Why Vitamin K2 is So Important for Your Kids
Great new for parents who buy Kids Potential …
We added Natural Dairy & Casein-Free Vitamin K2, as MK-7, to Kids Potential for healthy bone density to help them develop healthy, strong bones beginning early in life. Here is a re-post of relevant scientific research that gives you some idea of why Vitamin K2 is an important nutrient for your growing children.
Learn more here: Kids Potential and www.mykidspotential.com.
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Findings of a new study published in British Journal of Nutrition 2009 by van Summeren and colleagues demonstrated that even modest supplementation with menaquinone-7 in children increases activation of osteocalcin, the bone-building protein; and in that way supports healthy bone growth and development. This is an important finding as the greater bone mineral established during childhood and early adult years, culminating in peak bone mineral density around 30 years of age, allows for better maintenance of bone health as we age and lose bone mass.
The present study is a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study examining the effect of 45 mcg natural vitamin K2 as menaquinone-7 (MK-7) on the circulating levels of the vitamin K-dependent protein Osteocalcin. Active osteocalcin is required for bone-building cells (osteoblasts) to optimally utilize calcium for building and maintaining a healthy bone matrix. 8 weeks of supplementation in healthy prepubertal children increased blood levels of vitamin K2 as MK-7 and significantly increased the amount of active osteocalcin.
According to Professor Cees Vermeer at the VitaK research center, “Non-supplemented people are generally insufficient in vitamin K. It has been demonstrated that children are far more vitamin K deficient than adults. We explain this by the rapid growth of their bones and consequently the high vitamin K demand by the bones for the production of osteocalcin. The present study is the first one to demonstrate that increased vitamin K intake by supplement improves the osteocalcin activity in children. The next step must be that also an effect of MK-7 on bone strength or fracture risk is demonstrated in this age group. There is a growing awareness that maximizing bone strength at childhood is an important strategy to prevent osteoporosis at later age.”
Osteocalcin – the potent protein
Osteocalcin is a protein responsible for utilization of calcium within bone tissue – it has the ability to bind calcium to the matrix of bones, which makes them stronger and less susceptible to fractures. Without sufficient amounts of vitamin K in the diet, or in cases of Vitamin K deficiency, inactive osteocalcin is not able to bind calcium properly, and thus the bones weaken and become fragile.
Strong bones – best investment for the future
Children have the greatest requirement for active osteocalcin and thus for K vitamins because bone tissue grows and develops most intensively during childhood and adolescence. The higher peak mass young bones achieve, the lower the risk of osteoporotic changes in the elderly. Hence, the optimal pubertal status of bone is important to prevent disorders in later life.
Benefits scientifically proven
Results of the new study clearly confirm outcomes of previous laboratory experiments, population-based (i.e., epidemiological) studies and clinical trials that have tightly linked better vitamin K status in children to the achievement of a healthy, strong bone-structure. Simplified, improving vitamin K status in children results in stronger and denser bones. Additional K vitamins intake might also improve bone geometry and positively influence gain in bone mass. That contributing effect has been recently reported by O’Connor et al , who, while conducting a study in a cohort of 223 healthy girls (11-12 years old), found better K vitamin status related to higher bone mineral density.
Warfarin, a commonly prescribed blood-thinning medication, inhibits vitamin K activity. A study of children with long-standing vitamin K deficiency induced by this drug were shown to have a significantly reduced bone mass, which illustrates the potential consequences of K vitamins deficiency in growing bones.
What Wrinkles Say About Your Bone Health
Skin Wrinkles May Provide a Glimpse Into Bone Health
June 6, 2011 (Boston, Massachusetts) — A close look at the skin of early postmenopausal women might provide a glimpse into their skeletal health, according to a study presented here at ENDO 2011: The Endocrine Society 93rd Annual Meeting.
The study found a significant inverse association between skin wrinkles and bone mineral density (BMD) in a population of women within 3 years of menopause who were not on any hormone therapy and who had not had any cosmetic skin procedures.
“It’s a unique population when changes are happening in a dynamic fashion.” This is a relation “not previously described,” said study presenter Lubna Pal, MBBS, MRCOG, MSc, a reproductive endocrinologist and associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
Common Building Block
The architecture of the skeleton and the skin share a common building block: collagen, Dr. Pal explained. Age-related changes in collagen contribute to age-related skin changes like wrinkles and sagging, and might also contribute to reduced BMD.
“When I am seeing an older patient, her bigger concern is what is happening to her skin; the clinician’s concern is what is happening to her bones,” Dr. Pal said. “So part of the question was: Can I fine tune to the patient’s concern and get a sense of the bone health?”
