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Insider advice: Don’t trade your bones for gold
Just when you thought medicine couldn’t get any more expensive, there’s a new bank-breaking material slated for the next generation of knee and hip replacements — gold.
Now, gold teeth are nothing new. But I’m willing to bet you’ve never heard of gold bones. That’s because they haven’t existed until now. But researchers have something in the works…
They’ve created a super hard metallic substance from titanium and gold that’s nearly as hard as diamonds… which means it will last a lot longer than your run-of-the mill titanium joint replacement. And since it’s still made with some titanium, it’s biocompatible — which means your body won’t reject it. In fact, your bones will actually grow around it.
But, as good as these golden bones sound, if you need them, it means your original bones and joints broke down and needed replacement. It also means you had to go through years of pain and deterioration.
Obviously the health of your bones is more valuable than any precious metal, so instead of depending on science’s next big thing invest in keeping them strong…
Instead, you can try an inexpensive natural supplement that will keep your bones hard and joints strong for years to come… vitamin K2.
Vitamin K2 is known as the protector of bone health for good reason. It helps your bones hold on to their calcium, which keeps them strong and healthy. It also slashes your risk of osteoporosis, keeps your bones from fracturing and decreases your odds of developing osteoarthritis.
But that’s not all. Besides keeping your bones strong and joints pain-free, vitamin K2 helps your body in other ways too. It keeps your blood clotting. It prevents blockages in your heart, reducing your stroke risk. Plus it supports your brain health, improves your cognitive abilities and may even prevent dementia.
But despite all of these amazing benefits, vitamin K2 hasn’t really caught on in the U.S. yet. It’s kind of taken a backseat to vitamin D… which steals the spotlight when it comes to bone, heart and brain health. But together, these vitamins are a dynamic duo.
The Japanese, however, have known about the benefits of vitamin K2 for a long time now. In certain regions, they love a traditional dish called natto, which is made from fermented soybean. This dish is chock-full of vitamin K2. And it’s lowered osteoporosis levels and bone fractures dramatically in the regions where it’s popular.
So if you’re ready to take a tip from the Japanese and keep your gold in your jewelry (not your bones), then you should take about 90 mcg of vitamin K2 per day if you’re a woman and 120 mcg per day if you’re a man. You can get your vitamin K2 in a supplement or you can get it through your food. You can even try the Japanese fermented soy product called natto. Other dietary sources of vitamin K2 are eggs, yogurt, chicken breast and grass-fed dairy products.
Sources:
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Svanidze, T. Besara, M. Fevsi Ozaydin, C.S. Tiwary, et al. “High hardness in the biocompatible intermetallic compound β-Ti3Au.” Science Advances. 20 Jul 2016: Vol. 2, no. 7.
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Kaneki. “Vitamin K2 as a protector of bone health and beyond.” Clinical Calcium. 2005 Apr;15(4):605-10.
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Weber. “Vitamin K and bone health.” Nutrition. Vol. 17, no. 10, October 2001, p. 880–887.
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Ishii, H. Noguchi, M. Takeda, J. Sato, et al. “Distribution of vitamin K2 in subchondral bone in osteoarthritic knee joints.” Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology Arthroscopy. 2013 Aug;21(8):1813-8.
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“Cardiologist’s New Book Links Vitamin K2 to Heart and Bone Health.” VitaminK2.org. http://vitamink2.org. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
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Ferland. “Vitamin K and the Nervous System: An Overview of its Actions.” Advances in Nutrition. March 2012. vol. 3: 204-212.
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“Vitamin K: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.” National Institutes of Health. https://ods.od.nih.gov. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
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Kaneki, S.J. Hodges, T. Hosoi, et al. “Japanese fermented soybean food as the major determinant of the large geographic difference in circulating levels of vitamin K2: possible implications for hip-fracture risk.” Nutrition. 2001 Apr;17(4):315-21.