May is National Osteoporosis Month (+ Enter to Win!)

Hi Barbara,
AlgaeCal Plus contains vitamin K2, which directs calcium straight to your bones and keeps them out of arteries. AlgaeCal has had three human clinical trials conducted, the last was 7 years long – with no adverse side effects from participants, which includes heart issues.

I’m going to quote Lara Pizzorno, our Bone Health Expert as she replied to a similar concern recently…

“We’ve known for more than 20 years now that one of the proteins that vitamin K2 activates, called matrix Gla protein, not only prevents calcium from depositing in the vasculature, but actually removes calcium deposits from our blood vessels (and other soft tissues, like our kidneys, breasts and brain).

The first human evidence for a link between nutritional vitamin K status and vascular health was provided by the Rotterdam study, whose results were published in 2004.
Geleijnse JM, Vermeer C, Grobbee DE, Schurgers LJ, et al. Dietary intake of menaquinone is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: the Rotterdam Study. J Nutr. 2004 Nov;134(11):3100-5. PMID: 15514282

In this study, dietary intake of phylloquinone (vitamin K1) and menaquinone (vitamin K2) was analyzed in relation to risk of aortic calcification and coronary heart disease (CHD) in 4,807 elderly subjects recruited from the general population. Risk of incident CHD, all-cause mortality, and vascular pathology (aortic calcification) was found to be inversely related to intake of vitamin K2 (i.e., greater K2 intake resulted in significantly lower risk), but no such benefits were detected with respect to different levels of vitamin K1 intake. This is because K1, while beneficial for our bones because it lowers inflammation (and chronic inflammation is a key underlying cause of excessive osteoclast activation and bone loss), does not activate the vitamin K-dependent proteins, osteocalcin, which pulls calcium into bone, and matrix Gla protein, which prevents calcium from depositing in soft tissues and removes calcium that has deposited in the vasculature.

Since the Rotterdam study, a number of additional studies have shown that insufficient intake of vitamin K2 is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular calcification, whereas higher intake of vitamin K2 exerts cardiovascular protection. Here are just a few of these papers (perhaps you might want to share these with your doctor since K2 is an extremely safe, effective and inexpensive treatment to prevent and reverse arterial calcification that he or she should know about):

Juanola-Falgarona M, Salas-Salvadó J, et al. Dietary intake of vitamin K is inversely associated with mortality risk. J Nutr. 2014 May;144(5):743-50. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.187740. Epub 2014 Mar 19. Erratum in: J Nutr. 2016 Mar;146(3):653. PMID: 24647393
Vissers LE, Dalmeijer GW, Boer JM, et al. Intake of dietary phylloquinone and menaquinones and risk of stroke. J Am Heart Assoc. 2013 Dec 10;2(6):e000455. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.113.000455. PMID: 24326161
Vissers LE, Dalmeijer GW, Boer JM, et al. The relationship between vitamin K and peripheral arterial disease. Atherosclerosis. 2016 Sep;252:15-20. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2016.07.915. Epub 2016 Jul 25.
PMID: 27494446
Shea MK, Holden RM. Vitamin K status and vascular calcification: evidence from observational and clinical studies. Adv Nutr. 2012 Mar 1;3(2):158-65. doi: 10.3945/an.111.001644. PMID: 22516723
Gast GC, de Roos NM, Sluijs I, et al. A high menaquinone intake reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Sep;19(7):504-10. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2008.10.004. Epub 2009 Jan 28. PMID: 19179058

Vitamin K2 has been also been studied in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and found to help prevent excessive bone loss, and in patients with chronic kidney disease, a condition that results in arterial calcification. The most recently published study looking into the effects of K2 on arterial calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease was a small, pilot trial of 42 subjects with CKD stage 3-5 who were randomized into two treatment arms: one group receiving 400 iu of vitamin D3 only and a second group receiving 400 IU of D3 plus 90 mcg of K2 daily for 270 days. Progression of atherosclerosis was assessed by measurement of the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery and was significantly lower in patients treated with both D3 and MK-7. Several additional prospective, interventional studies are now in process that will further investigate vitamin K2’s cardiovascular benefits.
Brandenburg VM, Schurgers LJ, Kaesler N, et al. Prevention of vasculopathy by vitamin K supplementation: can we turn fiction into fact? Atherosclerosis. 2015 May;240(1):10-6. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2015.02.040. Epub 2015 Feb 24. PMID: 25744701

One of these is focusing specifically on coronary arterial calcification — a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial: “The Effects of Vitamin K-2 Supplementation on the Progression of Coronary Artery Calcification.” This study is being conducted from Maastricht, The Netherlands (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01002157 and is investigating daily supplementation with 360 mcg Vitamin K-2 (MK7) in patients with established coronary artery calcification (CAC). The study is investigating whether MK-7 supplementation results in a decreased progression-rate of CAC after 24 months of follow-up. I am following this research and will be reporting the results when each of these studies is published.

Hope this helps,
Lara”

Hi Jean,
Wonderful to hear of your success with AlgaeCal!
Yes, Triple Power is an anti-inflammatory with clinical doses of omega 3 fatty acids, astaxanthin and turmeric. These nutrients work together synergistically to combat inflammation in the body, and therefore, reduce discomfort. Here’s some additional information: https://www.algaecal.com/product/triple-omega3-fish-oil/ but please let me know if you have further questions.
– Monica