Dr. Pal and colleagues performed a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data on 114 early postmenopausal women (70% white) enrolled in the longitudinal Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS).
As part of an ancillary study of the skin, the distribution and depth of skin wrinkles were assessed at 11 sites on the face and neck using the Lemperle wrinkle scale. Skin firmness was assessed at the forehead and cheek using a durometer, which has been validated in patients with scleroderma, and bone density was assessed with dual x-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine, hip, and total body.
The researchers observed a clear inverse correlation between skin wrinkling and BMD at the spine (r, –0.27; P < .01), femoral neck (r, –0.29; P < .01), and total body (r, –0.26; P =.01), independent of age, body composition, or other factors known to influence BMD.
“Basically, what we found was that the higher the wrinkle score, the worse the bone mineral density,” Dr. Pal said, “so our hypothesis was substantiated by these associations.”
Firmer skin of the face and forehead was associated with higher BMD.
“Powerful Potential Relevance”
Madhusmita Misra, MD, MPH, from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in Boston, who was not involved in this study, said: “This is a meaningful association if, indeed, it is real; we need future data to confirm that.”
“We have multiple clinical risk factors that are already available that identify an individual’s fracture risk; this may be yet another piece that would enhance the overall predictability. I think it is of powerful potential relevance, but it needs to be substantiated,” Dr. Misra added.
“Ultimately,” Dr. Pal said, “we want to know if the intensity of skin wrinkles can allow the identification of women who are more likely to fracture a bone, especially the femoral neck or hip.” If this is the case, then looking at skin wrinkles plus other clinical risk factors “may allow the identification of fracture risk in populations that do not have access to more costly technology.”
But Dr. Pal agrees with Dr. Misra that much more study is needed.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Dr. Pal said. “It’s a tantalizing association” that needs to be followed-up in long-term studies to substantiate a relation between wrinkles and the risk for bone fracture.
Dr. Pal noted that the women in the study are being followed longitudinally, and that it will be “interesting to see in the coming years whether women with deeper wrinkles are losing bone at a faster rate than other women.”
The study was funded by Aurora Foundation to the Kronos Longevity Research Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Pal and Dr. Misra have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
ENDO 2011: The Endocrine Society 93rd Annual Meeting: Abstract P3-126. Presented June 4, 2011.
Best Time to Take Vitamin D
Did You Know…
Taking your vitamin D supplement with your largest meal of the day may boost its uptake by as much as 56%!
This finding was presented in a study published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
Adequate vitamin D levels are linked to a reduced risk of osteoporosis.
Fish Oil & Bone Mineral Density
FISH AND FISH OIL MAY PROTECT AGAINST BONE LOSS
A study has concluded that greater consumption of fish or fish oil appears to result in greater bone mineral density (BMD) compared to the BMD of those who consume less or no fish or fish oil, and therefore, may help protect against the loss of bone density with age.
Also, results suggested a stronger benefit from these fish oils – the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids known as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) – with higher consumption of an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid known as arachidonic acid (AA). (Since little or no AA is found in plant foods, the body must get this essential oil from animal sources – meat, eggs or dairy – or by converting the essential oil linoleic acid, LA, into AA; LA itself is found in many oils.) A high intake of fish was defined as three or more fish servings a week.
The study assessed and followed 75-year-olds for four years. This just-released study will not appear in print until a future issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It is available online now at http://bit.ly/goiFCL.
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Studies show that Vitamin K-2, specifically menaquinone 7, has significant impact on bone mineral density. Osteo K-2 is a dietary supplement that contains laboratory certified MK-7, the form of Vitamin K2 vital in supporting bone density. We’ve had very favorable results and encourage you to try Osteo K-2. Just click here for more information: Osteo K-2.
New Developments in Bone Structure of Chinese-American vs. Caucasian Women
Columbia University uses technological innovation to study bone structure
A team of researchers at Columbia Engineering and Columbia University Medical Center announced the results of the first study comparing bone structure in Chinese-American women to Caucasian women. The report, just presented at the Orthopaedic Research Society’s annual meeting at Long Beach, CA, found that pre-menopausal Chinese-American women have far greater bone strength than their Caucasian counterparts, as determined by a breakthrough technological advance.
The Columbia team was led by X. Edward Guo, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, and, from Columbia University Medical Center, John P. Bilezikian, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Marcella Walker, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and X. Sherry Liu, Associate Research Scientist.
The team used a groundbreaking analytical technique developed at Columbia Engineering- Individual Trabeculae Segmentation (ITS) – to analyze the microstructure and strength of the trabecular, or spongy bone, one of the two types of tissue that form bone (the other is cortical, or compact bone). Trabecular bone is the most important site of osteoporosis-related fractures. Critical to the research was the use of ITS, an advanced 3-D imaging analysis technique that was conceived and developed in Dr. Guo’s Bone Bioengineering Laboratory, and has a unique ability – using high-resolution computed tomography images – to quantify the plate and rod microstructure crucial to bone strength and osteoporotic fracture of bone.
