Research published in February, 2015’s edition of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, the International Journal for Vascular Biology and Medicine, which is thas published the first study showing the beneficial effect of long-term vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7 or MK-7) use on cardiovascular health. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial using a specific vitamin K2 called MenaQ7, made by NattoPharma, proved the supplement’s positive cardiovascular effects by improving arterial flexibility.
Two diagnostic tests, Pulse wave velocity and ultrasound techniques were used to measure vascular elasticity in the study titled, “Menaquinone-7 Supplementation Improves Arterial Stiffness in Healthy Postmenopausal Women,” conducted at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands on 244 post-menopausal women ages 55 to 65. The women were monitored for three years with regular intake of 180 micrograms of MenaQ7 vitamin K2 daily, or placebo capsules.
“The women taking the MenaQ7 vitamin K2 did not experience the typical age-related progression of arterial wall stiffening, and even made a statistically significant improvement of vascular elasticity, compared to the placebo group,” said Cees Vermeer, renowned vitamin K2 scientist and chief innovation officer at the R&D Group VitaK of the Maastricht University Holding (the Netherlands), who led the study’s research team. “This is the first study showing that long-term use of vitamin K2 in the form of MK-7 beneficially affects cardiovascular health.”
Previous research shows flexibility of the arteries also has a direct correlation to a person’s longevity. Calcification in the arteries has shown to add 10 years to a person’s biological age according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine (Rosenhek, et al., 2000). Another study published in the scientific journal Atherosclerosis (Shaw et al., vol. 188, 206) shows your biological age could decrease or increase by 10 years based on the level of age-related arterial calcification. Healthy arterial tissues have been shown to contain 100 times more vitamin K2 than calcified arteries.
“This MenaQ7 study is very impressive and confirms other research we have reviewed on the benefits vitamin K2 for bone and heart health,” said Dr. Dennis Goodman, board-certified cardiologist, author of “Vitamin K2: The Missing Nutrient for Heart and Bone Health,” and director of integrative medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. “The amount of calcium in the arteries is a direct risk factor to cardiovascular health.”
Current studies show that 45 micrograms of MenaQ7 does not interfere with blood-thinning medications and does not provoke any additional blood clot formation risks. MenaQ7 is the only clinically proven and validated vitamin K2 with patents granted, and pending, on cardiovascular health.
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