I have had a battle with coronary artery disease, resulting in a quad bypass in 2001 and now stents in 2014. I have been looking for the real cause for a long time to avoid further problems. Now I have another insight that I think will make a big improvement; but first, a little history for clarification:
First we had the saturated fat theory – that these fats clogged our arteries. Then we had the cholesterol theory, that it was excess cholesterol production and in our diet that clogged the arteries. Then we heard then it was the BAD LDL cholesterol at fault, and statin drugs could save us all. That also proved to be less than a miracle. Then they found that those with high levels of HDL had lower artery disease, but the drugs that they tried to raise HDL actually killed people.
Getting smarter, they then began to look at the actual carrier molecule; the Low-Density-Lipoprotein, a spherical cage-like molecule that carries the cholesterol; that allows cholesterol (a fat) to float around in our blood (basically water) and manages the exchange of cholesterol to and from cells that the blood comes in contact with. They started finding that people whose livers made very small LDL cage-molecules had to have many more of these LDL particles to carry the needed cholesterol. This increased number was thought to be the reason why the small-dense LDL particles invade the lining of the arteries and then cause inflammation and plaque buildup.
Now the thinking is that certain ‘size patterns’ of cholesterol- and triglyceride-carrying particles are pro-artery disease and others are preventative. Having particle pattern “B” pushes us toward heart disease, while pattern “A” is preventative. These particle patterns can be determined by a “VAP” test; similar to a regular cholesterol test, but screening for all the various Lipoprotein molecules involved with this process of getting cholesterol (a critically important cellular building block and a base for most of our hormones) and other fats to and from cells as needed.
I have been using the VAP test since 2001, and have always been Pattern “B”. But this last test came back Pattern “A”. The critical change: starting 3 months ago I began taking 45 mg/day of vitamin K2. I ran across this concept on the website of Dr Jack Kruse and was blown away to see him declare that Pattern B cholesterol profile was a clear indication of a vitamin K2 deficiency. You will not hear that from any authority or doctor, and I have not read it in 12 years of research.
But being an experimenter at heart I decided to try it, and the results are amazing: for the first time ever I have a Pattern A profile. While I’m not assured of never having a problem again, my odds have drastically improved. Our normal vitamin K intake, if we eat lots of vegetables and have the right bacteria in our gut (because they make the K2 vitamin) is about 45 micrograms/day. So 45 mg is a thousand times what we would normally get to operate with. Dr Kruse explained that many causes could prevent our normal conservation of this badly needed vitamin, creating a deficiency. So for patients with osteoporosis, he puts them on Vitamin D and high dose Vitamin K2 and bone health is restored. Most of the vitamin K2 studies around the world have used 45mg/day, so I felt pretty safe in trying this approach.
To my knowledge, there are few, if any, cardiologist using high dose vitamin K2 to alter lipoprotein particle sizes to promote heart health. It seems like the medical community is ignoring an important tool for reducing heart disease. And if a cardiologist has a patient on Coumadin, they are virtually guaranteed of a K2 deficiency and calcium coated arteries in the long term.
Good Living – Frank
Note that this product is 15 mg/capsule, 3/day is the therapeutic dose I have been using.
Frank Wilhelmi – Retired/consultant electronic engineer researches and reports practical strategies for optimizing health and fitness into advanced age. “I have a passion for living life to the fullest, and helping others to do the same.” A rapidly growing body of knowledge now enables us to extend our health and fitness decades beyond popular expectations.