The Columbia group is the first to apply ITS to clinical studies; this is the first time they have applied ITS to ethnic studies of bone health. A total of 95 women were included in the study-49 Caucasian and 46 Chinese-American. There were no significant age differences between the two groups (36(+-)7 vs. 35(+-)4).
“We found in this research that Chinese-American women do not have the same risk of fracture as Caucasian women due to the plate-like structure of their bone, which offers mechanical advantages over the rod-like structure found in the bones of Caucasian women,” Dr. Guo explained. “If you look at a building made of walls, you can see that it is much stronger than a building made only of columns. Columbia Engineering’s ITS is the only established technique that can distinguish plate vs. rod and it clearly revealed in this study the striking magnitude of the differences between the bone structure of the Chinese-American and Caucasian women.”
Drs. Bilezikian and Marcella Walker led the clinical aspect of the study and quantified the microstructures in the distal radius and the tibia. “These are the two areas that the instrument can measure,” Dr. Bilezikian said. “But we believe the data that come from these sites can be applied to other sites such as the hip.”
Dr. Liu, who earned her PhD on ITS development in Dr. Guo’s Bone Bioengineering Laboratory, noted that the most important factor when determining bone strength is the ratio of plate to rod in trabecular bone. “We found the plate to rod ratio of trabecular bone in Chinese-American women was twice that of Caucasian women (0.62 vs. 0.30). We also found the number of trabecular plates was significantly higher in Chinese-American women when compared to Caucasian women, indicating that Chinese-American women have much stronger trabecular bone than Caucasian women.” Liu is currently an associate research scientist with Dr. Bilezikian in Columbia University Medical Center’s Endocrinology Division.
Dr. Liu continued, “The size of the individual trabecular plates was significantly larger in the Chinese-American women versus the Caucasian women. Trabecular plates were 9% and 4% greater in thickness and 11% greater in surface area at the distal radius and tibia.” The researchers also found that Chinese-American women had better cortical bone quality than Caucasian women. The study has not yet explored potential explanations for these differences.
“The advanced ITS morphological analysis developed at Columbia Engineering showcases a paradigm-shift technology in measuring bone micro-architecture,” said Dr. Guo. “ITS is a must-have technology for both basic science and clinical studies of osteoporosis and we are very excited about continuing our research.”
Drs. Guo and Bilezikian traveled to China this past November and are planning to return in early 2011 to work on creating Columbia-associated research centers there with the goal of extending their research to Chinese women living in both urban and rural areas of China. “The major differences between Chinese-American women and Caucasian women elucidated in this paper may eventually help us understand the mechanisms by which hormones and other factors control skeletal microstructure,” Dr. Bilezikian said. “The essence of what we found here helps to account for the markedly reduced risk of a hip fracture in Chinese-American woman compared to Caucasian women.”
Do Vitamin D Supplements Help Children?
Filed under: A Message from the Doctor, Caring for Your Children
Excellent article worth re-printing:
Bone density blow for vitamin D?
By Nathan Gray, 06-Oct-2010
Vitamin D supplements do not have any effect in boosting bone density for healthy children with normal vitamin D status, according to a new systematic review from the Cochrane collaboration.
The review, published in The Cochrane Library, concludes that supplementation with vitamin D does not improve bone density in the general population of children, but may have benefits for those with very low vitamin D status.
“Vitamin D supplementation had no statistically significant effects on bone density at any site in healthy children. There was, however, some indication that children who had low levels of vitamin D in their blood might benefit from supplementation,” said study leader Dr Tania Winzenberg, of the Menzies Research Institute, Tasmania.
Fragile bones
Osteoporosis is characterised by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissues, leading to high bone fragility and an increased risk of fracture.
Low bone mineral density is a major risk factor for osteoporosis. Previous studies have suggested that up to 90 per cent of bone mass is built during childhood, and increasing bone mass in childhood is seen as a potential way to reduce the impact of osteoporosis
“It is estimated that a 10 per cent increase in peak bone mass reduces the risk of an osteoporotic fracture in adult life by 50 per cent,” stated the researchers.
Vitamin D is known to improve calcium deposition in bones, and previous research has suggested children with vitamin D deficiency have reduced bone density.
“By measuring bone density, you can assess how well an intervention such as vitamin D supplementation improves bone health,” said Dr Winzenberg.
