Calcificationbook.com

Calcification: The Phosphate Theory of Aging and Disease Copyright 2012 by Mark Mayer. ISBN: 978-1492926962. All rights reserved. Second edition: Version 2.0 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations. Notice: The information presented here is not intended as a substitute for the advice and/or medical care of the reader's physician. Any diet or lifestyle regimen should be undertaken under the direct supervision of the reader's physician. The reader should regularly consult with a physician in matters relating to his or her health, and especially with regard to symptoms that may require diagnosis. Please consult a medical or health professional if you have any questions about your health. For legal reasons, I must include the aforementioned disclaimer. But in reality most of the recommendations in this book involve simple dietary and lifestyle changes that are easy to follow. How to use this book . 4 Preface . 5 Introduction . 7 Phosphates! Phosphates! Everywhere! . 20 Magnesium to the rescue . 26 The “K” factor . 32 Oxalic acid (oxalates) . 45 Calcium scoring: What you need to know . 50 Epilogue . 51 Resources . 59 Appendix 1 mineral chelates . 59 Appendix 2 How fluoride got approved . 60 Appendix 3: Alternative sweeteners . 72 Appendix 4 probiotics & prebiotics . 77 important updates and other free articles. The address is:Because new information is constantly becoming available, I recommend checking this website every so often. You will also find direct links to the websites listed in this book. Most technical terms are included in the glossary at the end of this book (See the table of contents for the location of this glossary). Calcification kills! And furthermore, it can accelerate signs of aging. In a recent John Hopkins study, it was determined that those with the highest level of calcium deposits in their arteries, had the highest incidence of heart attacks. One of the study authors Michael Blaha, M.D., stated the following: We found that the risk of a heart attack was eight times greater among people under age 45 who had high levels of calcium in their coronary arteries compared with patients over age 75 whose vessels did not contain calcium,” says Michael Blaha, M.D., one of the study authors from The Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute. Click on the following link to see this report first hand. The focus of my book is phosphate food additives and their relation to calcification, with additional chapters on vitamin K2 and other factors related to calcification. The phosphate theory of aging and disease has not gotten much attention, but has recently been the subject of a very impressive Harvard study. The study was conducted by M. Shawkat Razzaque, M.D., Ph.D., from the Department of Medicine, Infection and Immunity at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Razzaque’s study concluded that “High levels of Phosphates can accelerate signs of Aging.” You can see this study for yourself by going to any search engine and typing in the words “phosphates + the author’s name: Shawkat Razzaque.” Click on the following link to see this report first hand. insignificant compared to the results that you can actually see with your own two eyes: Through a process called calcium scoring, it is possible to have your calcium deposits quantified into numbers. And most importantly, you can actually see those numbers go down. Calcium scoring is a controversial technique that uses a CT scanner to measure the amount of calcium deposits in your arteries. Normally, I would hesitate to recommend the casual use of these tests because they do subject your body to some radiation, but the amount of radiation used is minimal. Later in this book, I will tell you about a dietary supplement called Glisodin that has been shown in credible studies to protect your body from radiation. book. This edition represents a major revision to my last edition. For this edition I have rewritten most of the chapters with updated information. But one thing remains the same: And that is the basic regimen presented in the first edition of my book. You have probably heard the old saying: “if it aint broke, don’t fix it.” Well, the regimen works so well, that I see no reason to change anything. I have only added information. In fact, the biggest edition to my book is the information on “calcium scoring.” This is a technique that will enable you to physically see your improvement. One of the biggest criticisms that I received in the first edition of my book, was that it was poorly referenced. Well folks, I am now offering my readers the best reference that you can get, and that is the proof you can see with your own two eyes. Through the use of calcium scoring, you will now be able to physically see your improvement. I can quote you study after study, but it does not mean a thing, as you were not there, and therefore you have no way of knowing if these were legitimate studies. Unfortunately, many studies are