Introduction
You may be familiar with the basic info about nattokinase, K2, and their connection. Vitamin K is well known for blood clotting; the less known Vitamin K2 is found in Nattokinase. Various nattokinase supplements contain vitamin K2, which is well known for its role in heart diseases and bone health. Natto, a Japanese cuisine made of fermented soybeans, is one of the richest sources of Vitamin K2.
There’s so much to share about K2, so we’ll take it one at a time. Read below for significant facts about vitamin K2 in nattokinase products and supplements.
What is Vitamin K?
There’s a lot of confusing information about Vitamin K in the atmosphere. However, when you see the intake recommendations, you can see that it usually refers to both vitamin K1 and K2 collectively.
What is Vitamin K2, and what role does it play?
Scientists in recent decades have found that Vitamin K1 and K2 function differently. They have a role such as ‘on’ switches for different functions in our body with different targets. In the liver, vitamin K1 activates the protein in the body that helps with blood coagulation. For example, when you get a cut or wound on the skin, it starts bleeding for a short time and eventually stops. This is due to the presence of Vitamin K1 in the body that turns on the process that thickens the blood at the wound, which stops flowing. Without Vitamin K1 activating these proteins, the blood would be unable to stop and eventually clot.
Vitamin K2 plays the process outside the liver, like in bones or blood vessels of the body. Vitamin K2 activates the protein called Matrix-Gla Protein (MGP) in the blood vessels, which removes calcium from the lining of blood vessels. Vitamin K2 is also essential for heart health as clarification of blood vessels can be a risk factor for heart diseases. In bones, vitamin K2 activates a bone-forming protein called osteocalcin, which is essential for bone health. It helps our bones to draw calcium from blood vessels in the body and turn it into bone tissue. You can get various customized nattokinase products rich in Vitamin K2.
Nattokinase and Vitamin K2 for bones
Nattokinase is one of the rare plant sources of Vitamin K2, which plays an essential role in the bone health of our body. It is said that calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K2 act together for bone health. A 100gm portion of natto contributes to 22% of the daily calcium intake. Calcium is the basic building block of bone tissue. While we eat anything, it goes through the digestive tract in our body and is absorbed in our small intestine. Calcium is also required for other body functions, and if we don’t get it from the food we eat, our body pulls it from the storage, i.e. Our bones. This is why a deficiency in calcium in our diet can lead to conditions like osteoporosis, a bone disease that occurs when the bones get weak.
Calcium may be difficult for our bodies to utilize and absorb, which is where vitamin D plays the role. It improves our body’s ability to absorb calcium from our diet more efficiently. Vitamin D signals the body that calcium is available from a food source and prevents our body from taking calcium from our bones when we get enough from our diet. The next step involves the role of vitamin K2. Once you’ve absorbed the calcium with the help of vitamin D, vitamin K2 helps our bones to draw this calcium out of the bloodstream and deposit it in the bone tissue.
Nattokinase and Vitamin K2 for heart health
Vitamin K2 plays a role in improving heart health as well. Nattokinase supplements like BSNK66 nattokinase help to dissolve blood clots and maintain optimal blood flow, lowering heart diseases and improving heart health.
In the development of atherosclerosis (a disease in which plaque builds inside your arteries), the plaques can break and form a blockage in your blood vessels. A blockage in an artery that supplies blood to the heart may lead to a heart attack. These plaques are partially made of calcium, so calcium deposits in arteries can be a risk factor for heart attack and other heart problems.
Vitamin K2 helps to activate a protein in the body that removes calcium from blood vessels. Higher vitamin K2 intake is directly linked to decreased heart diseases. You may not be aware of the interconnected roles of Vitamin K2, Calcium, and Vitamin D, so you focus on more calcium intake. Still, the fact is that more calcium intake can lead to heart diseases.
Sources of Vitamin K2
Natto, a Japanese cuisine made from fermented soya beans, contains significantly more vitamin K2 than any other food source. Other than that, the sources of vitamin K2 include animal foods, meat, egg, and high-fat dairy products. Many animals can convert vitamin K1 into K2, which is why animal food is said to be a good source of vitamin K2.
How much Vitamin K2 intake is enough for our body?
There are no such formal intake recommendations for vitamin K2. The average intake of vitamin K2 is 28.5 micrograms per day, and it is believed that those who intake more may be healthier.
Although there is not much about Vitamin K2 in the food and beverage industry, it has shown rapid growth over the last 5-10 years in the supplements industry. Adding vitamin K2 to different plant-based sources can at least try to fill this gap.
Conclusion
Eiffel Biotech’s self-developed BSNK66 nattokinase supplement contains Vitamin K for bone and heart health. It offers a wide range of best-rated customized nattokinase products such as nattokinase protein shakes, yogurt, biscuits, prebiotics, nattokinase raw materials, and nattokinase capsules. You can customize according to the customer’s needs to provide the best for them. Each product batch goes through various quality checks before dispatching it to the supplier. Eiffel Biotech does not compromise on quality because we value our customers.