Vitamin K & K2 - The missing element

Vitamin K is a group of structurally similar vitamins which are essential for our body.
The most important forms are Vitamin K1, K2 MK-4 and K2 MK-7, each of those have different effects.
The most known form is K1, which is mainly involved in proper blood clotting.
It is found in green vegetables and since it is a fat-soluble vitamin, adding some oils will enhance the absorption.

All of those natural forms (excluding synthetic ones like K3 which is harmful form) are safe and should not cause any issues in healthy individuals.

Vitamin K has many benefits which we often miss because of our poor nutrition.
Our diet is lacking in very important K2 forms.
The richest food source of K2 especially MK-7 is Natto which is quite popular in Japan, it isn't anywhere else though. Also Natto isn't perfect it contains high amounts of Tyramine as well, however if we don't take MAO inhibitors it shouldn't affect us that much.

K2 is produced in our guts by our friendly bacteria but we don't absorb most of it, also those amounts aren't enough to get all the benefits we could. It is caused because it is produced in very low parts of our guts where we do not absorb those things, the same as with Vitamin B12.

K2 forms are very beneficial for our cardiovascular health and bones.
It protects our arteries against calcification and even it takes out the calcium from our arteries and put it in right place which is bones. It affects not only arteries but probably every organ in our body.

Taking calcium alone with low status of boron, magnesium, vitamin D3 and K2 will lead to arterial calcification and bones won't obtain most of the calcium we would take.
Without Vitamin K2 calcium goes in our veins and nothing takes it down so it stays in arteries leading to the issues mentioned above.

Higher levels of Vitamin K are linked to reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and prostate cancer.

Vitamin K2 MK-4 is used by our body very quick thus it lasts about up to 8 hours in our body, so it requires higher and more frequent doses.

MK-7 form and its biological half-life is even 72 hours which makes supplementation cheaper and more efficient.

Doses used to reverse calcification were 180 µg so I assume it is the minimum dose for people with existing plaques. For healthy individuals or less severe cases lower doses might be enough.

If you are taking anticoagulants do not take vitamin K supplements without consultation with your doctor.

Taking Vitamin K in healthy individuals is not linked to higher risk of clotting.

I recommend Life Extension - Super K with Advanced K2 Complex this product contains 200 µg of MK-7, 1000 µg of MK-4 and 1000 µg of K1 which makes it a really potent supplement.

Source Naturals - BioPerine 10mg

Black pepper fruit extract is used to enhance absorption of nutrients by our body.
It also increases absorption rate of Curcumin by 2000% which is incredible.
It doesn't have such a big impact on other nutrients as on curcumin but still it is a significant impact.

BioPerine besides its enhancing absorption effects it also works as Immunomodulator, and it may also have anti-tumour and anti-depressant effects.

There is not many products which have only BioPerine standalone.

Most of the products available contain bioperine with curcumin or coenzyme Q-10 which may be a nice replacement for a bioperine standalone.



This product contains 10 mg per tablet of Black pepper fruit extract and I would prefer capsules to tablets, however it is not that a big disadvantage.

I would be happy to see 5 mg version per tablet instead of 10 mg since I do not exceed 10 mg per day.

Do not take this supplement with any medications. It affects metabolism of drugs as well.

Suggested use is up to 2 tablets per day and I do not exceed 1 tablet per day because BioPerine works as anti-thyroid agent and I don't want to affect negatively my thyroid by that.

Taking it once per day in the morning with all my supplements make it last for 4 months which is really good.

Source Naturals - Bioperine 10 mg 120 tablets costs about $6.15 which makes it very affordable.

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Nature's Way - Niacin 100 mg (Vitamin B3)

Niacin is necessary for normal break-down of fats and fatty acids and also releasing energy from carbohydrates.
Nicotinic Acid also works as a vasodilator.

There are couple of Niacin forms which are Nicotinic acid, Niacinamide and Inositol hexanicotinate and this product contains the Nicotinic acid.

Other forms work differently and may lack effects and benefits of each forms.
I chose this supplement because my multivitamin contains only Niacinamide so I wasn't sure if my body will obtain all the benefits just from one form.

Nicotinic acid may and mostly do cause hot flush effect which results in a hot, tingling sensation accompanied by a red flushing of the skin. This reaction is harmless and might be just annoying for some people, you can avoid this effect or decrease its strength by drinking a whole glass of water.
Also after some time our body gets used to it and flush will become weaker.

I like the effect of hot flush because it makes me feel that it works and does something.

Niacin is used to decrease cholesterol levels and in psychiatry for mental issues.
Also I take Nicotinic Acid because I don't want my body to use tryptophan to make niacin, this is one of the reasons how niacin affects our mood.

Do not exceed 500 mg per day because it may be toxic to the liver in higher doses, also people suffering from Hyperuricemia or Gout should consult taking Niacin with a certified healthcare practitioner.

This supplement contains pure nicotinic acid with very little other ingredients which you can see in the picture below.

Nature's Way, Niacin, 100 mg, 100 Capsules costs about $3.46 which is very affordable price for a really good product.

Vitacost - Ultra Vitamin K with Advanced K2 Complex

As we know or not, Vitamin K2 is essential in putting calcium in right places, like bones or teeth instead of our arteries or any other organs.
I have chosen this product because of economical reasons.
It is an affordable complex of Vitamin(s) K which is K1, K2 MK-4 and MK-7 where MK-7 is better in the way of its long half-life in our body which is more than 24 hours in comparison with MK-4 which is about a couple of hours. Both work differently though, thus it is good to supply both forms.
MK-4 form is more beneficial but short half-life makes it expensive and more frequent dosing is required.

