A new pilot study evaluating vitamin D and K status in children with and without low-energy fractures has published in Nutrients, an international, peer-reviewed journal for studies related to Human Nutrition.
According to Dr Hogne Vik, Chief Medical Officer at NattoPharma, the publication of this study, “Decreased Levels of Circulating Carboxylated Osteocalcin in Children with Low Energy Fractures: A Pilot Study,” is significant because it adds to the growing body of evidence that Vitamin K2 is a beneficial nutrient for both children and adults.
“This trial reaffirms the real health benefits improving K2 status delivers,” said Vik. “More importantly, it shines a light on the true impact improving K2 status has on children.”
Dr Vladimir Badmaev, author of the paper, principal and founder of American Medical Holdings, said: “The epidemiological evidence indicates a disturbing growth in the number of cases of low-energy fractures in healthy children and adolescents. There are multiple risk factors that may contribute to this growing health concern, and among the leading consideration are deficient or insufficient nutrition and nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K.”
Dr Badmaev explains that the particular role of vitamin K2, especially menaquinone-7 (MK-7), has been highlighted in the literature and distinguished from vitamin K1 in maintaining calcium homeostasis and healthy skeletal system.
"The epidemiological and clinical research provides a new nutritional paradigm for efficient, safe delivery of calcium that requires co-supplementation with both vitamins D and K.”
The gravitas for this study, which was recently presented at The World Congress on Osteoprosis, Osteoarthritis, and Musculoskeletal Diseases, the world’s leading clinical conference on bone, joint, and muscle health, is increased by appearing in Nutrients.
“It cannot be overstated the importance of every possible opportunity to advance industry and academic understanding of this essential nutrient,” Vik concluded.
“The findings are so very significant, as they provide supporting evidence to the clinical research NattoPharma has already spearheaded. Not only has our research identified children as a group most deficient in Vitamin K2, but that just 45 mcg of K2 (as NattoPharma’s MenaQ7) daily improves K status and increases the activation of osteocalcin, the K-dependent protein responsible for binding calcium to the bone mineral matrix, therefore improving bone health.”
Reference:
Popko J, et al., "Decreased Levels of Circulating Carboxylated Osteocalcin in Children with Low Energy Fractures: A Pilot Study." Nutrients 2018, 10(6), 734. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10060734
