Most people are familiar with the important roles calcium and Vitamin D play in developing and maintaining healthy teeth and bones. That’s why we are advised to consume foods and drinks that are high in calcium in our diets. We also need Vitamin D from sunlight or supplements to aid in the absorption of calcium in our intestines and the maintenance of calcium levels in our bodies.
Is your calcium going into your teeth and bones?
However the buck doesn’t stop with calcium and Vitamin D. Just because you consume both of these nutrients, doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have strong teeth and bones. In fact, if you have high levels of calcium into your bloodstream, it may end up circulating aimlessly until it gets deposited in your joints, arterial walls and even your heart tissue. In time, you increase your risk for arthritic issues, calcified arteries (aortic calcification), cardiovascular disease and what you wanted to prevent in the first place – weak teeth and bones!
Vitamin D needs Vitamin K2’s help to direct calcium to the right places
Vitamin K2 is a little known fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for strong teeth and bones. Vitamin K2 is actually a type of protein that works along with Vitamin D to move calcium out of soft tissue and your bloodstream, and into your teeth and bones. If you have a Vitamin K2 deficiency, you may start to experience the health complications mentioned above.
Other health benefits of Vitamin K2
Additionally, Vitamin K2 can also help prevent calculus from forming on outside your upper molars and behind your bottom front teeth as a result of high levels of calcium in your saliva. Calculus tends to form in these specific areas because they are right next to saliva glands in your cheeks and under your tongue.
Vitamin K2 has also been linked to better brain health, kidney health, cancer prevention and blood sugar level stabilisation.
Foods high in Vitamin K2
You can get adequate levels of Vitamin K2 if you consume regular servings of the following high K2 foods as part of a nutrient-dense whole food diet:
- Organic grass-fed butter
- Organic unhomogenised grass-fed full cream milk
- Organic grass-fed meats
- Vintage cheddar cheese – aged over 18 months and depends on cheese culture
- Fatty fish including cold water (North Atlantic) wild caught salmon, sardines and mackerel
- Naturally-rich free range egg yolks
- Goose liver
- Fermented soy natto – a Japanese food product