vitamin k2 | Bare 5

FABULOUS FEBRUARY

Fun February Facts: Feb 15th is Susan B. Anthony Day, the day the city of St. Louis, Missouri was established in 1764, when sound recordings were granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time in 1972, the birthday of Galileo in 1564 and the day when the Buddha is said to have achieved Parinirvana, or complete Nirvana, upon the death of his physical body.

Ok, on to the last 4 years…

Four years ago today I launched the Bare 5 blog. What an experience it has been. 377 posts, 113 pages and countless thoughts have gone into the creation, development and evolution of Bare 5.

This was how it all started…

Feb 15, 2011

We all have within us the potential to feel great, be strong and love life. The simple approach that can get us there: reconnect to being human. By honoring our natural instincts and connection to the world around us we can optimize our lives. Make the most of every day by taking your life back and reconnect to your true human nature.

Most of us have been getting more disconnected every year as life, technology and constant stress pulls us further away from our roots. More now than ever before, we need to reconnect. Reconnect to human nature: our true selves, the food, movement, rest, nature, friends, family, happiness and joy that makes life amazing. We are marvelous creatures with incredible potential. Bare 5 exists simply as a resource for connection, an outlet for people to plug back in to health. This blog is dedicated to sharing info, thoughts, resources and links that will help people take their future into their own hands and reconnect to being human, gaining health and wellness and to loving life.

If you’re new to natural living, there’s no better time to start than now and no better way than to kick off your shoes and let your Bare 5 toes reconnect with the ground and get some sunshine on your skin. We can all benefit from the simple acts of human reconnection, from the way we walk, to what we eat, to how we move, sleep and even to how we connect with the earth itself and one another. The more we follow our naturally designed path, the better our lives will be.

Every week I try to add new links, info, resources and thoughts so take a look around, explore, browse and let me know what you think!

If you’re here for the Vibram Five Fingers toe shoes, check out the links on the right…
Or check out the Bare5 Barefoot Headquarters.

If you just want the basics, take a look at the Bare 5 Elements and look for the Bare 5 Bottom Line, my synopsis of each post.

Thanks for reading, have a great reconnected day!

Fast forward 4 years and not only has so much has happened since 2011 but I have grown in more ways than I can count. One of the really interesting things I’ve discovered has been looking back at all my articles over the years as I have recently been compiling all my past and present information because a book is in the works. I’m not sure when it will be done but it is in my mind and it has come time to put all these thoughts in one cohesive place. I’ve noticed that although some things have changed over the last 4 years much of the themes have remained strong and constant. I’m the same guy that feels the same way in almost everything but I’ve added much more complexity to my thoughts.

How can I best summarize my journey on this blog? I thought there might be no better way than to see with what’s been the most popular articles/pages over the years. Here are the top 10 most viewed posts/pages the last 4 years…

10. Digestion From Top To Bottom – Digestion 101

9. Bare 5 Elements – The foundational approach to reconnection

8. Paleo Quick Start – A resource page with links to several ways to explore the Paleo diet/lifestyle

7. Minimalist Shoes Are Everywhere – All about my toe shoe collection, which is what prompted me to start Bare 5

6. Glycemic Index & Load – A resource page with links for info and charts

5. Wheat: Whole Grain Health Hazard? – My thoughts on wheat

4. Humans, Dinos & Chimps, Oh My – Evolution basics

3. My New Favorite Vitamin: K2 – All about this almost unknown but crucial vitamin

2. Avoid Vegetable & Seed Oils – Health Tip #2

1. Grocery Label/Ingredients Guide – The second in the series of grocery shopping and food label guides

A nice list that covers a variety of topics and stretches over the last few years. Not surprisingly, the top article centers around looking at food labels which is an increasingly important skill to develop. I am also pleased that the second most read was the industrial oils article, as I think that’s one of the biggest health awareness decisions that people can make. Probably not surprising was that none of my favorite articles made this list (and weren’t even close for that matter). It continues to amaze me how I never quite have an idea of how popular any given post or page will be when I publish it. It seems (as I have heard many writers, bloggers and authors say) the more clever and insightful I think an article is the less people will actually read it. This doesn’t really bother me however because I’m just happy to be sharing my journey with the world and I hope the simple basic concept of reconnecting to health is what comes across these pages, not necessarily how masterfully I can weave stories, analogies and 80’s references into my articles.🙂

It’s been an incredible journey and I have learned so much from what I’ve thought about, shared and gotten feedback from. Thank you for being a part of my journey and I look forward to another 4 years and beyond…

Thanks for reading, have a great day!

P.S. A podcast is also coming this year. I have been thinking about this for a couple years and am looking forward to exploring a new realm in 2015.

