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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Healthy Fats / Which Vitamin K2 Supplement is Best: MK-4 or MK-7?

Which Vitamin K2 Supplement is Best: MK-4 or MK-7?

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Getting Vitamin K2 in the Diet is Difficult+−
    • K2 Cannot be Recycled by the Body like K1
  • Bridging the Dietary Gap with K2 Supplements
  • MK-7 vs MK-4+−
    • Whole Food MK-4 is Best
    • MK-4 Supplements are Synthetic
  • MK-7 is Optimal for Supplementation

Discussion of the various vitamin K2 supplements on the market with a comparison of MK-4 from animal sources or MK-7 from bacterial fermentation to ensure the diet contains sufficient amounts of this elusive yet critical nutrient.

Getting enough Vitamin K2 is absolutely essential to vibrant health. Surprisingly, the vast majority of people are seriously deficient.

Even those eating a completely whole food, organic diet, fail miserably in getting enough in either of the two major forms: MK-7 and MK-4.

Traditional Societies instinctively put great importance on foods high in Vitamin K2.

These sacred foods were consumed in larger quantities by young couples preparing to conceive. In addition, pregnant and breastfeeding women, growing children, and the elderly received more to preserve health during these critical times of life.

Sufficient Vitamin K2 along with the other critical fat-soluble activators A and D are especially important for pregnant women to consume to ensure healthy babies.

Please note that Vitamin K1 from leafy greens is a different nutrient! It is not the same as Vitamin K2 found in the sacred foods of traditional cultures.

The best food sources of Vitamin K2 are grass-fed dairy products, emu oil, gouda, and brie cheese, and natto, a very strong-tasting fermented soy product with roots in Japan.

Vitamin K2 from animal sources is MK-4, while K2 produced by bacterial fermentation as found in natto or cheese is MK-7.

Getting Vitamin K2 in the Diet is Difficult

Unfortunately, even if one consumes plenty of grass-fed dairy, getting enough K2 in the diet is still very much a challenge. This is due to the worrisome depletion of our soils which will take generations to repair.

Consider that the spring butter of the traditional Alpine living Swiss was an orange color. Grass-fed spring butter today is at best deep yellow.

No doubt, the soil that produced the rapidly growing spring grass that the Alpine cows grazed upon was much higher in nutrients in order to produce orange butter which the Swiss reverently placed in bowls with wicks to burn in their Churches.

K2 Cannot be Recycled by the Body like K1

It is also greatly concerning that Vitamin K2 cannot be recycled by the body like Vitamin K1.

This means that stores can be quickly depleted with the very common and invisible deficiency of K2 occurring in as little as 7 days.

This is concerning especially if you are taking Vitamin D or calcium supplements. Sufficient K2 is necessary to prevent arterial calcification when intake of these synergistic nutrients is high.

Bridging the Dietary Gap with K2 Supplements

In order to bridge the gap and ensure that my family gets enough Vitamin K2, I decided about a year ago that we needed to take a daily supplement as I was not confident that we were getting enough even with our frequent consumption of sacred foods and grass-fed dairy.

Does this mean that grass-fed dairy is not important?  Absolutely not. It is always best to strive to get your nutrients from food as much as possible.  

With the depletion of the soils, however, I did not feel certain that we could get enough K2 eating reasonable amounts of whole and even sacred foods from grass-fed sources like Traditional Societies would have by eating a similar diet.

I have not yet seen any scientific studies confirming what daily dose of K2 is optimal for long-term health.

However, based on population studies and data obtained from Vitamin K2 doses given in clinical trials, it seems that 45 mcg/day would be the minimal dose for therapeutic effect.

Several hundred mcg/day is a better target as this is what frequent natto eaters in Japan would be consuming.

The good news is that Vitamin K2 has no known toxicity. Thus, adding a daily supplement taken with food to improve absorption really has no downside.

MK-7 vs MK-4

If you decide that taking a Vitamin K2 supplement makes sense to you, which should you choose?

If given the choice, I prefer MK-4, the animal form of Vitamin K2 over MK-7, the form of K2 from bacterial fermentation.

Whole Food MK-4 is Best

However, the problem is that while MK-4 in whole foods like grass-fed butter, emu oil, high vitamin butter oil, and pastured egg yolks is real and ideal, the MK-4 in supplements is synthetically derived.

This is similar to the widespread issue of synthetic vitamin C supplements. Incidentally, folic acid is synthetic too (you really want folate).

Let me say that again.

MK-4 Supplements are Synthetic

MK-4 supplements are synthetic. This form of K2 is extracted from tobacco, most likely of GMO origin (90% of tobacco crops are genetically modified).

It is not the same MK-4 as found in grass-fed butter oil, eggs, goose liver, gouda cheese, or pastured emu oil.

Why doesn’t the MK-4 in supplements come from pasture-based whole foods? Because it would be prohibitively expensive.

Another big downside of synthetic MK-4 supplements is that it remains at therapeutic levels in the blood for only a few hours.

As a result, periodic and inconvenient dosing every few hours is required.

MK-7 is Optimal for Supplementation

Taking synthetic vitamins is to be avoided if at all possible. Consequently, I take this brand of Vitamin K2 derived from nonGMO natto.

This is the form of Vitamin K2 known as MK-7 (where to find).