tainted by people who have a huge financial interest. Apparently, there are several companies out there who are selling very expensive treatments to combat calcifications. Even worse, these companies are not above the use of corporate sabotage. One of the biggest problems I have faced is my competition writing negative reviews about my book. For example, I recently received a negative review from someone who calls herself “Juliane.” This reviewer specifically mentions “NanobacTX” as an effective treatment to reverse calcifications. NanobacTX was originally marketed as a treatment for Nanobacteria. If you want to know the truth about Nanobacteria, then I recommend going to Sciam.com and downloading the January 2010 issue of Scientific American. Look for an article entitled: “The truth about Nanobacteria.” This article clearly states that Nanobacteria are not a cause of calcification. Incidentally, NanobacTX currently sells for $199.00 for a one month supply. This is an improvement, as it used to sell for $295.00 per month. Contrast that with my regimen, which cost as little as $5.00 a month and you can see why they want to dissuade you from buying my book. Just to be clear, it is not the province of this book to debate the effectiveness of any treatment regimen that my competitors have to offer. I am only saying that my regimen is very effective – AT A FRACTION OF THE COST! Actually that is an understatement, as my regimen is currently about 40 times cheaper than what my competitors charge. Incidentally, I make no profit from the regimen itself. All I make is a small commission from the sale of my book, which amounts to next to nothing, as my competition has succeeded in ruining my sales by publishing negative reviews about my book. So here is what I propose to you: Read my book and try the simple, safe, and most importantly, “inexpensive” regimen outlined in my book. I want you to have the calcium scoring done before and after the regimen. In fact, the calcium scoring is the most expensive part of the regimen. And again, I don’t make any money from the calcium scoring. I make just a small profit from the sale of my book and if my competition continues to publish negative reviews about my book, I will retaliate by converting my book into an E-book and giving it away for free. And we will all lose money. I actually wrote this book to help people. The only reason I charge money for it, is that I have living expenses to pay for. I wouldn’t put anything past my competition, including murder. So I have put a clause in my will stating in the event of my untimely death, that my book is to be given away as a free E-book. to prevent you from getting your hands on the information in this book. They have made all kinds of unfounded criticisms, but so far nobody has shown credible evidence that the regimen does not work. I am showing you evidence that you can see with your own two eyes that it works. Through the use of calcium scoring, you can actually see the calcium plaque in your arteries get reduced. My competition will tell you that I am uneducated and my book is a waste of money; they will probably tell you that I am the anti-christ. In fact, that is exactly what Juliane said in her last review of my book, minus the part about me being the anti-christ of course. But all kidding aside, if there is one thing you can learn from my book, it is to judge by “performance and results.” That is the why I am encouraging my reader’s to have their calcium scores checked. That way they can see with their own two eyes the results they can get. If you don’t understand this philosophy, then please put down my book and go to my competition, and I am sure they will be happy to sink their fangs into your wallet and drain it of cash. Yes folks, vampires do exist, but not the blood sucking variety that you see in the movies. In the real world vampires are after your money. They want to get into your bank account and take out as much money as they can. Of course this would be illegal and they could go to jail if caught, so these people find legal ways to get into your money. They may publish phony studies and even hire shills to claim that their product has helped them. Be very leery of any study published by a party who has a financial interest in that product. BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU CAN SEE WITH YOUR OWN TWO EYES! That is why I like calcium scoring, because my readers can see the results with their own two eyes. I can quote study after study, but you have no way of actually knowing if such studies are legitimate, as you were not there. Big business wants to make money, and they will do anything to convince you to buy their products. And you DON’T always get what you pay for. The regimen outlined in my book costs next to nothing compared to what my competition charges. And it works! But don’t take my word for it, try the regimen and have your calcium score checked before and after, and chances are that you will be very pleasantly surprised