25 replies to this topic

[scuba]

If we can't acquire the taste for the Japanese Natto, does a scotch chaser help?

 

You bet!

 

[carrie]

Scuba---

I just looked at Natto online. I don't think I can eat those slimy soy like beans. I could take the K2 Supplements though.

Do you think I need to tell my doctor about wanting to take them?

So what calcifies in us?

How will K2 help me on Tasigna?

[scuba]

Calcification of soft tissues (e.g. arteries, organs) is an ongoing process which the body has to actively combat. Calcium, without any intervention, would move naturally from our bones (where calcium is stored) to soft tissues where it deposits as apatite (a form of calcium carbonate). The PH environment of our blood and temperature favor this deposition. What prevents it - (and can reverse it) are carboxylation reactions (https://www.ncbi.nlm.../pubmed/6369112) which scavenge  and bind Calcium (ions) from soft tissue and transport back to bone. This binding and transporting occurs through a series of steps which requires vitamin K2 in order to proceed. Without K2, these proteins are not activated and hardening of the arteries proceeds without check.

 

https://www.nutraceu...fication/123944

 

"Vitamin K2 MK-7 is also essential for the activation of matrix Gla-protein (MGP).6 After MGP is activated (in a carboxylation process initiated by vitamin K2), MGP binds free-floating calcium to prevent it from being deposited in vascular smooth muscle cells.7 Without MGP activation, unbound calcium is free for deposit in arteries and vascular smooth muscle walls. In plain language, K2 prevents calcium from being deposited in arteries, making it essential for heart health."

 

I take 200mcg of vitamin K2 (as MK-7; menanquinone) every day with food IN ADDITION to eating Japanese Natto. Most studies I have read indicate that 200mcg of vitamin K2 is sufficient to prevent excess calcium from depositing. 

 

In my own case, I had 70% calcification in my carotid artery in 2013, a few years after CML diagnosis and TKI treatment. After one year of both vitamin D3 + K2 supplementing, my atherosclerosis was reduced by over 46%! The following year (2015) it was reduced a further 35%. Today my carotid artery is normal with no calcium thickness. My blood pressure fell as well. Soft supple arteries are key to long term heart health. Vitamin K2 is one element to helping.

[AdamJ]

If we can't acquire the taste for the Japanese Natto, does a scotch chaser help?

Drink the scotch first

[IGotCML]

Scuba,

 

How does one get artery calcification tested? I have been on Tasigna for almost 5 years and am curious on any effect it has on my cardiovascular system. If you don't mind sharing, what were your blood pressure numbers before and after you starting taking vitamins D3 + K2?  

[scuba]

Scuba,

 

How does one get artery calcification tested? I have been on Tasigna for almost 5 years and am curious on any effect it has on my cardiovascular system. If you don't mind sharing, what were your blood pressure numbers before and after you starting taking vitamins D3 + K2?  

 

A cardiologist will perform a carotid artery scan using ultrasound:

http://www.nyhq.org/...ageID=DIW007661

 

My blood pressure before I started addressing the issue was normal and remained normal at rest, but when I did a treadmill exercise, my blood pressure spiked especially the lower diastolic number. After D3 + K2 regimen over a year, my numbers normalized during exercise. And even at rest my numbers have fallen some (125 / 65). 

 

I have always exercised (more intensely during summer), so the only real change were the vitamin supplementation - especially K2.