arteries and soft tissues • osteocalcin (OC) binds calcium to the bone mineral matrix for a stronger skeleton and dentin.