by the results. mind wasting it, then by all means, go to my competition, and I am sure they will be happy to have another cash cow to milk for money. But if you are like most people and work hard for a living then you will probably want to at least give my regimen a try. The basic regimen is dirt cheap. The only expensive part is the cost of calcium scoring, which is usually not covered by insurance. But if you can’t afford one CT scan, then you will never be able to afford the outrageous prices that my competition charges for their regimen, which I doubt works any better than the simple inexpensive regimen that you will find in my book. Just to be clear, I am not saying that my competition’s expensive remedy does not work. It may very well work just as well as mine works. I am only saying that their remedy is extremely expensive compared to mine. You may have heard the old saying that you “get what you pay for.” Well, I say try my regimen. It really works. But again, don’t take my word for it. Try it! Have your calcium score checked before and after. See for yourself. If you don’t see results in six months, then send me an email, as you may be doing something wrong. I know the regimen works because of the feedback I get from the people who actually use the regimen. That is, they say their calcium score got lower. Most of the reviews of my book were actually positive; that is, from the people who actually used the regimen. I will admit that the first edition of my book was poorly written, but nevertheless, the information was very good. I don’t mind when people call me a lousy writer, but when people call me a lousy researcher, then I feel hurt. Heart disease is the number one killer in most of the world, so it is sad that people would resort to posting negative reviews about a book that contains information that can prevent our number one killer. My competition only cares about money. Their remedy may very well work, but the point is that it is extremely expensive. lengths to undermine my credibility. They say things like “he’s not a doctor.” Well folks, that’s correct, I’m not a doctor. That’s mostly because my own health problems precluded me from going to medical school. I often call myself a nutritionist. According to most dictionaries, a nutritionist is one who studies nutrition. I have spent over 25 years studying nutrition and when my eyes got so bad that I could no longer read any more, I had to use text to speech software to read. Unfortunately, they did not have E-books back then, so I had to invent the technology myself by converting physical books into E-books, so that I can use them with my text to speech engine. Back then they did not have duplex scanners available at any reasonable price, so I had to do things the hard way, by scanning page by page. Now I have better equipment which has enabled me put together a massive database of health information. And all my competition can say is that he is not a doctor. I had to overcome crippling pain in my eyes to write this book and it is sad that there are people in this world who care more about profit than anything else. himself Mr. Tomlin wrote not one but two negative reviews of my book. In both reviews he had nothing substantial to say. That is, he did not say what was wrong with my book. All he basically said was my book sucked and then recommended another book entitled: The Calcium Bomb by Douglas Mulhall. This is the book written by people who are affiliated with my competition. The book claims that most of our calcifications are caused by nanobacteria. If you want to know the truth about nanobacteria then I recommend going to Sciam.com and downloading the January 2010 issue of Scientific American. Look for an article entitled: “The truth about Nanobacteria. The company (Nanobiotech) actually sold test kits to detect the presence of nanobacteria. According to the article in Scientific American, the tests were merely detecting a common blood protein called albumin. Of course, everyone who took the test would test positive for nanobacteria infection and require spending a fortune for nanobiotech’s expensive remedy. Now I am not calling my competition a fraud. I am just saying “you be the judge.” Read their book, (the Calcium Bomb). Read it from cover to cover and then be sure to go to Sciam.com and download the January 2010 issue of Scientific American. Look for an article entitled: “The truth about Nanobacteria. And YOU be the judge! Unlike my competition, who has tried voraciously to dissuade people from reading my book, I want you to read my competition’s book. I want you to see just how full of crap these people are. my book, she said that “calcification was an active mediated response.” So what does that mean? It means nothing! It is gobbledegook. Just to be sure, I asked a physician friend of mine and he agreed. The use of such gobbledegook is a common ploy of scam artists. One of the worst displays of gobbledegook came from a book I read called the The Calcium Factor by Robert barefoot. Robert barefoot was the guy who started the coral calcium craze in the 90’s. If you want to know the truth about coral calcium, then I recommend that you go to quackwatch.org (That’s “org” not “com”) and search their site for either “Robert barefoot” or “coral calcium,” and you will see that I am not the only one who thinks that coral calcium is a scam. One of the most vociferous opponents of coral calcium is Dr. Michael T. Murray, N.D. Dr. Murray clearly expressed his discontent with coral calcium at his website: article entitled: Coral Calcium – The Answer to ‘How do You Spell HYPE?’ I don’t mind some friendly competition, but this is not a game. Negative reviews cause me to lose money and damage my reputation. But the real losers are the people who may be dissuaded from buying my book. Heart disease is the number one killer and most people cannot afford the insane prices that my competition charges. Therefore, one could rightfully consider the actions of my competitors to be homicidal. phosphate theory of calcification, with chapters on vitamin K-2 and other relevant issues. I wrote this book because there is no other book on the market like it. Some people have compared my book to the aforementioned Calcium Bomb, but my book is very different. Basically their book is all about nanobacteria; while my book focuses on phosphates. Comparing the two books is like comparing the movies The Muppets take Manhattan to Jason takes Manhattan. Both movies were very different, but shared one common denominator: that being that they both took place in Manhattan. Granted, I have not had the “pleasure” of actually watching Jason takes Manhattan, but I think it is fair to say that it is a far cry from The Muppets take Manhattan. very simple science. It has to do with phosphates. Most calcium deposits, such as those afflicting the coronary arteries, are composed of a complex of calcium phosphate. The theory works like this: Phosphates, which are added to most processed foods, are highly acidic. When we ingest phosphates they will create an acid environment in our bodies. Fortunately, our bodies have a built in defense mechanism: that is we have alkaline minerals such as calcium to neutralize the acid. That is why calcium is the main ingredient in most antacids. When excess phosphates are ingested from dietary sources, our bodies will then draw calcium out of our bones to neutralize the excess acid. Unfortunately, the calcium is then deposited in our soft tissues in the form of a calcium phosphate complex. It is well known that people with kidney problems have a hard time eliminating phosphates. And they are therefore advised to follow a low phosphate diet. They are also prescribed phosphate binding agents. One such phosphate binder is the simple mineral magnesium. Taking just 100-200 milligrams of magnesium with every meal can safely bind phosphates and prevent them from binding with calcium, and subsequently being deposited in your soft tissues. But you must be cautious about what form of magnesium to use as a supplement. Most forms of magnesium sold in health food stores are sold as magnesium oxide. This form is poorly absorbed and can cause diarrhea. It is similar to magnesium hydroxide, which is the active ingredient in the laxative “Milk of magnesia.” The human body was just not meant to absorb inorganic mineral salts such as magnesium oxide. The best magnesium supplement is a chelated form. A chelate is an organic acid that binds to a mineral to help the body absorb it. This more closely resembles minerals as they come from nature. Don’t confuse chelated minerals with“chelation therapy.” That is an entirely different matter, and will be discussed later in this book. then you have probably heard about the alkaline theory of disease. In fact, one author by the name of Theodore A. Baroody went so far as to entitle his book: Alkalize or Die. You can find his book on Amazon.com. But just to be clear, most of the dangers of over acidity have to do with calcification. It is not that our bodies will acidify, it is that our bodies will draw calcium out of our bones, which will then bind up the phosphates and subsequently deposit the calcium phosphate complex in our soft tissues. Therefore, we have two methods to protect ourselves: the first method is to avoid phosphates. The second method is to use magnesium to bind phosphates and prevent them from causing harm. But first we must be able to identify what foods contain phosphates. In the following chapters, I will try to shed some light on this issue. Phosphates! Phosphates! Everywhere! forms. When phosphorus occurs naturally in food, it is often in the form of a phospholipid. These forms of phosphorus are said to be more alkaline and therefore less likely calcify. Furthermore, when phosphorus occurs in nature, it is often accompanied by a special enzyme called phosphatase. The primary purpose of this enzyme is to break down phosphorus. Normally raw milk in its natural state contains