It is the exact same K2 you would get if you actually ate natto. Unfortunately, many folks find it to be unpalatable food.

I’ve also vetted this brand that is chickpea-based and using it on a rotation basis. It is a good choice for those who are avoiding soy.

Another plus is that MK-7 stays in therapeutic doses in the blood much longer than synthetic MK-4.

As a result, a once-a-day supplement of MK-7 is sufficient. This is a very effective addition to the natural MK-4 from a diet high in grass-fed dairy and other sacred foods.

References

Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox by Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue BSc, ND

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, by Dr. Weston A. Price

More Information

The Latest Scoop on K2 Wonder Nutrient
The Vitamin Deficiency That Shows on Your Face
Nightshade Vegetables and Pain

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Category: Healthy Fats, Natural Remedies
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: the bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (205)

  1. Jennifer r

    Apr 5, 2014 at 11:22 pm

    I just was wondering, if you can’t consume soy in any form, or dairy or beef, what can you do to get vitamin K-2? I have eosinophilic esophagitis, and get migraines, and both are triggered by soy, and the EoE is triggered by beef and dairy.

    Reply
    • Eugenia

      Jun 5, 2015 at 12:08 am

      No. The K2-Mk7 in natto comes from the fermentation, not from the soy directly.

  2. Patricia

    Mar 13, 2014 at 9:29 pm

    I take Calcium with Vitamin K2.

    Vitamin K2 helps direct calcium to the bones and teeth(where it belongs), keeping the calcium from attaching itself to the arteries.

    Natural sources are Natto, egg yolk, butter…problem is I don’t like the cholesterol in egg yolk and butter and I don’t like the taste of Natto.

    I found this online and order it online as well http://tinyurl.com/q8fjc93
    It is made in USA; head office is in California. That’s why delivery and handling is free in USA. Delivery took about 3 to 7 days. It has Omega 3+ as well as CoQ10 and Vitamin K2 and it is Extended release(long-term effect).

    Reply
  3. Keisha

    Mar 5, 2014 at 1:30 am

    Great write-up. I was examining regularly this weblog and I am amazed!

    Particularly practical details specially the last aspect I treatment for this kind of info
    much. I was searching for this individual facts for a incredibly long time.

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    Reply
  4. Andrea

    Feb 9, 2014 at 11:56 am

    I just want to say that I’ve been taking Dr Thorne’s MK-4 liquid drops and have seen a huge improvement in my teeth. I wear retainers at night and noticed they have been fitting much tighter since taking it. I suffered from receding gums/ bone loss in the jaw from stress and this supplement is reversing the symptoms very well. I have not tried MK-7. I also have green pastures clo/ butter oil and don’t notice the effects that Thorne’s supplement does. Also no tartar on the back of my teeth. I take 4 drops in the morning and 4 at dinner. I also take vitamin D3 once a day so they can work together. Other improvements I’ve seen: better skin, less fine lines, less joint pain, better memory. I would like to try the MK-7 to see how it compares, but the 4 is working great, and even if it is synthetic, is that a bad thing?

    Reply
    • Mudit gupta

      Oct 23, 2015 at 3:48 am

      What is your daily dosage of thorne drops

  5. M. J.

    Jan 20, 2014 at 9:48 pm

    I’m late to this party, too, but while shopping for MK-7 supplements on Amazon I read a review mentioning that Nutrigold’s formula is 100% from natto (fermented non-GMO soybeans) in a base of organic olive oil. It costs less (right now, anyway) than Jarrow. I have no idea if Nutrigold is as reputable as Jarrow–do you? Recommendations are so helpful!

    Reply
    • BR

      Jan 21, 2014 at 11:15 am

      I have also bought Nutrigold’s. The information on their k2 looks like a quality product.

  6. Ellen

    Dec 23, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    Hi Sarah,

    From which age is it possible to supplement my daughter with Jarrow’s? And what is the right dose for her? She’s now 17 months old.

    Reply
    • Eugenia

      Jun 5, 2015 at 12:12 am

      You should not be giving off the counter vitamins to your child without doctor’s approval (vitamins which haven’t been thoroughly tested by an independent body). The K2 for kids comes from mother’s milk. This is why children in indigenous tribes are getting breastfed for over 2 years of age.

  7. Alan Jimenez

    Dec 2, 2013 at 4:52 am

    I just bought the MK-7 from Jarrow’s but really considering the MK-4 from Thorne. I am already taking FCLO and Butter Oil from Green Pasture and my main goal is to reduce plaque, it seems that the MK-4 is best at doing just that while the MK-7 targets a wider range of benefits. This is based on the hundreds of comments/testimonies read online.

    Reply
    • Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist

      Dec 2, 2013 at 7:10 am

      MK-4 supplements are synthetic. If you want MK-4, best to get that from food like grassfed butter, goose liver pate.

  8. Bethany

    Sep 27, 2013 at 2:38 pm

    I’m currently pregnant and it was recommended I start a vitamin d/k2 supplement. I was unaware of mk-4 vs mk-7 when I ordered the Thorne drops. So my question is, is there a risk to continuing to use the Thorne drops several times per day until my bottle is out and then switching to a product like Ortho-Molecular vitamin d/k2 drops who uses mk-7? I’ve been unable to find any research online re: mk-4 and pregnancy.

    Reply
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