Been doing a bit of wombling round nutrition wesites etc.
A few quotes
"Vitamin K2 is mainly found in meat, egg yolk, liver, butter, hard cheese, soft cheese and natto"
(Not sure about trying Natto though - apparently somewhat smelly fermented soy beans)
"Cheese contains the powerful nutritional triad of calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K2, which together channel calcium into your bones and teeth while keeping it out of your arteries; this, combined with its omega-3 fats, make cheese a very heart-healthy food"
"Excellent cheese picks due to their high K2 levels are Edam, Gouda, and brie, but cheddar, Colby, hard goat cheese, Swiss and Gruyere are good choices as well"
Fortunately thusband (the one with PMR, GCA) is fond of cheese.
Whoa....I understood that K2 is very difficult to get from food alone. Hence, I’ve been planning to take a second mortgage on the house and invest in a top of the line K2 - D3 supplement.
I eat really really well already so now I’m wondering....has anyone else heard that K2 is notoriously difficult to get from food?
Thx! PMR makes us all lifelong learners!
I hate Edam and Gouda and my father is Dutch! On the other hand I love a Swiss cheese.
The reason K2 is now somewhat lacking in the standard Western diet is because of the way our animals are raised. A grass fed animal, free range poultry, convert K1 into K2 and by consuming products from these animals we get Vitamin K2. But a grain fed animal cannot effectively convert K1, and therefore our supply from our food is correspondingly diminished. Hence the recommendation that unless your food source is more traditional it's wise to take a supplement. I believe most K2 supplements are made from natto. Probably wise to check that the particular product is rated organic as most soy is now GM and we don't want to consume that either. There is some thought that we can convert K1 ourselves, and also that there is some available in fermented foods (like natto for example) but we aren't very efficient at it and if we need extra K2 because of our health condition we can't rely on our own gut.
Bear in mind that the areas in which the mentioned cheeses are produced cannot have grassfed during the winter months. The dairy cattle will be out during the milder season and this is their main milk producing time when the cheeses will be started.
This is very helpful and makes complete sense....I’ll go forward with my supplement....
Thanks!
Isn't hay just dried grass?
I think animals should be fed what they'd eat in their natural state. We have diseases like mad cow disease because cattle were turned into cannibals. I do not eat meat.
I did note that the eggs I got from my farmers market declined in flavour this past winter, but are back to being delicious again. Obviously their winter diet was not as good as what they can get in the summer.
Grass loses nutrients in the drying process - dairy cattle cannot be over-wintered on hay alone, various grain products are required.
Very helpful. Thank you. I was going to look up which foods have the Vitamin k2
"dairy cattle cannot be over-wintered on hay alone"
They can - and are here where I live in northern Italy. We have a range of locally produced dairy products, including milk, which are guaranteed to be made from milk produced from exclusively grass/hay fed cows on small mountian farms. You do notice a change in taste in July once they are being fed with hay from the alm meadows which are mainly flowers and herbs at that time. A very large amount of our local cheese is only made in the summer - while the animals are up on the alms and grazing.
Interesting Eileen - easier on a small farm probably and not acid soil, on the farms round here (lower level the grass feeds the herd and not so much kept for hay - at high levels the grass is to poor for dairy cattle)
Summer definitely the best time for cheese making
Have just discovered your discussion on K2. My GP put me onto Vitamin K2 to help with bruising I am having, being on Pred. medication and cartia for blood thinning.
I can buy a packet of K2 Vitamin in chemist for a few dollars, it has certainly helped with the bruising I have had on my arms etc.
Just thought I would let you know this bit of information.
Sounds just what I need. I can take or leave cheese - perhaps I'd better start taking it!! Thanks for sharing.
Why not natto? It does take some getting used to, but it is by far the best source of vitamin K2. I "kill" the taste of natto with strong mustard and soy souse. Local Japanese stores would certainly have it. It is worth a try... Comes in ~30gr packages and 1/2 of that package is good for daily dose of K2.
The thing is you always get much more from natural source then from pills.
Nick we're surrounded by farm shops, farmgate sales and butchers who can say which animal from which farmer a cut of meat came from but no Japanese stores for several miles from which to buy Natto here in rural North Wales.
If I could pop down the street for some I would give it a try.
Ok. I suppose this was true historically as well?
Not that it means anything to me personally. I just take my K2 supplement and don'\t rely on food for this vitamin anyway.
Everyone’s input in this discussion has been very educational for me. It also has helped me make a decision. Going to stop taking alendronate (scary side effects), and just ordered some vitamin K2 from Amazon. No doctor to object, since I’m between physicians at the moment.
"My GP put me onto Vitamin K2 to help with bruising"
That is strange - since one of the articles I read about K2 said that NO forms of vit K should be taken by people on anticoagulants (medication for blood thinning). There isn't much point taking medication to prevent your blood coagulating and then feeding yourself extra vit K!