the phosphatase enzyme. Apparently, Mother Nature considered the high level of phosphorus contained in milk to be a danger. And in all her wisdom, she created the phosphatase enzyme to counterbalance the high level of phosphorus. Unfortunately, when our milk is pasteurized, the high heat used in this process tends to destroy all the phosphatase enzymes contained in the milk. So while the pasteurization process can destroy harmful microbes, thus preventing acute illness, this process also can contribute to chronic health problems by destroying the phosphatase enzyme. This may account for some of the discrepancies regarding the health benefits of milk. That is, many of milk’s alleged health benefits may have been attributed to the phosphatase containing raw milk. And conversely, many of the alleged health problems associated with milk consumption may have to do with the pasteurization process, and its resulting destruction of the phosphatase enzyme. content of phosphoric acid. Hence the old saying: soft drinks cause soft bones (and conversely, hard arteries). But what few people know is that almost all processed foods contain phosphate additives. This is the bad form of phosphorus; the type that can cause soft tissue calcification. that "fluff up" foods such as cakes, biscuits, breads and pancakes. Unlike yeast recipes, such as sourdough, phosphates have no taste and can be used for a wide variety of baking products, such as prepared doughs, pizzas and cake mixes. These include most lunch meats, and most prepared foods. Milk products naturally contain a high level of phosphorus, and most cheese products add additional phosphates, thus adding "insult to injury." Normally raw milk in its natural state contains an alkaline enzyme called phosphatase. As mentioned earlier, the high heat used in the pasteurization process tends to destroy all the phosphatase enzymes, thereby making most milk products harmful. Below is an example of the many forms of phosphates to look out for. Acid calcium phosphate Acid sodium pyrophosphate Ammonium phosphate dibasic Ammonium phosphate monobasic Ammonium phosphatides Ammonium polyphosphates Ammonium salts of phosphatic acid Bone phosphate, edible Calcium hydrogen orthophosphate Calcium phosphate dibasic Calcium phosphate monobasic Calcium phosphate tribasic Calcium polyphosphates Dicalcium diphosphate Disodium dihydrogen diphosphate Disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate Disodium hydrogen orthophosphate Distarch phosphate Edible bone phosphate Guanosine 5' - (disodium phosphate) Hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate Inosine 5' - (disodium phosphate) Magnesium hydrogen phosphate Monocalcium orthophosphate Monostarch phosphate Orthophosphoric acid Phosphated distarch phosphate Phosphoric Acid Polyphosphates, ammonium Polyphosphates, calcium Polyphosphates, potassium and sodium Potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate Potassium phosphate dibasic Potassium phosphate monobasic Potassium phosphate tribasic Potassium polyphosphates Potassium tripolyphosphate Riboflavin-5'-phosphate sodium Sodium acid pyrophosphate Sodium aluminium phosphate, acidic Sodium aluminium phosphate, basic Sodium dihydrogen orthophosphate Sodium phosphate dibasic Sodium phosphate monobasic Sodium phosphate tribasic Sodium polyphosphates Sodium pyrophosphate Sodium tripolyphosphate Tetrapotassium diphosphate Tripotassium orthophosphate Tetrasodium diphosphatele Trisodium diphosphate Trisodium orthophosphate In general, if it comes in a package, then there is a good chance it contains phosphates. You therefore have two choices if you want to stay healthy: You can either avoid it. Or you can take magnesium to bind the phosphates. While the latter choice may sound like the easiest. You must bear in mind that almost all processed foods contain harmful ingredients. This book is only designed to discuss the dangers of phosphates. But there are many other harmful ingredients that you need to watch out for. Therefore the easiest way to stay healthy is to reduce your intake of processed foods as much as you can. It is interesting to note that almost all cultures that are known for their longevity share the one common denominator: that is that they have a low intake of processed foods. Simply put: processed foods kill! If you want to stay healthy, you should avoid them as much as possible. Of course, we live in the real world and this is not always practical for the average person. I know it is hard to watch your friends enjoying a meal of sugar-laden foods while you are munching on a carrot stick. Obviously, at the next birthday party that you attend, whether it be your own or someone else's, you would not want to watch everyone else enjoying that delicious cake, while you have to sit on the sidelines. But if you are smart, you just may be able to have your cake and eat it too. By taking 100-200 milligrams of magnesium malate with your meals, you can safely bind up the phosphates and prevent their