Given the major health benefits, vitamin K2 is arguably the most important dietary supplement out there, primarily because it can’t be found in sufficient quantities in the average Western diet.
In the last 40 years, researchers have realized that vitamin K2 is responsible for activating, or carboxylating, vitamin K-dependent proteins (VKDPs), such as osteocalcin and matrix Gla-protein. When fully carboxylated, osteocalcin attracts calcium into the bones and teeth. Matrix Gla-protein (MGP) helps to prevent vascular calcification by pulling calcium out of soft tissues, including arteries and veins. Without a sufficient source of K2, both osteocalcin and MGP can remain partially uncarboxylated or completely uncarboxylated, allowing calcium to deposit in the blood vessels rather than the bone, where we need it the most.