Discussion of the various vitamin K2 supplements on the market with a comparison of MK-4 from animal sources or MK-7 from bacterial fermentation to ensure the diet contains sufficient amounts of this elusive yet critical nutrient.
Getting enough Vitamin K2 is absolutely essential to vibrant health. Surprisingly, the vast majority of people are seriously deficient.
Even those eating a completely whole food, organic diet, usually fall short when it comes to getting enough of either of the two major forms: MK-7 and MK-4.
Traditional Societies instinctively put great importance on foods high in Vitamin K2.
These sacred foods were consumed in larger quantities by young couples preparing to conceive.
In addition, pregnant and breastfeeding women, growing children, and the elderly received more to preserve health during these critical times of life.
Sufficient Vitamin K2 along with the other critical fat-soluble activators A and D are especially important for pregnant women to consume to ensure healthy babies.
It is important to note that Vitamin K1 from leafy greens is a different nutrient! It is not the same as Vitamin K2 found in the sacred foods of traditional cultures.
The best food sources of Vitamin K2 are grass-fed dairy products, emu oil, gouda, brie cheese, and natto, a very strong-tasting fermented soy product with roots in Japan.
Vitamin K2 from animal sources is MK-4, while K2 produced by bacterial fermentation as found in natto or cheese is MK-7.
Getting Enough Vitamin K2 in the Diet
Unfortunately, even if one consumes plenty of grass-fed dairy, getting enough K2 in the diet is still a challenge. This is due to the worrisome depletion of our soils which will take generations to repair.
Consider that the spring butter of the traditional Alpine living Swiss was an orange color. Grass-fed spring butter today is at best deep yellow.
No doubt, the soil that produced the rapidly growing spring grass that the Alpine cows grazed upon was much higher in nutrients to produce orange butter which the Swiss reverently placed in bowls with wicks to burn in their Churches.
K2 Is Not Recycled by the Body like K1
One factor contributing to widespread Vitamin K2 deficiency is the apparent lack of recycling of this nutrient by the body.
This is in contrast to Vitamin K1 from leafy green vegetables, which can be reused metabolically.
This means that Vitamin K2 stores can be quickly depleted with invisible deficiency occurring in as little as 7 days.
This is concerning especially if you are taking Vitamin D or calcium supplements. Sufficient K2 is necessary to prevent arterial calcification when the intake of these synergistic nutrients is high.
K2 Supplements Bridge the Dietary Gap
While it is always best to strive to get your nutrients from food, the critical nature of Vitamin K2 and the depletion of our soils indicates to me that supplementation is a good idea.
I did not feel certain that we could get enough K2 by eating reasonable amounts of whole and even sacred foods from grass-fed sources like Traditional Societies would have obtained by eating a similar diet.
Based on population studies and data obtained from Vitamin K2 doses given in clinical trials, it seems that 45 mcg/day would be the minimal dose needed for any sort of therapeutic effect.
Several hundred mcg/day is a better target as this is what frequent natto eaters in Japan consume.
The good news is that Vitamin K2 has no known toxicity. Thus, adding a daily supplement taken with food to improve absorption has no downside.
MK-7 vs MK-4
If you decide that taking a Vitamin K2 supplement makes sense to you, which should you choose?
If given the choice, I prefer MK-4, the animal form of Vitamin K2 over MK-7, the form of K2 from bacterial fermentation.
I get MK-4 in my diet by cooking frequently with pastured ghee, the clarified form of butter. I also eat plenty and a wide variety of cheeses along with pastured butter and eggs.
MK-4 from Food
When it comes to the animal form of Vitamin K2…MK-4…you really must get it from Real Food. The best sources are grass-fed butter, emu oil, ghee, goose liver, cheese, and pastured egg yolks.
I cannot stress enough that these are critical whole foods in your diet.
You cannot rely on a supplement form of MK-4, known as menatetrenone, because it is synthetic.
This is similar to the widespread issue of synthetic vitamin C supplements. Incidentally, folic acid is synthetic too (you want folate).
Synthetic MK-4
The supplement form of MK-4 is commonly extracted from tobacco, most likely of GMO origin (90% of tobacco crops are genetically modified).
It is not the same MK-4 as found in grass-fed butter oil, eggs, goose liver, gouda cheese, or pastured emu oil.
Supplement manufacturers rely on synthetic MK-4 because it would be prohibitively expensive to obtain this nutrient from whole food sources.
MK-4 in the Blood
Another big downside of synthetic MK-4 is the very short time it remains in the body.
For this reason, dosing every few hours is necessary to maintain therapeutic levels in the blood.
This is a very inconvenient aspect of these supplements that is rarely understood by consumers looking for therapeutic benefits.