toxicity. In the following chapter, I will go over the details of magnesium supplementation. the subject of magnesium was entitled: Magnesium: the Nutrient that could change your life. This book was first published back in 1968. Despite this pretentious sounding title, it is clear that author Jerome Irving Rodale was way ahead of his time. If you are an avid health enthusiast, you may recognize the name Rodale, as he is the founder of Rodale health books and Prevention magazine. This book is out of print and hard to find; however, the full text of this book is available at the magnesium website at: mgwater.com Carolyn Dean is entitled: The Magnesium Miracle. Dr. Dean often calls herself "the doctor of the future." While this may sound pretentious, it is clear that Dr. Dean is way ahead of her time. In the future I believe that more doctors will be prescribing magnesium to their patients. For more information on Carolyn Dean and her book The Magnesium Miracle, please visit Dr. Dean's website at: drcarolyndean.com is 400 milligrams. While this number may sound high compared to other minerals, it does not take into account the problem of phosphate induced magnesium deficiency. As I mentioned in previous chapters, phosphates tend to bind up magnesium and prevent it from being absorbed. This can be a good thing, as it also prevents phosphates from being absorbed, and thereby causing calcifications. Unfortunately, the high level of phosphates in our diet has caused widespread magnesium deficiencies in most of the world. If you eat a diet of mostly processed foods, then you will need more than the current daily value of 400 milligrams. Furthermore, certain drugs can deplete magnesium. For example, a class of drugs called Proton Pump inhibitors (PPI's) such as Prilosec and Prevacid have been shown to cause a severe depletion of magnesium. This problem has become so serious that the FDA has issue a warning that using these drugs for prolonged periods of time, particularly for longer than one year, may be associated with low serum magnesium levels (hypomagnesemia). diuretics have also been shown to deplete magnesium levels. Ironically, diuretics are often prescribed to people with high blood pressure. The irony is that many cases of high blood pressure are caused by a magnesium deficiency. High blood pressure and magnesium you need to read the following: Many people with high blood pressure have found that their blood pressure returns to normal after a few weeks of magnesium supplementation. The key word is "normalize." Magnesium does not actually lower your blood pressure, at least not in people with normal blood pressure. But if your blood pressure is high, it can in many cases bring it back to normal. This can be an issue for people who regularly take medication to lower their blood pressure. If you are currently taking a antihypertensive medication, and you start taking magnesium, then you must carefully monitor your blood pressure on a daily basis and reduce your dosage of anti-hypertensive medication. In many cases you can reduce or eliminate your need for such medication within a few weeks. I have recently received a number of emails from people who claimed that their magnesium supplements caused them to develop low blood pressure. In every case, the person was using antihypertensive medications in conjunction with their magnesium supplements. The magnesium caused their blood pressure to return to normal, and if a person with normal blood pressure were to take antihypertensive medication, they would get low blood pressure. Some people have actually stopped taking their magnesium supplements because of fear that their blood pressure may get too low. This is something that you don't want to do. If you have high blood pressure, then you are probably already magnesium deficient. And therefore, getting enough magnesium can mean the difference between life and death. Many people afflicted with hypertension have found that their blood pressure becomes normal after a few weeks of magnesium supplementation. I would normally say that you should work with your doctor, but many doctors will advise you to avoid magnesium supplements because they know that they may lose a patient if you start taking magnesium. I know that many people may find this hard to believe, but it is true. In fact, people who get enough magnesium usually live very long healthy lives. For more information about magnesium's effect on high blood pressure, check out a book entitled: The Magnesium Solution for High Blood Pressure, by Jay Cohen. magnesium supplementation are the ones who respond to the use of calcium channel blocker drugs. As mentioned earlier in this book, magnesium functions as a calcium channel blocker, but without the side effects of its pharmaceutical counterpart. In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine, it was found that calcium channel blocker drugs can send your breast cancer risk skyrocketing by two and half times or more. For the record, these