For anyone who knows me well, this might be humorous because since high school my nickname has been K2. Take my initials (KK), double them up and you get K2. Usually associated with the mountain or snowboard company, K2 has been a neat little moniker to go by. Then recently I came across vitamin K2. I have always known about vitamin K but didn’t know about the various forms of it or the powerful role they played in health. After doing some investigation, I think it’s my new favorite and it’s not just due to the name…

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is a group of fat soluble vitamins that are primarily responsible for blood coagulation and metabolism in bone and other tissues. The two main vitamers are K1 and K2. K2 has two main subtypes, MK4 and MK7.

(Here we see Vitamin K1 followed by two subtypes of K2: MK4 & MK7)

Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), found in high amounts in green leafy vegetables, is a major player in blood coagulation. Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) is highly active in bone and tissue metabolism. Vitamin K2 has two major subtypes, MK4 and MK7. As a group, Vitamin K is now considered one of the most important (and often severely depeleted) nutrients in the human body. Although discovered in the 1920’s, it has remained relatively unknown for most of nutritional history. Now K is widely understood as a major player in health and longevity, influencing some vital biological processes…
Blood clotting
Vascular repair
Prevention of vascular calcification
Bone metabolism (repair and strengthening)
Cell proliferation and signal transduction

Look at these actions of vitamin K in context with several big health ailments present in today’s society. Cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and brain generation diseases are three major issues plaguing the developed world. If we are majorly deficient in Vitamin K2 it might be playing a powerful role in the progression of these conditions.

Where can we get it? Here’s the tricky part. The human body makes MK4 from Vitamin K1 and bacteria in the intestines make MK7 if populated by good bacteria. Unfortunately, the conversion to these subtypes is less than adequate in most people, particularly those who have used antibiotics. Before you head down to the health food to grab your K2 in a bottle let’s look toward nature’s bountiful cabinet…

Food sources of Vitamin K1
Think dark, leafy greens and the skins of fruits and vegetables. Open up the link below for the full USDA food chart.

Vitamin K Food Chart

Food Sources of Vitamin K2
Considered to be the more important version of vitamin K, K2 and it’s main subtypes are found in several foods with the highest concentrations typically found in animal foods. As always, strive to obtain quality sources of animal food whenever possible. Healthy animals eating natural diets produce healthy food.

Vitamin K2 with % as MK-4

FOOD	VITAMIN K2	(MCG/100G)
Natto	1103.4	(0% MK-4)
Goose Liver Paste	369.0	(100% MK-4)
Hard Cheeses	76.3	(6% MK-4)
Soft Cheeses	56.5	(6.5% MK-4)
Egg Yolk (Netherlands)	32.1	(98% MK-4)
Goose Leg	31.0	(100% MK-4)
Curd Cheeses	24.8	(1.6% MK-4)
Egg Yolk (United States)	15.5	(100% MK-4)
Butter	15.0	(100% MK-4)
Chicken Liver	14.1	(100% MK-4)
Salami	9.0	(100% MK-4)
Chicken Breast	8.9	(100% MK-4)
Chicken Leg	8.5	(100% MK-4)
Ground Beef (Medium Fat)	8.1	(100% MK-4)
Bacon	5.6	(100% MK-4)
Calf Liver	5.0	(100% MK-4)
Sauerkraut	4.8	(8% MK-4)
Whole Milk	1.0	(100% MK-4)
2% Milk	0.5	(100% MK-4)
Salmon	0.5	(100% MK-4)
Mackerel	0.4	(100% MK-4)
Egg White	0.4	(100% MK-4)
Skim Milk	0.0
Fat-Free Meats	0.0

Courtesy of Westonaprice.org

Vitamin K2 MK7
It is found in the highest quantity in raw dairy. If you live in California you can get it pretty easy, just make sure it is from a quality source. Raw milk needs to be from healthy, grass-fed & finished cows. Do not drink raw milk from cows that aren’t raised well and/or only grass-fed. Check out realmilk.com for resources near you. Soy natto is also a highly concentrated source of MK-7, look for non GMO soy that has been fermented traditionally. Liver, as it always seems with every vitamin we lack, is a great source as well.

Although all types of K are important, more and more evidence points to the role of Vitamin K2, particularly MK4 as a “missing link” in the human health chain. This is not something that you need to rush out and take a supplement for just yet but keep K2 in mind and keep foods rich in vitamin K (particularly K2) in your nutritional rotation.

Thanks for reading, have a great K week!

Here’s a couple additional reviews on the new king of vitamins…

Protecting Bone and Arterial Health with vitamin K2 Report from Life Extension

Osteoporosis Part 1 & Osteoporosis 2: The Vitamin K2 Story by Jack Kruse

Vitamin K2, menatetrenone (MK-4) by Stephan Guyenet

On the Trail of the Elusive X-Factor: A Sixty-Two-Year-Old Mystery Finally Solved by Chris Masterjohn