Natural MK-7 Supplements
While MK-4 supplements are synthetic, MK-7 supplements produced via fermentation are not.
Thus, when it comes to supplementing with Vitamin K2, MK-7 is the safest and most effective form to take.
For example, this brand of Vitamin K2 is derived from nonGMO natto. My family has relied on it for many years.
If you enjoy the unusual flavor of this Japanese traditional food, I recommend natto fried rice as perhaps the best-tasting dish.
For those who are avoiding even fermented forms of soy, this Vitamin K2 from fermented chickpeas is a good brand to consider.
Blood Levels of MK-7
A huge benefit of supplementing with MK-7 is that it stays in therapeutic doses in the blood much longer than synthetic MK-4.
As a result, a once-a-day supplement of MK-7 is sufficient.
This is a very effective addition to the natural MK-4 from a diet high in grass-fed dairy and other sacred foods.
Summary. You Need BOTH MK-4 and MK-7
Getting enough of the natural, fermented form of Vitamin K2 in the diet via quality MK-7 supplements is a great strategy. To this end, I take this brand of Vitamin K2 derived from nonGMO natto.
However, it is critical to ensure you are also getting plenty of the animal form of Vitamin K2…MK-4…via whole foods.
The best MK-4 sources include cheese, pastured butter (especially ghee or raw butter oil), emu oil, goose liver, and pastured egg yolks.
Cheese from the milk of pastured cows is a particularly special source of Vitamin K2 because both MK-4 and MK-7 are in the same food!
Be sure to read labels and avoid MK-4 supplements as they are synthetic. I’ve seen at least one brand that lists menatetrenone as Vitamin K2 and not specifically MK-4, so buyer beware!
When it comes to the amount of Vitamin K2 you might need every day to maintain strong teeth, bones, and plaque-free arteries, I strongly recommend the book Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox by Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue BSc, ND.
She discusses the daily dosage needed for healthy people versus those who need to reverse arterial calcification, osteoporosis, and other degenerative issues.
References
(1) Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox by Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue BSc, ND
(2) Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, by Dr. Weston A. Price
(3) Menatretnone
More Information
The Latest Scoop on K2 Wonder Nutrient
The Vitamin Deficiency That Shows on Your Face
Nightshade Vegetables and Pain
@Lisa natto is a traditional food eaten in Japan and is indeed fermented.
Where do you find natto that isn’t full of additives? I checked a local Oriental market (I’m in Tampa), but only found natto with a list of ingredients I wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole. I was hoping to try the recipe you posted in a post earlier this year. Thanks!
Yes, that is a hard one. Another problem is that all the natto I can find in my local area is not organic and therefore most likely GMO which is yet another reason I take the nonGMO MK-7 supplement.
I think oftentimes those questionable ingredients are in the packet of sauce, so if you make your own mustard-tamari sauce you can skip the additives. Just be sure the natto is organic, and sometimes this requires asking a store clerk to indicate the Asian character for organic since it is sometimes not labeled in English.
Great tips!!! Thank you Beth. I had not thought of this.
Does the Green Pastures High Vitamin Butter Oil contain the synthetic MK-4? Do you take the green pastures and then add this MK-7 supplement?
Thanks
Any grassfed dairy like butter, milk, butter oil, ghee, goose liver pate is going to contain NATURAL MK-4. It is the supplemental form of MK-4 that is a problem.
YES, I most definitely take the high vitamin butter oil from Green Pastures and yes I take an MK-7 supplement on top of this. I will have to write another blog post on what taking this additional amount of K2 via MK-7 supplement has done for me health-wise. I waited a year to observe before thinking I would be ready to write something about it.
Yes, this is what I *really* want to know. I take so many supplements as is. What will the MK-7 do for me?
Yes! Do write about the benefits you’ve noticed over the past year. We really need to know! Because I eat a lot of gouda, thanks to your article, and grassfed butter, just assumed my FCLO was enough and didn’t need the butter oil. Do let us know more as soon as you can! Thanks!
Yeah i thought the CLO had a good amout of K2 in it
My only concern is that it is soy derived, however, if the soy is fermented before extraction, that might be ok.
Elizabeth, you can not make that assumption as it could simply be being expelled.
“Another big downside of MK-4 supplements is that this synthetic form of MK-4 does not remain in therapeutic levels in the blood for very long — only a few hours”
This is highly likely to it being absorbed by the tissues/organs much more rapidly, which is actually an advantage.
Interesting thought!
Also the xylitol and erithritol
Sugars will wipe your teeth
Squeeky clean!!!
Do you take fermented cod liver oil, what about the vitamin K2 in that?
awesome…I want us, my family to start using it too!! where do you buy it from??
Are your teeth just as clean taking the MK-7?
I discovered that the MK-7 from Jarrow doesn’t work compared to the MK-4 from Thorne. I was amazed after switching that in 2 days all the deposits on my teeth were gone! It had been a year since I had my teeth cleaned, and I was able to feel that build up on the back of my lower front teeth. Before spending the money on the dentist, I decided to switch to the Thorne MK-4 after reading the blogs of Stephan Guyenet and Richard Nikoley who reported the same kind of experience with both Green Pasture’s Butter Oil and the Thorne’s MK-4. Now my teeth are perfectly free of deposits. The MK-7 pills I took everyday didn’t do that.
I didn’t know it’s synthetic. However, I can tell that it’s doing something (and saving money from the dentist!). This way, I have an indicator — my teeth — letting me know the mineral are more likely going to places they are supposed to be, instead of building up on my teeth..
Also, I understand that the MK-4 version is what has been used in all the research that proves success with osteoporosis and heart disease. What are your thoughts on that?
What do you think? I love that I notice a difference with the MK-4. What’s your personal experience with MK-7? How do you know it’s working?
I don’t honestly know how anyone can support and promote a synthetic source of MK-4. MK-7 is why gouda and other hard cheeses are so high in Vitamin K2. It is a wonderful and healthful source of K2 especially if one is getting REAL MK-4 from grassfed dairy.
Synthetic MK-4 from supplements is a poor choice from the research I’ve done.
I should add that synthetic MK-4 from supplements does work according to studies I’ve seen … however, I choose not to take it for the simple reason that it is synthetic and it doesn’t keep blood levels of K2 at therapeutic levels for longer than a few hours.
Hmm… Good points. But I’m trying to figure out how I as a vegetarian on a limited budget can obtain enough of both MK-4 and MK-7. I’m looking at natto and fermented cheeses like gouda/edam for MK-7 and will probably buy the MK-7 supplement you recommend because natto makes me gag and I don’t want to just be eating cheese all the time. A supplement will be cheaper than buying natto anyway. I can get cheeses on food stamps, but not natto since the Japanese market doesn’t take food stamps (even though natto is cheaper and more efficient for MK-7… excuse not to kill my sense of taste, I guess). So then, if the MK-4 supplement becomes super expensive and complicated due to being synthetic, where does a vegetarian get enough MK-4? I’m having a hard time figuring out what dairy sources contain MK-4. All I know so far is that Gouda/Edam/Brie contain K2, all I believe MK-7. I’m trying to obtain dairy + eggs from the Farmer’s Market as much as possible, but 1. eggs sell out so fast there and I sleep too late on Sundays; plus I don’t wanna eat that many eggs anyway, and 2. the Farmer’s Market doesn’t seem to sell any fermented cheeses. 🙁 I’m not even sure the Gouda I bought at Safeway is from grassfed cows, which I care about both for ethical reasons and for nutrition. I didn’t see any benefits to my teeth while eating the first wedge of Gouda… I feel them rapidly degrading on my new high-protein diet.
If there’s a cheese with MK-4 that I should know about, telllll meeee!!! I’m broke and don’t wanna buy another supplement especially if it barely lasts. MK-7 will be expensive enough as it is. In the meantime, I am gonna finish this $2 worth of natto I bought yesterday. EEK!
I’ve been taking Jarrow, MK-7 but am concerned that it has soy oil in it, and as most people should be aware, soy is one of those crops that are now definitely GMO. So how can this be good for anyone?
Thanks.
Nanncy
Chris Kesser disagrees. I assume you are familiar with him, and he is very thorough in his research. He has also indicated (in response to readers’ questions and comments to his articles on K2) that Thorne’s products are good quality. So do many others who are well-respected in the field. I think you are over-reacting to the “synthetic” aspect in this case.
I read on another blog (Paleo) that the gentleman was taken FCLO and Butter oil and swearing that it cleaned his teeth so well that he felt like he really didn’t have to brush them. Perhaps your bloggers were experiencing the power of the butter oil and maybe the MK4 was just a fluke? I have a lot of build up (not as much since I eat better) and I was very intrigued by this statement from the Paleo blogger. I have not had the money to test his theory out but I guarantee it is one I am working on. Fascinating.
I have taken FCLO and butter oil for years (every since they first came on the market) and YETadding MK-7 to my daily regime make a huge difference which I do need to write a blog post about.
Again, I strongly disagree that MK-7 is not beneficial. Perhaps not as potent as MK-4, but I much much prefer a natural MK-7 to a synthetic MK-4.
What if you have a sensitivity to soy?
Sarah,
Just curious if the brand in the picture is the exact brand you take. Wondering why you would take it when it contains soy…and we all know how you feel about soy. 🙂
I would like to know what brand you use Sarah
Thanks