The new Cochrane review assessed the results of six high quality trails looking at vitamin D supplementation and bone density in children, investigating
No effect
The authors reported vitamin D supplementation to have no statistically significant effects on, hip bone, forearm, or whole body bone mineral density. However, a small but statistically insignificant trend was found lumbar spine bone mineral density.
Researchers also found “a trend towards a larger effect with low vitamin D for total body bone mineral concentration”, indicating that low vitamin D status trails reported significant effects on total body bone density and lumbar spine bone density from vitamin D supplementation.
Dr Winzenberg outlined two key findings to take from the review. “First, there is reasonable evidence that giving vitamin D supplements to a general population does very little in terms of bone density.”
“But secondly, if we look at a specific group like deficient children, then the indications are that groups with lower status could see some benefits. But as it stands, the evidence is not good enough to make firm conclusions.”
Further work
Commenting independently on the review, Dr. Ailsa Welch, from the University of East Anglia said that the effects of vitamin D hinge on the baseline status: “If your status is already adequate, then the authors found no effect. But there needs to be more work done to determine the effects in low status children.”
Welch added that she believed the research was “very useful”, and said that the work “points to the need for further research in children.”
Andrew Shao, Ph.D, Senior Vice President of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) highlighted that the authors “had very little data to work with, because there are very few studies in children.”
“Right from the start the researchers are restricted in terms of participants – there just aren’t enough studies in children to give a conclusive answer on the subject,” added Shao.
Shao also pointed out the “many other health benefits associated with vitamin D”, and stated that the findings of any study on vitamin D “should not overlook the fact that a lot of people – including children – have inadequate vitamin D status, or are fully deficient.”
Dr Winzenberg confirmed that the evidence is “pretty strong […]to suggest that research with deficient children is a promising area,” but added that “there is no suggestion that supplementing the entire population would be a good idea.”
Source: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Issue 10, Article Number: CD006944, doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006944.pub2.
“Vitamin D supplementation for improving bone mineral density in children”
Authors: T.M. Winzenberg, S. Powell, K.A. Shaw, G. Jones
How to Get the Most From Vitamin D
Your body may make better use of supplemental Vitamin D if you take it with your largest meal of the day, boosting its uptake over a 2-3 month period by as much as 56 percent, according to a study at the Cleveland Clinic, detailed in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
TIP TO REMEMBER – Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. Fat soluble vitamins should always be taken with the highest fat meal of the day.
Vitamin D is loosely linked with a decreased risk of autoimmune disorders.
Bone Health: Are Calcium & Vitamin D Enough?
“The WHI CaD” study is the largest randomized clinical trial conducted on calcium supplementation in post-menopausal women. It followed over 36,000 women for ~7 years. Half of the women took 1,000 mg of Calcium and 400 IU of Vitamin D; the other half took a placebo.
RESULTS: Women taking placebos had a hip fracture rate of 14/10,000. Women taking calcium and vitamin D had a hip fracture rate of 10/10,000. While the trend is favorable, the message of the study is that calcium and vitamin D are not enough, according to Dr. Joel Finkelstein, an osteoporosis researcher at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “It is a good start, but women at higher risk need to know it is not enough.”
Dr. Joel Finkelstein:
“With widespread marketing calcium & vitamin D, many women believe that they are completely protected against the development of osteoporosis if they are taking these supplements. This study should help correct this important misconception and allow more women to receive optimal therapy for bone health.”
Finkelstein, JS. Calcium plus Vitamin D for post menopausal women – Bone Appetit? N Engl J Med 2006: 354; 750-752.
Suggestions for Optimal Bone Health
The Importance of Natural Vitamin K2 (MK-7)
Researchers investigated why women in the Eastern part of Japan had much lower incidence of hip fracture vs. women who lived in other parts of Japan. It came down to a Japanese traditional food consumed only in the region where women had very low incidence of hip fracture – a marker in medicine for bone density.
Natto.
Natto is a traditional Japanese fermented soybean dish commonly consumed in Eastern Japan. Natto is a fermented, soybean cheese-like dish that has a very strong amoniacal smell with a gluey texture and spiderweb-like strings when you stir it. So what does Natto have to do with bone density?
Vitamin K2, specifically, Menaquinone 7 (MK-7)
Researchers report Natto contains natural Vitamin K2, specifically Menaquinone 7 (MK-7) that is linked to stabilization of bone proteins, positively impacting bone density. Not only is Natural Vitamin K2 (specifically MK-7) important for healthy bones, scientists discovered that MK-7 supports cardiovascular health as well. The growing body of Vitamin K2 research indicates that it is a very promising nutrient for supporting healthy bone density.
For more information on nutrients that support bone density, click here to read about Osteo K-2.