Vitamin K2 And The Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life

by Kate Rheaume-Bleue

Overview

The secret to avoiding calcium-related osteoporosis and atherosclerosis While millions of people take calcium and Vitamin D supplements thinking they're helping their bones, the truth is, without the addition of Vitamin K2, such a health regimen could prove dangerous. Without Vitamin K2, the body cannot direct calcium to the bones where it's needed; instead, the calcium resides in soft tissue (like the arteries)—leading to a combination of osteoporosis and atherosclerosis, or the dreaded "calcium paradox." This is the first book to reveal how universal a Vitamin K2 deficiency is, and the risk (in the form of cancer and diabetes, among other ailments) the absence of Vitamin K2 poses.Written by Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue, a popular health expert on Canadian television and radio, Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox sounds a warning about the popularity of the calcium and Vitamin D craze, while illustrating the enormous health benefits of Vitamin K2 in making the body less susceptible to dental cavities, heart disease, prostate cancer, liver cancer, diabetes, wrinkles, obesity, varicose veins, and other ailments.

• The book demystifies this obscure supernutrient—a fat soluble vitamin that humans once thrived on, ignored by scientists for almost seventy years
• Details how the consumption of grass-fed animals led to adequate Vitamin K2 intake—while grain-based animal feed helped eradicate Vitamin K2 from our diets
• Describes how doctors are raising recommended doses of calcium and Vitamin D—without prescribing Vitamin K2
• Details more damning facts about transfats—and how the creation of a synthetic Vitamin K interfered with the body's Vitamin K metabolism

An essential book for anyone interested in bone health, or maintaining their overall health, Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox is the guide to taking the right combination of supplements—and adding Vitamin K2 to a daily regimen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781443427562
Publisher:	HarperCollins Canada
Publication date:	06/25/2013
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	802,335
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Dr Kate Rheaume-Bleue is a licensed Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology from McMaster University, with an honors thesis that involved designing a clinical trial to evaluate natural medicine. Kate completed her professional training at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (class of '02), where she also pursued two additional years of residency training. As a member of both the Academic and Clinic faculties at CCNM for three years, Kate was a guest lecturer and teaching assistant for several courses. She was the supervising clinician at two different naturopathic public health clinics in Toronto and has held private practices in Toronto and Hamilton. Since 2006 Kate has been employed as an educator and spokesperson for Natural Factors Nutritional Products, Canada's largest manufacturer of nutritional supplements. She is also bilingual, lecturing in both official languages.

Kate's articles have been featured in Alive magazine, as well as Life Peak and Vista. Television appearances include Breakfast Television Vancouver (three times), BT Winnipeg (five times), BT Toronto (twice), BT Calgary (twice), Canada AM, Live with Christine Williams, The Fanny Keifer Show (twice), CHCH News (three times), CTV Evening News Atlantic Canada, Live at 5 and the CTV Kitchener Noon Show (twice), to name a few. She has also appeared on the Discovery Channel's Daily Planet show. Kate is a regular guest on several radio shows including CHML's Just For The Health of It, CJBK's It's Your Call, Talk 820's Lisa Live and others.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Chapter 1: The Calcium Paradox 1

Why you need to read this book, whether or not you take calcium supplements 4

Osteoporosis: Calcium deficiency 5

Atherosclerosis: Calcium excess 8

Why vitamin D won't save us from the Calcium Paradox 10

How vitamin K2 comes to the rescue 12

The calcium cycle of life 18

We all need more: Vitamin K2 deficiency is widespread 19

Chapter 2: The Undiscovery and Rediscovery of Vitamin K2 23

A brief history of vitamin K: A tale of two nutrients 24

The mysterious activator X 27

Finally understanding vitamin K2 after 70 years: What it is and isn't 39

Vitamin K1: Greens and clotting 41

Vitamin K1 deficiency is rare and obvious 43

Vitamin K2: Animal fat and calcium metabolism 44

Vitamin K2 deficiency is common and invisible 45

Vitamin K2: A new essential nutrient 47

Chapter 3 – How Much Vitamin K2 Do We Need, and How Do We Get It? 49

The lack of vitamin K2 in our diet: What went wrong? 50

The grass-fed vitamin 53

The pastured egg hunt 56

Ghee and butter oil from grass-fed cows 61

Yet another reason to avoid trans fat 63

Two types of vitamin K2 65

Natto, the slimy superfood 69

Recommended vitamin K2 intake 74

Vitamin K2 from supplements 76

Vitamin K2: Friend or foe of blood-thinning medications? 80

Chapter 4: Vitamin K2: The Ultimate Antiaging Vitamin 85

The triage theory of aging 86

Vitamin K2 for heart health 89

Rethinking cholesterol 90

Atherosclerosis: Plaque accumulation 92

What really causes heart disease? 95

Vitamin K2 trumps K1 for heart health 96

You can reverse heart disease 97

How much is enough? 100

Even more evidence for vitamin K2 and heart health 100

Vitamin D deficiency: Another risk factor for cardiovascular disease 102

Vitamin K2: Building better bones 102

The renovation of you 103

Calcium alone is not enough 104

Vitamin K2: The missing link for bone health 106

Testing for your vitamin K2 levels 109

Vitamin K2 for Alzheimer's disease 110

Vitamin K2 for wrinkle prevention 114

The way we were 115

Vitamin K2 for healthy veins 117

Aging well with vitamin K2 119

Chapter 5: Even More Health Benefits of Vitamin K2 121

Vitamin K2 for diabetes 122

Vitamin K2 for arthritis 126

K2 for brain and neurologic health 127

Vitamin K2 for cancer prevention 129

Vitamin K2 for kidney disease 137

Vitamin K2 for fertility 138

Vitamin K2 for normal facial development 140

Vitamin K2 for easier labor 147

Vitamin K2 for strong bones 150

Vitamin K2 for dental health 151

Anatomy of a tooth 152

Chapter 6: Measuring Your Vitamin K2 Levels 161

Undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) tests 163

Bone density scanning 168

Tracking your plaque 172

Chapter 7: Vitamins K2, A and D: Better Together 181

A, D and K2: A balancing act 182

Understanding vitamin A 185

Understanding vitamin D 204

Are vitamins A and D hormones? 219

What about vitamin E? 221

Chapter 8: Toward a New Definition of Nutritious 225

Defining a healthy diet 229

A whole grain of truth 230

Calcium and magnesium 233

Endnotes 237

Index 267