calcium channel blocker drugs account for approximately 100 million prescriptions a year. If you are on one of these deadly drugs, then you will definitely want to give magnesium a try. amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem LA, Tiazac), isradipine (DynaCirc CR), nicardipine (Cardene SR), nifedipine (Procardia, Procardia XL, Adalat CC), nisoldipine (Sular), and verapamil (Calan, Verelan, Covera-PM). supplement, be careful not to confuse it with another similar sounding mineral called "manganese." This is not the same thing. In fact it is an entirely different mineral than magnesium. It is very easy to confuse the two, so look closely at the labels. metabolism is well established. If you did a web search of the words: ‘vitamin K + calcification,’ you would come up with many hits. Granted, many of these websites are trying to sell Vitamin K, there is nevertheless, ample evidence showing that vitamin K2 can prevent soft tissue calcification. Unlike magnesium, whose effects influence phosphate metabolism. Vitamin K2 works by directly regulating the metabolism of calcium. That is, it keeps calcium out of the blood and keeps it in the bones where it belongs. It does this by activating a protein called Osteocalcin. Osteocalcin is like the studs inside the walls of a house; it is a structural framework that helps hold calcium in place in the bones. But osteocalcin cannot do the job until vitamin K2 converts it into its active, bone-building form. Bone health is directly related to the activation of osteocalcin. If there is not enough vitamin K2 available to activate this protein, large amounts of inactive osteocalcin will circulate in the bloodstream. If supplemental vitamin K2 is given to people with excess inactive osteocalcin, the circulating levels will drop, as more of it is made available for incorporation in the bones. In essence, vitamin K2 can help to keep calcium in the bones where it belongs. This makes it a very important vitamin for preventing osteoporosis. As mentioned throughout this book, most of the techniques used to prevent calcification, can also prevent osteoporosis. That is because most of the calcium contained in calcifications is derived from our bones. Thus, if we can keep the calcium there, it will not end up in our soft tissues. For this reason, vitamin K2 is currently being marketed as a treatment for osteoporosis. In Japan, vitamin K2 has been an approved treatment for osteoporosis since 1995. But in the United States most doctors have never heard of its use. Again, there are no big pharmaceutical companies promoting it. regarding how much vitamin K our body's need. And some people may have a higher requirement for this nutrient. In studies, people have used as much as 45 milligrams a day with no ill effects. The Japanese eat a food called natto, which has been shown to contain a very high level of vitamin K-2. The Japanese are well known for their longevity. several studies. Proponents of vitamin K2 often quote the famous Rotterdam study. This study evaluated vitamin K intake of 4807 subjects over a 7-10 year period. Study participants who consumed the most vitamin K2 had a 50% reduced risk of arterial calcification. They also exhibited a 50% reduced risk for cardiovascular events during this 10 year period. supplements, it is very important to understand the different forms of vitamin K on the market. phylloquinone, which is also known as vitamin K-1. This is the form that influences blood coagulation. That is where the “K” comes from, as the Danish spell coagulation with a “K.” Vitamin K2 is the form that influences calcium metabolism. To further confuse matters, there are several subtypes of vitamin K2. The two main varieties that you will commonly see are MK-4 and MK-7. Vitamin K2 is also known as menaquinone. That’s where the “M” in the subtypes comes from. The numbers indicate how many side chains are attached to the main molecule (see diagram below). of its longer side chain, MK-7 is more active and bioavailable, and stays in your system longer. While purveyors of MK-4 dispute this claim and say that MK4 is just as good as MK-7. It should be noted that MK-7 is usually more expensive than MK-4. Most of the studies on K2 used the MK-7 form, and for this reason, I usually recommend this form. This is not to discount the effectiveness of MK-4. The MK-4 form is usually less expensive and therefore may be a good deal, as you can take more of it. But whatever form that you use, you must remember that it is a fat soluble vitamin. That is, it requires dietary fat for absorption. Always remember to take it with a little fat. I recommend about 100-200 mircograms of vitamin K2 every day. Incidentally, that is ‘mirco’ not ‘milli’ grams. For further information regarding vitamin K2’s effects on calcium metabolism, I highly recommend the excellent book entitled: Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, by Kate Rheaume-Bleue

Source: http://www.calcificationbook.com/Sample%20Calcification.pdf