Intro to Vitamin K2
I didn’t know much about Vitamin K2 until the past few years. I read constantly about nutrition for health, and yet I’d never run across information about K2. Vitamin K is divided into k1 and k2, and both are involved in blood coagulation, but K2 has additional benefits for the body.
Read on for a closer look at this vitamin and how it’s related to the health of your body — and your skin.
The Role of Vitamin K2 in maintaining good skin
Strengthens Bones and Keeps Blood Circulating
Within the body, Vitamin K2 is responsible for the crucial task of moving calcium Out of the bloodstream, and Into the bones. This prevents calcification of the arteries, while it strengthens bones.
As far as your skin is concerned, this combination will help to maintain clear arteries that supply the skin with life-giving oxygen, while also preserving your bone structure as you get older. And of course the benefit to heart health is invaluable.
Prevents Hardening of Elastin Fibers
Elastin is like the scaffolding that supports the collagen, that keeps it from succumbing to the forces of gravity. In other words, preserving it will prevent skin from sagging.Â
Building collagen is important, but collagen also needs strong elastin to keep it from falling down.
That’s where vitamin K2 comes in. While vitamin K1 is involved in blood coagulation, K2 also keeps calcium in the bones and away from ALL of the soft tissues of the body. That means your elastin fibers will stay strong and supple, rather than weak and brittle.
SUPPLEMENTS
We don’t usually get enough K2 in our diet (unless you eat a lot of the foods I will mention below) so taking a supplement** is a good idea.
You should include Magnesium Citrate along with the K2 to increase absorption. I’ve linked to the products I use, but there are several options to choose from.
This is the Vitamin K2 supplement I use. It is affordable, and the brand is reliable.
This is a good, affordable Magnesium Citrate to take along with your Vitamin K2. Whichever brand you choose, make sure it is the Citrate form.
FOODS WITH VITAMIN K2
NATTO: The number one choice for vegans, vegetarians, and carnivores alike.
Natto is the #1 food with Vitamin K2.
NATTO is a fermented soybean food, very high in Vitamin K2. It is eaten daily in Japan, over rice in the morning, perhaps with an egg and some green onions. It has a smooth texture and a nutty, mild flavor. It isn’t something most of us are familiar with in the West, but it’s gaining popularity amongst vegans because of its health benefits.
You can purchase Natto from Amazon, or if you’re lucky enough to live near a Japanese grocery, you can definitely find it there.
While Natto is the #1 food in terms of K2 content, other fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, and kimchee also contain the precursor to K2. These foods will populate your gut with the healthy bacteria that produces it.
(I’m not a fan of sauerkraut on its own, but I love it in sandwiches.)
If you’re not a vegetarian or vegan, you can also find smaller amounts of K2 in chicken breast, gouda, blue cheese, and egg yolks.
**ONE IMPORTANT CAVEAT: If you are on a blood thinner, you should not take a K2 supplement.
Do you get enough Vitamin K2 in your diet? Have you ever tried Natto? Share in the comments’ section below!
For more on Vitamin K2, see my post: 22 Foods for Gorgeous Skin and Why they’re Different
