THE GREATEST MEDICINE OF ALL… IS TEACHING PEOPLE HOW NOT TO NEED IT
One Reason Why Consuming Animal
Fats Is Vital
Story at-a-glance
- Vitamin K2, found exclusively in animal fats and
fermented foods, is essential for metabolic health, serving as an
emergency electron carrier during cellular reductive stress
- Unlike plant-based oils, animal fats provide vitamin
K2, which helps regulate calcium distribution, ensuring it's deposited in
bones and teeth rather than arteries and kidneys
- Research indicates higher dietary vitamin K2 intake
reduces the risk of coronary heart disease mortality and severe aortic
calcification, unlike vitamin K1 found in plants
- While gut bacteria can produce vitamin K2, its
absorption is limited due to production location and bacterial binding,
making dietary sources crucial for optimal intake
- Pasture-raised animal products are superior sources
of K2, with pastured chicken eggs containing 3 to 4 times more K2 than
conventional eggs
Let's discuss just one of the reasons why regularly consuming animal fats is vital for health. Animal fats contain a metabolism-boosting and heart protective nutrient that is not available in plants: Vitamin K2.
Sorry Harvard, but your 'Heart Healthy' fats and oils like olive, canola, soy bean, corn, sunflower, and peanut oils do not contain this vital nutrient.
There are 2 forms of vitamin K, each supporting different aspects of health and serve unique roles in the body. Both are beneficial to consume daily!
•Vitamin K1 — Primarily
found in plant foods and is abundant in leafy greens and veggies. (My favorite
sources are collard greens, Brussels sprouts, parsley, and green beans.)
•Vitamin K2 — Only
found in animal foods and fermented foods. The term 'vitamin K2 refers to a
collection of forms known as 'menaquinones' that are abbreviated with 'MK' with
a number attached referring to the chain length/structure size. For ex: MK-4
and MK-7.
One of the biggest health benefits of vitamin K2 consumption is that it restores metabolic health since it serves as an emergency electron carrier when cells are in reductive stress (electron build up), helping to restore proper electron flow and metabolism. Most people are not metabolically healthy and are experiencing reductive stress.
"Mitochondrial dysfunction was rescued by vitamin K(2) that serves as a mitochondrial election carrier, helping to maintain normal ATP production." Since K2 fights reductive stress, it can help reverse insulin resistance and mitochondrial dysfunction.
Another health benefit of vitamin K2 is that it regulates calcium — K2 prevents calcium from going to the wrong places (like kidney and arteries) and makes sure it goes to the right places (like bones and teeth).
Osteocalcin is a vitamin K2 dependent protein that the body needs to pull calcium from the bloodstream to deposit it where we want it: in the bones and teeth. Osteocalcin also stimulates the growth of new dentin, the calcified tissue underneath tooth enamel, reducing cavity risk and slowing tooth degradation.
"The relative risk (RR) of coronary heart disease mortality was reduced in the mid and upper turtles of dietary menaquinone (K2) compared to the lower ... Intake of menaquinone was also inversely related to all-cause mortality and severe aortic calcification. Phylloquinone (K1) intake was not related to any of the outcomes."
Vitamin K2 can be synthesized by bacteria in the large intestine. However, this bacterially produced K2 has limited bioavailability and absorption for several reasons:
- Location of production — The large intestine is not the primary site of nutrient absorption in our digestive system
- The K2 produced by gut bacteria are bound to bacterial cell membranes, making them less accessible for absorption
- An unhealthy gut can further reduce the already inefficient production and absorption of K2
Since absorption of bacterially synthesized K2 is generally poor, dietary sources are the primary source of functionally available K2.
Fats from pasture-raised animals are going to be one of your best sources and will contain more K2 relative to animals raised in since they consume grass, which is rich in vitamin K1, which is converted to K2 by certain bacteria in the animal's gut. For example:
•Pasture-raised chicken yolk — 30
to 40 ug K2/yolk
•Confinement raised chicken
yolk — 10 ug K2/yolk
Since animal fats are rich in K2 (especially food products from pasture-raised animals), you don't have to go crazy overboard in your fat consumption to consume sufficient amounts. K2 research and understanding is still in its infancy. But 100 to 200 ug daily intake is likely beneficial (ref: Chris Masterjohn, PhD). Here are three examples, in addition to your other food sources for the day of course!
- 1 to 2 oz aged cheese, 2 pasture-raised eggs, 3 oz
dark chicken meat
- 1 to 2 oz aged cheese, 2 pasture-raised eggs, 1 oz
beef liver
- 1 oz aged cheese, 2 pasture-raised eggs, 3.5 oz
ground pork
Aged cheeses and pasture-raised
eggs are going to be some of your best sources — and are important to consume
daily! (Or at least every other day.)
Summary
Here are some take home points
about Vitamin K2:
- Vitamin K2 is important for metabolic health, bone
and dental health, heart and kidney health, hormone production, and cancer
prevention.
- Animal products and natto are the best sources of
vitamin K2, but one form (MK-4) is only found in animal products.
- Eating animal fats is a practical way to consume this
vital nutrient (plus, animal fats tend to be lower in PUFA and higher in
SFA, further supporting metabolic health).
- You don't have to go crazy overboard in your daily
fat consumption to consume enough K2, but consuming the most nutrient-rich
sources will ensure you regularly consume this vital micronutrient.
Doctors and Health Experts Are Changing Their Minds About Whole Milk and Cheese
I hate to say, ‘I told you so’, but I did many times, over the last 15 years. Whole milk and Cheese are far better for you than low-fat versions. And grass fed is always best!
For more than 40 years, the general medical advice has been to avoid full-fat milk products because they are high in saturated fat, the unhealthy fat associated with red meat.
Some studies published in the past decade have found evidence to the contrary. Cheese and yogurt made from whole milk, as well as whole milk itself, may be more beneficial than previously thought.
But he adds that there is less debate among those like himself who research dairy fat.
“Many scientists who study dairy fat and dairy foods have come to the realization that dairy fat isn’t harmful and may even be healthy,” says Mozaffarian.
He wrote a paper six years ago that looked at 16 studies around the world that measured the levels of blood biomarkers produced by consuming dairy products. “We found that higher levels of dairy fat biomarkers were significantly associated with lower risk of diabetes—a 20% to 30% lower risk,” he says.
Mozaffarian says that the scientific consensus on milk consumption will shift over the coming years, and he is confident that the dietary guidelines will be changed to reflect the growing body of research that has found dairy fat to be healthy.
During the 1970s, nutrition experts became increasingly concerned that consumption of saturated fat was leading to high cholesterol levels and heart disease. Saturated fat makes up a high share of dairy fat. So, as diet experts targeted saturated fat, it made sense that dairy fat would find itself in the crosshairs.
My Comment:
As is always the case, when you change a whole natural food from its natural form, it causes nutrition issues that can affect your health. The body is designed to use food in its 'complete natural' state without being processed or “improved”. Diet foods and highly processed foods are almost always bad for your health.
Until next time, stay healthy and happy
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