Those vitamins are important for our cardiovascular health because they (MK-4 & MK-7) take calcium out from our arteries and send it to the bones.

It is very important to add Vitamin K2 (preferably MK-7) when we are taking Vitamin D3.


There is not many products which offer all of the listed vitamins above together.
Many products available offer just one of each vitamins in higher prices.

1 Softgel contains:

• 100 µg (mcg) of K2 MK-7
• 1000 µg of K2 MK-4
• 1000 µg of K1

100 µg of MK-7 seems to be an okay dose for preventive benefits for a healthy individual but if you do have artery plaques already, doses like 200 µg and more might be required. 

Taking Vitamin K may cause insomnia or heart palpitations, those reactions are rare and in my case everything is totally fine, also side effects even if occur are rather harmless.

People taking warfarin or any other anticoagulant should talk with a health care professional.

This seems to be good value for money but there is one disadvantage of this product which is caramel in the ingredients. I don't mind about pill colours (anybody does ?) and when I buy supplements I want them to improve my health and I don't understand putting harmful ingredients to any dietary supplements which are suppose to be good for us.

Despite that fact, I was taking this supplement for about a year and soon I am switching to a different brand.
However if someone is looking for good and cheap Vitamin K Complex this product is good and I would recommend it.

Vitacost - Ultra Vitamin K with Advanced K2 Complex costs about $11.69

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Biorepair - Sensitive Plus 46% MicroRepair® (Denti Sensibili) Toothpaste

Finding a good toothpaste is not that easy. Most of the toothpastes available at stores are full of harmful fluoride and lacking of good ingredients.

Good toothpaste is also not enough for me. I was looking for the best toothpaste as it could be and I found two or three and today I am going to talk about one of those.

Biorepair - Sensitive Plus 46% contains 46% of MicroRepair particles substance called Carbonate Hydroxyapatite, activated by zinc ions which is suppose to repair our teeth by penetrating those particles into enamel and dentine.

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This italian toothpaste claims that thanks to the ability of covering the exposed dentine is fighting the tooth sensitivity. In my case it just slightly reduced sensitivity of my teeth but this product has many other benefits.

Zinc works as anti-microbial agent so it helps to prevent forming plaque and tartar and helps to keep fresh mouth for longer time.
It is nice in taste in comparison with chemical taste in other products like Colgate and etc.

I noticed that my enamel looks a lot better and none cavities have appeared since then.

The product does not contain:

• fluoride
• paraben
• sodium lauryl sulphate
• silica abrasive
• titanium dioxide

This toothpaste is not abrasive. At the same time it leaves our teeth very clean. 

It foams very good even if we use little amount of it. 

Using it once per day with the other toothpaste it lasts for 3 months of use (100 ml - 3.4 oz)

Jarrow Formulas - Methyl B-12

Vitamin B12 is very important for our brain and nervous system, formation of blood and is also involved in the metabolism of every cell of the human body.

This particular vitamin is difficult to obtain from food, especially if we are avoiding meat. It is very likely that many people are having slight to mild deficiency which can lead to many issues even irreversible ones.

It is very important for proper methylation homocysteine to methionine maintaining our cardiovascular health.

The methylcobalamin form is better absorbed and retained than cyanocobalamin occurred in most of the dietary supplements.

Taking Folic Acid and Vitamin B6 without B12 may lead to false the laboratory results of vitamin B12 levels.


B12 as methylcobalamin is or might be beneficial for:

• Anaemia
• Neuropathy (especially diabetic one)
• Insomnia
• Memory issues
• Cardiovascular health
• Fatigue
• Brain and nervous system functioning

I bought this product because I sporadically eat meat and wanted to increase my vitamin B12 levels to lower homocysteine levels and improve nervous system functioning.

I believed that it would improve my memory and boost energy but I haven't noticed much difference.

It contains lemon flavoured lozenges which taste just okay and dissolve slowly which I find as an advantage of this supplement.

The biggest disadvantage I would say is silicon dioxide in the ingredients.

Jarrow Formulas - Methyl-B12 costs about $7.77 and provides 100 lozenges, 1000 µg of methylcobalamin each.

Ingredients:

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Life Extension - OptiZinc

Zinc is an essential trace mineral found in the human body.
It is known of stimulating activity hundreds of enzymes which are needed to keep our body fit and healthy.
It supports a proper grow in childhood and adolescence.

What zinc promotes in our body ?

• Immune function
• Insulin production
• Taste and smell sensitivity
• Bone mineralising
• Wound healing
• Complexion condition
• Anti-inflammatory properties
• Sperm motility
• Depleting copper

I started taking zinc because of my acne issues and also to boost my immune system, to strengthen my teeth and their resistance to decay and to deplete the excessive copper from my body.

This product contains Zinc (OptiZinc) as zinc monomethionine which is said to be more bioavailable and more active than other forms of zinc.

However there is also L-OptiZinc version which is supposed to be even better because of its more bioavailable form of methionine bound to the zinc but alas we get the worse version with this product.

Nonetheless, we get perfect quality supplement without any redundant additives.

And if we don't need more powerful zinc product, this one is great to make up our deficiency.

The only thing I would like to see is a little bit of copper in this product to make sure we are not losing too much of it but yet we obtain a lot of it in our diet, so it is not such a big disadvantage of this supplement. 

The price is about: 5$ for 90 veggie capsules, it is a supply for three months which is a really good deal.

It did not help my acne issues as much as zinc gluconate did though.

Regular drinking alcohol or using contraception is linked to lowering levels of zinc.

Ingredients: