Wheat-free pumpkin bread

25. December 2010 William Davis (5)
Try this recipe for a wheat-free, gluten-free yet healthy "bread." Unlike many gluten-free foods that send blood sugar skyward, this will not.

Ingredients:
2 cups ground almond meal (Buy it from Trader Joe's--70% cheaper than other grocery stores.)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup sour cream (full-fat, of course)
15 oz canned pumpkin (Trader Joe's is bisphenol A-free)
2 medium to large eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
Dash of salt
Choice of non-nutritive sweetener (I used 3 teaspoons Trader Joe's stevia extract powder, the one mixed with lactose. Two tablespoons of Truvia, 1/2 teaspoon of the more concentrated stevia extract, or 1/2 cup Splenda are other choices. You can taste the mixed batter to gauge sweetness if in doubt.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease baking pan (e.g., 10 x 6 inch). The pan should be big enough so that the mix will not be more than 2 inches deep, else it will require much longer to bake. (If you have only smaller pans, you will need to cook longer while the pan is covered with aluminum foil.)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in large bowl. Pour mix into greased baking pan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 30 minutes or until inserted toothpick or knife comes out dry.

Serve with cream cheese or as is.

(I'd have some pictures, but the kids and I ate it up before I thought to take any photographs.)

Vitamin D: Deficiency vs optimum level

19. December 2010 William Davis (20)
Dr. James Dowd of the Vitamin D Cure posted his insightful comments regarding the Institute of Medicine's inane evaluation of vitamin D.

Dr. Dowd hits a bullseye with this remark:

The IOM is focusing on deficiency when it should be focusing on optimal health values for vitamin D. The scientific community continues to argue about the lower limit of normal when we now have definitive pathologic data showing that an optimal vitamin D level is at or above 30 ng/mL. Moreover, if no credible toxicity has been reported for vitamin D levels below 200 ng/mL, why are we obsessing over whether our vitamin D level should be 20 ng/mL or 30 ng/mL?

Yes, indeed. Have no doubts: Vitamin D deficiency is among the greatest public health problems of our age; correction of vitamin D (using the human form of vitamin D, i.e., D3 or cholecalciferol, not the invertebrate or plant form, D2 or ergocalciferol) is among the most powerful health solutions.

I have seen everything from relief from winter "blues," to reversal of arthritis, to stopping the progression of aortic valve disease, to partial reversal of dementia by achieving 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels of 50 ng/ml or greater. (I aim for 60-70 ng/ml.)

The IOM's definition of vitamin D adequacy rests on what level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D reverses hyperparathyroidism (high PTH levels) and rickets. Surely there is more to health than that.

Dr. Dowd and vocal vitamin D advocate, Dr. John Cannell, continue to champion the vitamin D cause that, like many health issues, conradicts the "wisdom" of official organizations like the IOM.

Large LDL counts, too

15. December 2010 William Davis (0)
Chad is a 43-year old father of five kids.

Earlier this year, he developed chest pain that got worse and worse. He ended up with a total of five stents in all three coronary arteries. After a devastating experience with Lipitor that resulted from a ruptured tendon, he came to me for an option.

Chad's lipoproteins:

Slow Burn works

14. December 2010 William Davis (55)
I have been impressed with the results I've been obtaining with Fred Hahn's Slow Burn strength training technique.

Because I have limited time to hang around the gym, any technique that provides outsized results in a limited amount of time, I have to admit, appeals to me. In past, I'd be lucky to squeeze in one or two strength training sessions per week, devoting the rest of the time to biking outdoors, biking on a sedentary bike (while playing XBox), jogging, or doing strenuous yard work like digging trenches and planting shrubs.

Over the years, I've gradually lost muscle, since the strength training effort suffered with my time limitations.

So Fred's time-efficient Slow Burn idea struck a chord. Having now done it with some regularity, usually 1-2 times per week since mid-September, I have gradually added back visible muscle. My Slow Burn workouts, involving 8-10 different movements, seem to have restored the muscle I've lost, with a very modest time effort.

It took a little getting used to. After Fred showed me how to do the movements--slow motion movement in both the "positive" and "negative" directions, with smooth, non-jerking transitions, one set per muscle group, each taken to muscle exhaustion--it left me unusually tired and sore the next day. This surprised me, given the limited time involved. Breathing is also very important; the usual exhale-during-the-positive, inhale-during-the-negative pattern is replaced by breathing freely during the entire set. I didn't get this at first and ended up with headaches that got worse with each set. Breathing freely relieved me from the effect.

I have strength trained since I was around 15 years old. Back in the early 1970s, I had about 2000 lbs of barbells and dumbbells in my garage in New Jersey, while also driving back and forth to the Morristown, NJ, YMCA to train with friends. The Slow Burn movements forced me to break habits established over nearly 40 years of conventional strength training.

I've also played around with mixing conventional movements with Slow Burn movements to keep it fresh. This also seems to work.

If you're interested in giving it a try, here's an animation that demonstrates what Slow Burn movements look like. Fred has also produced an excellent 3-DVD set of videos that more fully describe the practice.

Do your part to save on healthcare costs

13. December 2010 William Davis (37)
While many of the factors that drive the relentless increase in health care costs are beyond individual control, you are still able to exert personal influence over costs. Just as in political elections, your one vote alone may not count; it's the collective effort of many people who share similar opinions that results in real change.

I just got the new monthly premium for my high-deductible health insurance: Up $300 per month, putting my family's total premium over $2000 per month---for four healthy people. (My son fractured his wrist playing high school hockey earlier this year; that may explain at least some of the increase.)

I'm going to shop around for a better deal. However, shopping is likely to only stall the process. It will not address the systemic problems with healthcare that continue to drive premiums up and up and up.

So what can you do to help keep costs down? Here are a few thoughts:

Never accept a prescription for fish oil, i.e., Lovaza. Just buy far less costly over-the-counter fish oil. I treat complex hyperlipidemias, including familial hypertriglyceridemia, ever day. I NEVER use prescription fish oil. A typical 4 capsule per day Lovaza prescription adds around $280 to $520 per month to overall health costs (though your direct out-of-pocket costs may be less, since you shove the costs onto others in your plan).

Never accept a prescription for vitamin D. Prescription vitamin D is the mushroom or invertebrate form anyway. Just buy the human (cholecalciferol, D3) form from your health food store or "big box" store. They yield consistent increases in 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels, superior to the prescription form. And they're wonderfully inexpensive.

Eliminate wheat from your diet. If there is a dietary strategy that yields unexpected and outsized benefits across a wide spectrum of health, it's elimination of this thing we're sold called "wheat," you know, the genetically-transformed, high-yield dwarf mutant that now represents 99% of all wheat sold. Blood sugar drops, pre-diabetics become non-prediabetics, diabetics reduce need for medication or become non-diabetic, cholesterol values plummet, arthritis improves, acid reflux and irritable bowel symptoms improve or disappear, just to mention a few. Wheat elimination alone, I believe, would result in incalculable savings in both healthcare costs and lives saved.

Be sure to obtain iodine. In the fuss to cut salt use, everyone forgot about iodine. Lack of iodine leads to thyroid disease, usually hypothyroidism, that, in turn, causes cholesterol values to increase, weight to increase, and heart disease risk to double, triple, or quadruple. Iodine supplementation is easy and wonderfully inexpensive.

Over time, I hope that all of us can help develop the effort to self-direct more and more of our own health. Our Track Your Plaque program has shown me that, not only can people take the initiative to direct aspects of their own health, they can do it better than 99% of doctors.  

I'm sure there are many, many other ways to help reduce costs. Any suggestions?

Fish oil: What's the difference?

10. December 2010 William Davis (27)
Ultra-purified, pharmaceutical grade, molecularly distilled. Over-the-counter vs. prescription. Gelcap, liquid, emulsion.

There's a mind-boggling variety of choices in fish oil today. A visit to any health food store, or any "big box" store for that matter, will yield at least several, if not dozens, of choices, all with varying and often extravagant claims of purity and potency.

So what's the real story?

Given the analyses conducted over the years, along with my experience with dozens of different preparations, I believe that several conclusions can be reached about fish oil:

Fish oil is free of contamination with mercury, dioxin, PCBs, or furans. To my knowledge, only one fish oil preparation has been found to have a slight excess of PCBs. (This is different from cod liver oil that has been found by one source to have a slight excess of PCBs.)

Oxidative breakdown products differ among the various brands. Consumer Lab (http://www.consumerlab.org/), for instance, has found that several widely available brands of fish oil contained excessive oxidative breakdown products (TOTOX). You can perform you own simple test of oxidative breakdown products: Sniff it. Your fish oil should pass the "sniff test." High quality fish oil should smell non-fishy to lightly fishy. Rancid fish oil with excessive quantities of oxidative breakdown products will smell nasty fishy.

FDA approval does not necessarily mean greater potency, purity, or effectiveness. It just means that somebody assembled the hundreds of millions of dollars to obtain FDA approval, followed by lots of marketing savvy to squash the competition.

This means that there are a number of excellent fish oil products available. My favorites are the liquid fish oils from Pharmax, Nordic Naturals, and Barleans. Capsules from Carlson, PharmaNutrients, and Fisol have also performed consistently. The "big box" capsules from Sam's Club and Costco have also performed well and are wonderfully affordable.

Wheat-free pie crust

9. December 2010 William Davis (17)
I've been working on wheat-free yet healthy recipes these past two months.

You can buy wheat-free, gluten-free foods at the store, of course. But the majority of these products are unhealthy because cornstarch, rice starch, potato starch, or tapioca starch are commonly used in place of wheat. Recall that these are among the few foods that increase blood glucose higher than even wheat.

Here's a simple recipe for wheat-free pie crust that works best for cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and cream pies, but not for berry or other fruit pies like apple.

You will need:
?
1½ cups ground pecans
6 tablespoons melted butter?or melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract?
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 medium egg
2 tablespoons Truvia™ or ½ teaspoon stevia extract or ½ cup Splenda®

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in bowl. Pour mixture into pie pan and press onto bottom and sides.

Fill pie crust with desired filling. You can fill it with your favorite cheesecake recipe (e.g., Neufchatel or cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and stevia; add pumpkin for pumpkin cheesecake) and bake, usually at 350 degrees F for one hour. 

Yes, the butter provokes insulin and artificial sweeteners can trigger appetite. But, for the holidays, a slice or two of pie made with this crust will not increase blood sugar nor trigger the uncontrolled impulse eating that wheat crust will trigger.

Have a cookie

9. December 2010 William Davis (0)
Here's a great insight dating all the way back to 1966 from one of the early explorations in lipoproteins from the National Institutes of Health lab of Levy, Lees, and Fredrickson:

The nature of pre-beta (very low density) lipoproteins

The subject is a 19 year old female (among the total of 11 in the this small, diet-controlled study) who was first fed a low-carbohydrate (50 grams per day), low-cholesterol diet; followed by a high-carbohydrate (500 grams per day), low-fat (5 grams per day) diet.






To B or not to B

5. December 2010 William Davis (11)
Apoprotein B (apo B) is the principle protein that resides in LDL particles along with other proteins, phospholipids, triglycerides, and, of course, cholesterol.

There's a curious thing about apo B. Just like one child per family in China or one television per household in 1950s America, there is only one apo B for every LDL particle.

So measuring apo B, in effect, provides a virtual count of LDL particles. (Actually, VLDL particles, the first lipoprotein to emerge from the liver, also have one apo B per particle but LDL particles far outnumber VLDL particles.) While apo B structure can show limited structural variation from individual to individual, the effect on measured apo B is negligible.

One apo B per LDL particle . . . no more, no less. What about the other components of LDL particles?

The other components of LDL particles are a different story. Cholesterol and triglycerides in LDL particles vary substantially. Diet has profound effects on cholesterol and triglyceride content of LDL particles. A diet rich in carbohydrates, for instance, increases triglycerides in LDL particles while reducing cholesterol. This means that measuring cholesterol in the LDL fraction will be misleading, since cholesterol will be falsely low. LDL cholesterol is therefore a flawed means to assess the behavior and composition of LDL particles. In particular, when LDL particles become enriched in triglycerides, they go through a process that transforms them into small LDL particles, the variety most likely to cause atherosclerosis.

In other words, when the worst situation of all--an abnormal abundance of small LDL particles develops--it is usually not signalled by high LDL cholesterol.

Because apo B is not sensitive to the composition of LDL particles--high cholesterol, low cholesterol, high triglycerides, etc.--it is a superior method to characterize LDL particles. While apo B doesn't tell you whether LDL particles are big, small, or in between, it provides a count of particles that is far more helpful than measuring this deeply flawed thing called "LDL cholesterol."

(Even better: Count LDL particles and measure LDL size, since size gives us insight into sensitivity to oxidation, glycation, adhesiveness, ability to trigger inflammatory pathways via monocyte chemoattractant protein, various interleukins, tunor necrosis factor and others. This is why cholesterol panels should go the way of tie dye shirts and 8-track tapes: They are hopelessly, miserably, and irretrievably inaccurate. Cholesterol panels should be replaced by either apoprotein B or lipoprotein measures.)

Calling all super-duper weight losers!

9. July 2011 William Davis (12)





Have you lost at least 1/2 your weight, e.g., 300 lbs down to 150 lbs? If you have, I have a major national magazine editor looking to talk to you.

If you have gone wheat-free and/or followed the dietary advice offered here in The Heart Scan Blog or through the Track Your Plaque program and would be willing to share your story, please let me know by commenting below. While losing half your body weight is not necessarily a requirement for health, it makes an incredibly inspiring story for others.

If we use your story, I will set aside a copy of my soon-to-be-released book, Wheat Belly.

Lp(a): Be patient with fish oil

8. July 2011 William Davis (35)
High-dose omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil has become the number one strategy for reduction of lipoprotein(a), Lp(a), in the Track Your Plaque program for gaining control over coronary plaque and heart disease risk.

The original observations made in Tanzanian Bantus in the Lugalawa Study by Marcovina et al first suggested that higher dietary exposure to fish and perhaps omega-3 fatty acids from fish were associated with 40% lower levels of Lp(a). Interestingly, higher omega-3 exposure was also associated with having the longer apo(a) "tails" on Lp(a) molecules, a characteristic associated with more benign, less aggressive plaque-causing behavior.

Of course, the 600+ fish- consuming Bantus in the study consumed fish over a lifetime, from infancy on up through adulthood. So what is the time course of response if us non-Bantus take higher doses of fish oil to reduce Lp(a)?

We have been applying this approach in the Track Your Plaque program and in my office practice for the past few years. To my surprise, the majority of people taking 6000 mg per day of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, will drop Lp(a) after one year.  Some have required two years.  Therefore checking Lp(a) after, say, 3 or 6 months, is nearly useless. (An early response does, however, appear to predict a very vigorous 1-2 year response.)

I'm sure that there is an insightful lesson to be learned from the incredibly slow response, but I don't currently know what it is.  But this strategy has become so powerful, despite its slow nature, that it has allowed many people to back down on niacin.

Baby your pancreas

1. July 2011 William Davis (35)
There it is, sitting quietly tucked under your diaphragm, nestled beneath layers of stomach and intestines, doing its job of monitoring blood sugar, producing insulin, and secreting the digestive enzymes that allow you to convert a fried egg, tomato, or dill pickle into the components that compose you.

But, if you've lived the life of most Americans, your pancreas has had a hard life. Starting as a child, it was forced into the equivalent of hard labor by your eating carbohydrate-rich foods like Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Hoho's, Ding Dongs, Scooter Pies, and macaroni and cheese. Into adolescent years and college, it was whipped into subservient labor with pizza, beer, pretzels, and ramen noodles. As an adult, the USDA, Surgeon General's office and other assorted purveyors of nutritional advice urged us to cut our fat, cholesterol, and eat more "healthy whole grains"; you complied, exposing your overworked pancreas to keep up its relentless work pace, spewing out insulin to accommodate the endless flow of carbohydrate-rich foods.

So here we are, middle aged or so, with pancreases that are beaten, worn, hobbling around with a walker, heaving and gasping due to having lost 50% or more of its insulin-producing beta cells. If continued to be forced to work overtime, it will fail, breathing its last breath as you and your doctor come to its rescue with metformin, Actos, Januvia, shots of Byetta, and eventually insulin, all aimed at corralling the blood sugar that your failed pancreas was meant to contain.

What if you don't want to rescue your flagging pancreas with drugs? What if you want to salvage your poor, wrinkled, exhausted pancreas, eaking out whatever is left out of the few beta cells you have left?

Well, then, baby your pancreas. If this were a car with 90,000 miles on it, but you want it to last 100,000, then change the oil frequently, keep it tuned, and otherwise baby your car, not subjecting it to extremes and neglect to accelerate its demise. Same with your pancreas: Allow it to rest, not subjecting it to the extremes of insulin production required by carbohydrate consumption. Don't expose it to foods like wheat flour, cornstarch, oats, rice starch, potatoes, and sucrose that demand overtime and hard labor out of your poor pancreas. Go after the foods that allow your pancreas to sleep through a meal like eggs, spinach, cucumbers, olive oil, and walnuts. Give your pancreas a nice back massage and steer clear of "healthy whole grains," the nutritional equivalent of a 26-mile marathon. Pay your pancreas a compliment or two and allow it to have occasional vacations with a brief fast.

Bread equals sugar

22. June 2011 William Davis (36)
Bread, gluten-free or gluten-containing, in terms of carbohydrate content, is equivalent to sugar.

Two slices of store-bought whole grain bread, such as the gluten-free bread I discussed in my last post, equals 5- 6 teaspoons of table sugar:








 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some breads can contain up to twice this quantity, i.e., 10-12 teaspoons equivalent readily-digestible carbohydrate.

Gluten-free carbohydrate mania

18. June 2011 William Davis (14)
Here's a typical gluten-free product, a whole grain bread mix. "Whole grain," of course, suggests high-fiber, high nutrient composition, and health.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's it made of? Here's the ingredient list:
Cornstarch, Tapioca Starch, Whole Grain Sorghum Flour, Whole Grain Teff Flour, Whole Grain Amaranth Flour, Soy Fiber, Xanthan Gum, Soy Protein, Natural Cocoa and Ascorbic Acid

In other words, carbohydrate, carbohydrate, carbohydrate, carbohydrate and some other stuff. It means that a sandwich with two slices of bread provides around 42 grams net carbohydrates, enough to send your blood sugar skyward, not to mention trigger visceral fat formation, glycation, small LDL particles and triglycerides.

Take a look at the ingredients and nutrition facts on the label of any number of gluten-free products and you will see the same thing. Many also have proud low-fat claims.

This is how far wrong the gluten-free world has drifted: Trade the lack of gluten for a host of unhealthy effects.

Gluten-free is going DOWN

16. June 2011 William Davis (18)
The majority of gluten-free foods are junk foods.

People with celiac disease experience intestinal destruction and a multitude of other inflammatory conditions due to an immune response gone haywire. The disease  is debilitating and can be fatal unless all gliadin/gluten sources are eliminated, such as wheat, barley, and rye.

A gluten-free food industry to provide foods minus gliadin/gluten has emerged, now large enough to become an important economic force. Even some Big Food companies are getting into the act, like Kraft, that now lists foods they consider gluten-free.

So we have gluten-free breads, cupcakes, scones, pretzels, breakfast cereals, crackers, bagels, muffins, pancake mixes and on and on. All are made with ingredients like brown rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, and potato starch. Occasionally, they are made with amaranth, teff, or quinoa, other less popular, but gluten-free, grains.

Problem: These gluten-free ingredients, while lacking gliadin and gluten, make you fat and diabetic. They increase visceral fat, cause blood sugar to skyrocket higher than nearly all other foods (even higher than wheat, which is already pretty bad), trigger formation of small LDL and triglycerides, and are responsible for exaggerated postprandial (after-eating) lipoprotein distortions. They cause heart disease, cataracts, arthritis, and a wide range of other conditions, all driven by the extreme levels of glycation they generate.

Eliminating all things wheat from the diet is one of the most powerful health strategies I have ever witnessed. But replacing lost wheat with manufactured gluten-free foods is little better than replacing your poppyseed muffin with a bowl of jelly beans.

Whenever we've relied on the food industry to supply a solution, they've managed to bungle it. Saturated fat was replaced with hydrogenated fat and polyunsaturates; sucrose replaced with high-fructose corn syrup. Now, they are replacing wheat gluten-containing foods with junk carbohydrates.

For this reason, I am bringing out a line of recipes and foods that will be wheat gliadin/gluten-free, do NOT contain the junk carbohydrates that gluten-free foods are made of, and are genuinely healthy. They are tasty, to boot.

The gluten-free industry needs to smarten up. Having a following that is free of cramps and diarrhea but are obese, diabetic, and hobbling on arthritic knees and hips is good for nobody.

Medicine ain't what it used to be

15. June 2011 William Davis (0)
The practice of medicine ain't what it used to be.

For instance:

White coats are out-of-date--Not only do they serve as filthy reservoirs of microorganisms (since they hang unwashed after repeated use week after week), they only serve to distance the practitioner from the patient, an outdated notion that should join electroshock therapy to treat homosexuality and other "disorders" in the museum of outdated medical practices.

Normal cholesterol panel . . . no heart disease?

15. June 2011 William Davis (19)
I often hear this comment: "I have a normal cholesterol panel. So I have low risk for heart disease, right?"

While there's a germ of truth in the statement, there are many exceptions. Having "normal" cholesterol values is far from a guarantee that you won't drop over at your daughter's wedding or find yourself lying on a gurney at your nearest profit-center-for-health, aka hospital, heading for the cath lab.

Statistically, large populations do indeed show fewer heart attacks at the lower end of the curve for low total and  LDL cholesterol and the higher end of HDL. But that's on a population basis. When applied to a specific individual, population observations can fall apart. Heart attack can occur at the low risk end of the curve; no heart attack can occur at the high risk end of the curve.

First of all, to me a "normal" lipid panel is not adhering to the lax notion of "normal" specified in the lab's "reference range" drawn from population observations. Most labs, for instance, specify that an HDL cholesterol of 40 mg/dl or more and triglycerides of 150 mg/dl or less are in the normal ranges. However, heart disease can readily occur with normal values of, say, an HDL of 48 mg/dl and triglycerides of 125 mg/dl, both of which allow substantial small oxidation-prone LDL particles to develop. So "normal" may not be ideal or desirable. Look at any study comparing people with heart disease vs. those without, for instance: Typical HDLs in people with heart attacks are around 46 mg/dl, while HDLs in people without heart attacks typically average 48 mg/dl--there is nearly perfect overlap in the distribution curves.

There are also causes for heart disease that are not revealed by the lipid values. Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is among the most important exceptions: You can have a heart attack, stroke, three stents or bypass surgery at age 40 even with spectacular lipid values if you have this genetically-determined condition. And it's not rare, since 11% of the population express it. How about people with the apo E2 genetic variation? These people tend to have normal fasting cholesterol values (if they have only one copy of E2, not two) but have extravagant abnormalities after they eat that contribute to risk. You won't know this from a standard cholesterol panel.

Vitamin D deficiency can be suggested by low HDL and omega-3 fatty acid deficiency suggested by higher triglycerides, but deficiencies of both can exist in severe degrees even with reasonably favorable ranges for both lipid values. Despite the recent inane comments by the Institute of Medicine committee, from what I've witnessed from replacing vitamin D to achieve serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels of 60-70 ng/ml, vitamin D deficiency is among the most powerful and correctable causes of heart disease I've ever seen. And, while greater quantities of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil are associated with lower triglycerides, they are even better at reducing postprandial phenomena, i.e., the after-eating flood of lipoproteins like VLDL and chylomicron remnants, that underlie formation of much atherosclerotic plaque--but not revealed by fasting lipids.

I view standard cholesterol panels as the 1963 version of heart disease prediction. We've come a long way since then and we now have far better tools for prediction of heart attack. Yet the majority of physicians and the public still follow the outdated notion that a cholesterol panel is sufficient to predict your heart's future. Nostalgic, quaint perhaps, but as outdated as transistor radios and prime time acts on the Ed Sullivan show.

 

Idiot farm

11. June 2011 William Davis (10)
The notion of genetic modification of foods and livestock is a contentious issue. The purposeful insertion or deletion of a gene into a plant or animal's genome to yield specific traits, such as herbicide resistance, nutritional composition, or size, prompted the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international effort to regulate the safety of foods, to issue guidelines concerning genetically-modified foods.

The committee is aware of the concept of unintended effects, i.e., effects that were not part of the original gene insertion or deletion design. In their report, last updated in 2009, they state that:

Unintended effects can result from the random insertion of DNA sequences into the plant genome, which may cause disruption or silencing of existing genes, activation of silent genes, or modifications in the expression of existing genes. Unintended effects may also result in the formation of new or changed patterns of metabolites. For example, the expression of enzymes at high levels may give rise to secondary biochemical effects or changes in the regulation of metabolic pathways and/or altered levels of metabolites.

They make the point that food crops generated using techniques without genetic modification are released into the food supply without safety testing:

New varieties of corn, soybean, potatoes and other common food plants are evaluated by breeders for agronomic and phenotypic characteristics, but generally, foods derived from such new plant varieties are not subjected to the rigorous and extensive food safety testing procedures, including studies in animals, that are typical of chemicals, such as food additives or pesticide residues, that may be present in food.

In other words, conventional plant breeding techniques, such as hybridization, backcrossing, and introgression, practices that include crossing parental plants with their progeny over and over again or crossing a plant with an unrelated plant, yield unique plants that are not subject to any regulation. This means that unintended effects that arise are often not identified or tested. Plant geneticists know that, when one plant is crossed with another, approximately 5% of the genes in the offspring are unique to that plant and not present in either parent. It means that offspring may express new characteristics, such as unique gliadin or gluten proteins in wheat, not expressed in either parent and with new immunological potential in consuming humans.

Dr. James Maryanski, the FDA's Biotechnology Coordinator, stated during Congressional testimony in 1999 that:

The new gene splicing techniques are being used to achieve many of the same goals and improvements that plant breeders have sought through conventional methods. Today's techniques are different from their predecessors in two significant ways. First, they can be used with greater precision and allow for more complete characterization and, therefore, greater predictability about the qualities of the new variety. These techniques give scientists the ability to isolate genes and to introduce new traits into foods without simultaneously introducing many other undesirable traits, as may occur with traditional breeding. [Emphasis mine.]

Efforts by the Codex Alimentarius and FDA are meant to control the introduction and specify safety testing procedures for genetically modified foods. But both organizations have publicly stated that there is another larger problem that has not been addressed that predates genetic modification. In other words, conventional methods like hybridization techniques, the crossing of different strains of a crop or crossing two dissimilar plants (e.g., wheat with a wild grass) have been practiced for decades before genetic modification became possible. And it is still going on.

In other words, the potential hazards of hybridization, often taken to extremes, have essentially been ignored. Hybridized plants are introduced into the food supply with no question of human safety. While hybridization can yield what appear to be benign foods, such as the tangelo, a hybrid of tangerines and grapefruit, it can also yield plants containing extensive unintended effects. It means that unique immunological sequences can be generated. It might be a unique gliadin sequence in wheat or a unique lectin sequence in beans. None are tested prior to selling to humans. So the world frets over the potential dangers of genetic modification while, all along, the much larger hazard of hybridization techniques have been--and still are--going on.

Imagine we applied the hybridization techniques applied by plant geneticists to humans, mating an uncle with his niece, then having the uncle mate again with the offspring, repeating it over and over until some trait was fully expressed. Such extensive inbreeding was practiced in the 19th century German village of Dilsberg, what Mark Twain described as "a thriving and diligent idiot factory."

Eat triglycerides

8. June 2011 William Davis (31)
Dietary fats, from olive oil to cocoa butter to beef tallow, are made of triglycerides.

Triglycerides are simply three ("tri-") fatty acids attached to a glycerol backbone. Glycerol is a simple 3-carbon molecule that readily binds fatty acids. Fatty acids, of course, can be saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.

Once ingested, the action of the pancreatic enzyme, pancreatic lipase, along with bile acids secreted by the gallbladder, remove triglycerides from glycerol. Triglycerides pass through the intestinal wall and are "repackaged" into large complex triglyceride-rich (about 90% triglycerides) molecules called chylomicrons, which then pass into the lymphatic system, then to the bloodstream. The liver takes up chylomicrons, removes triglycerides which are then repackaged into triglyceride-rich very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL).

So eating triglycerides increases blood levels of triglycerides, repackaged as chylomicrons and VLDL.

Many physicians are frightened of dietary triglycerides, i.e, fats, for fear it will increase blood levels of triglycerides. It's true: Consuming triglycerides does indeed increase blood levels of triglycerides--but only a little bit. Following a fat-rich meal of, say, a 3-egg omelet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 oz whole milk mozzarella cheese (total 55 grams triglycerides), blood triglycerides will increase modestly. A typical response would be an increase from 60 mg/dl to 80 mg/dl--an increase, but quite small.

Counterintuitively, it's the foods that convert to triglycerides in the liver that send triglycerides up, not 20 mg/dl, but 200, 400, or 1000 mg/dl or more. What foods convert to triglycerides in the liver? Carbohydrates.

After swallowing a piece of multigrain bread, for instance, carbohydrates are released by salivary and gastric amylase, yielding glucose molecules. Glucose is rapidly absorbed through the intestinal tract and into the liver. The liver is magnificently efficient at storing carbohydrate calories by converting them to the body's principal currency of energy, triglycerides, via the process of de novo lipogenesis, the alchemy of converting glucose into triglycerides for storage. The effect is not immediate; it may require many hours for the liver to do its thing, increasing blood triglycerides many hours after the carbohydrate meal.

This explains why people who follow low-fat diets typically have high triglyceride levels--despite limited ingestion of triglycerides. When I cut my calories from fat to 10% or less--a very strict low-fat diet--my triglycerides are 350 mg/dl. When I slash my carbohydrates to 40-50 grams per day but ingest unlimited triglycerides like olive oil, raw nuts, whole milk cheese, fish oil and fish, etc., my triglycerides are 50 mg/dl.

Don't be afraid of triglycerides. But be very careful with the foods that convert to triglycerides: carbohydrates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Food sources of vitamin K2: Reprint

Food sources of vitamin K2: Reprint

19. January 2010 William Davis (59)
For some reason, my December, 2007, Heart Scan Blog post, Food sources of vitamin K2, has been receiving a lot of traffic.

I therefore reprint the vitamin K2 post below.




Vitamin K2 is emerging as an exciting player in the control and possible regression of coronary atherosclerotic plaque. Only about 10% of dietary vitamin K intake is in the K2 form, the other 90% being the more common K1.

The ideal source of K2 is natto, the unpalatable, gooey, slimy mass of fermented soybeans that Japanese eat and has been held responsible for substantial decreases in osteoporosis and bone fractures of aging. Natto has an ammonia-like bouquet, in addition to its phlegmy consistency that makes it virtually inedible to anyone but native Japanese.

I say that the conversation on vitamin K2 is emerging because of a number of uncertainties: What form of vitamin K2 is best (so-called MK-4 vs. MK7 vs. MK-9, all of which vary in structure and duration of action in human blood)? What dose is required for bone benefits vs. other benefits outside of bone health? Why would humans have developed a need for a nutrient that is created through fermentation with only small quantities in meats and other non-fermented foods?

Much of the developing research on vit K2 is coming from the laboratories of Drs. Vermeer, Geleijnse, and Schurgers at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, along with several laboratories in Japan, the champions of K2.

MK-7 and MK-8,9,10 come from bacterial fermentation, whether in natto, cheese, or in your intestinal tract; MK-4 is naturally synthesized by animals from vitamin K1. While natto is the richest source of the MK-7 form, egg yolks and fermented cheeses are the richest sources of the MK-4 form.

Chicken contains about 8 mcg MK-4 per 3 1/2 oz serving; beef contains about 1 mcg. Egg yolks contain 31 mcg MK-4 per 3 1/2 oz serving (app. 6 raw yolks). Hard cheeses contain about 5 mcg MK-4 per 3 1/2 oz serving, about 70 mcg of MK-8,9; soft cheeses contain about 30% less. Natto contains about 1000 mcg of MK-7, 84 mcg MK-8, and no MK-4 per 3 1/2 oz serving.















Feta cheese

Thanks to the research efforts of the Dutch and Japanese groups, several phenomena surrounding vitamin K2 are clear, even well-established fact:

--Vitamin K2 supplementation (via frequent natto consumption or pharmaceutical doses of K2) substantially improves bone health. While K2 by itself exerts significant bone density/strength increasing properties in dozens of studies, when combined with other bone health-promoting agents (e.g., vitamin D3, prescription drugs like Fosamax and calcitonin), an exaggerated synergy of bone health-promoting effects develop.



--The MK-4 form of vitamin K2 is short-lived, lasting only 3-4 hours in the body. The MK-7 form, in contrast, the form in natto, lasts several days. MK-7 and MK-8-10 are extremely well absorbed, virtually complete.

--Bone health benefits have been shown for both the MK-7 and MK-4 forms.

--Coumadin (warfarin) blocks all forms of vitamin K.





Interestingly, farm-raised meats and eggs do not differ from factory farm-raised foods in K2 content. (But please do not regard this as an endorsement of factory farm foods.)

Another interesting fact: Since mammals synthesize a small quantity of Vit K2 forms from vitamin K1, then eating lots of green vegetables should provide substrate for some quantity of K2 conversion. However, work by Schurgers et al have shown that K1 absorption is poor, no more than 10%, but increases significantly when vegetables are eaten in the presence of oils. (Thus arguing that oils are meant to be part of the human diet. Does your olive oil or oil-based salad dressing represent fulfillment of some subconscious biologic imperative?)

If we believe the data of the Rotterdam Heart Study, then a threshold of 32.7 micrograms of K2 from cheese yields the reduction in cardiovascular events and aortic calcification.

It's all very, very interesting. My prediction is that abnormal (pathologic) calcium deposition will prove to be a basic process that parallels atherosclerotic plaque growth, and that manipulation of phenomena that impact on calcium depostion also impact on atherosclerotic plaque growth. Vitamins D3 and K2 provide potential potent means of at least partially normalizing these processes.

As the data matures, I am going to enjoy my gouda, Emmenthaler, Gruyere, and feta cheeses, along with a few egg yolks. I'm going to be certain to include healthy oils like olive and canola with my vegetables.


All images courtesy Wikipedia.

Copyright 2007 William Davis, MD
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Comments (59) -

  • Chloe

    1/19/2010 3:11:02 AM |

    "Egg yolks contain 31 mcg MK-4 per 3 1/2 oz serving (app. 6 raw yolks)."

    Any data on the effect of cooking or methods of cooking that would affect the MK-4 in eggs?  Soft boiled, hard boiled, fried (I use coconut oil or butter)whole yolk like over easy, scrambled, in a quiche?  

    Any thoughts on other fermented foods and vitamin K--sauerkraut, kim chi, dill pickles?  

    And...I have the Thorne Vitamin K2 supplement that supplies vitamin K2 (menatetrenone) one drop equivalent to 1 mg (1250% %DV).  How number of drops daily?

    Thank you, Dr. Davis, for bumping this information to more current status.

  • Dexter

    1/19/2010 3:24:22 AM |

    Dr Davis,

    I have read on several blogs that
    canola oil...rapeseed oil...is one of the frankenfood oils to avoid
    along with corn oil, soybean oil,
    safflower oil because they are high in PUFA omega 6 and thus are pro inflamatory agents.
    Dr Kurt Harris at Paleonu.com is one who has written to avoid canola as well as flaxseed oil.

  • Ed

    1/19/2010 3:26:55 AM |

    I thought bone marrow had k2 in it? If so, this would have been a very appealing source to primitive man.

  • Dexter

    1/19/2010 3:28:06 AM |

    Dr Davis,

    I was under the impression that canola oil as well as flaxseed oil
    is to be avoided because of the high PUFAs Omega 6 FA.

    Dr Kurt Harris at paleonu.com has written to avoid those oils high in O-6s.

  • Stan (Heretic)

    1/19/2010 3:30:21 AM |

    Another beneficial effect of K2 is reversal of tooth decay and self-healing of broken teeth.   This is based on my personal observations.

  • Hillary

    1/19/2010 4:17:06 AM |

    An interesting study was published within the past several years, by Chris Masterjohn.  His study was to identify the "activator X" factor reported by Dr Weston Price in the early 20th century as being found in the butterfat, organs and fat of animals feeding on rapidly growing green grass (i.e. in the spring).  "X" was also found in fish roe and perhaps other seafood.  

    Dr Price believed the vitamin-like 'activator X' was critical for the body's utilization of minerals, prevention of tooth decay, brain function, protection against heart disease and so on. He was never able to identify this factor but did concentrate butterfat (from (spring) grassfed cows) into a butter oil which he gave to patients in his studies on various health issues, with reportedly excellent results.  At least one company today sells butter oil produced from grassfed cows under the same conditions and I know several people who are convinced this has helped keep their families healthy.

    For more than 60 years no one knew what activator X actually was until Masterjohn investigated it in detail.  It is his belief that activator X is vitamin K2.  His study (with references)can be found at: http://www.westonaprice.org/On-the-Trail-of-the-Elusive-X-Factor-A-Sixty-Two-Year-Old-Mystery-Finally-Solved.html#summary

    Hillary

  • pmpctek

    1/19/2010 4:23:45 AM |

    Don't forget butter fat is another very good source of vitamin K2 MK-4.

    Weston Price would argue that dairy fat and eggs from farm raised animals fed (K1 rich) fast-growing grass do have a higher K2 content when compared to grain-fed factory raised animals.  Much of modern animal feeds have high amounts of menadione (a K3 supplement) but the animal's ability to synthesis this to K2 is unknown.

    Price's analysis also showed that  a human intestine's ability to synthesis K1 to K2 is much less efficient compared to that of a ruminant's intestine.  I guess that also kind of explains why humans wouldn't do as well on a diet solely consisting of grass as that of a cow.

    http://www.westonaprice.org/On-the-Trail-of-the-Elusive-X-Factor-A-Sixty-Two-Year-Old-Mystery-Finally-Solved.html

    http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/06/vitamin-k2-menatetrenone-mk-4.html

  • Anonymous

    1/19/2010 4:35:50 AM |

    DH tried natto because he's intolerant of eggs, casein and a few other foods. He didn't care for it. How many servings of chicken does he need in a week? Would chicken broth have any?

  • LeenaS

    1/19/2010 5:55:08 AM |

    You did not mention butter as a decent K2-MK4 source. Why?

    Butter and cream are our greatest sources of K2, next to egg yolks.

    Thanks for the blog and regards,
    LeenaS

  • Vladimir

    1/19/2010 6:10:31 AM |

    Do you think it would be a good idea to take Vitamin K2 supplements?  Life Extension has one with 1mg MK-4, 100 mcg MK-7, and 1mg Vitamin K1.  Good idea, or premature?

  • Dr. William Davis

    1/19/2010 1:27:43 PM |

    I believe that the data on K2 are compelling. Does K2 supplementation , or at least weighing diet in favor of K2-containing foods, reduce cardiovascular risk or provide better atherosclerotic plaque control? While the circumstantial evidence suggests it will, we still lack the K2 vs. placebo trial that would prove the concept. Nonetheless, because of the data on bone health (which is quite confident), I personally believe there's nothing to lose. I personally supplement 1000 mcg per day.

  • Dr. William Davis

    1/19/2010 1:28:47 PM |

    Pmp and Leena--

    Thanks for reminding me about the butter.

  • Anonymous

    1/19/2010 2:51:58 PM |

    Observational studies have linked low intakes of vitamin K with osteoarthritis. No research yet as to whether this vitamin can be used to treat that disease, but I think there is some promise there. More natto, eggs, and leafy green veggies for me.

  • Phil

    1/19/2010 3:02:56 PM |

    Dr Davis,

    So glad to see your posting on Natto. Could please elaborate on the desirability of consumption of Natto by people who are on Warfarin therapy? You mention that Coumadin blocks all forms of Vit-K and I seem to have read that taking K2 while being on Warfarin is okay. Any pointers to published literature is welcome!

    Thanks,
    Phil

  • TheOtherKim

    1/19/2010 6:11:29 PM |

    I'll second Dexter's question.  I too, was under the impression that canola oil was not a "healthy" fat.

  • Jim

    1/19/2010 6:37:35 PM |

    Another Weston A Price article written by Chris Masterjohn is at

    http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/Cure-for-Cancer-Activator-X-May-Be-the-Missing-Link-1799.html.html

    Note the C(ancer) word in the link.

  • Katie

    1/20/2010 12:08:00 AM |

    Dr. Davis, I am heterozygous for Factor V Leiden.  I'm not on any anticoagulants, such as warfarin, and have not had any complications.  I am really interested in K2 supplementation because it seems to have so many health benefits, but have been nervous because of my blood clotting condition.  Do you know if K2 supplementation is safe in someone with one Factor V Leiden gene mutation?

  • Coach Jeff

    1/20/2010 3:05:30 AM |

    Could the atherosclerotic plaque found in Egyptian Mummies possibly have been a mere vitamin-k deficiency? I just never bought the theory that it was totally caused by their grain consumption.

  • Anonymous

    1/20/2010 3:21:08 PM |

    I am on warfarin since December for AFib/flutter which is OK now with sotalol.   I told the cardiologist I didn't like taking warfarin since it destroyed vit K.  He said no, it was the other way around, vit K destroys warfarin, and said "we want you to take vit K".  My INR stays low and they keep increasing the dose.   I believe that warfarin is a vit K antagonist, the more I take the more it will destroy the vit K.  

    I can feel it when I am arrhythmic, I weigh 115 lbs, am 62, female and have a low CHADS score, some borderline HBP for which I take norvasc. 15 years ago I had mitral valve repair for a flail leaflet.  How much should I argue with him?   I already have osteopenia.

  • cete

    1/21/2010 4:50:19 AM |

    There was a study on low dose warfarin after coronary artery bypass to see if it helped prevent graft occlusion. It didn't. What they did find was a reduction in mortality after bypass with the warfarin, of about 30%. What I wonder is if adding more vitamin K as a supplement will make you more prone to clot. I worry that this could be a case where there is less calcium, but more clotting in the arteries with the extra vitamin k as one of those unintended consequences.

    I would like to here your thoughts about this.

  • Dr. William Davis

    1/21/2010 12:02:04 PM |

    Provided you are not taking warfarin (Coumadin), vitamin K2 supplementation or eating foods rich in K2 should NOT make your blood clot any more than normal.

    I tell my patients that taking vitamin K2 is no more likely to make your blood clot than filling your gas tank to the top makes your car go faster.

  • natto freak

    1/21/2010 4:50:04 PM |

    I just love my Natto and vitamin K2 supplement. Nothing clears my brain fog like Natto.

  • cete

    1/22/2010 4:59:28 AM |

    Dr. Davis,

    Thanks for your answer. I take a lot supplements and over the years have added and dropped some due to changes in information about efficacy and safety. With my terribly high calcium score, 686- I have familial hypercholesterolemia, I have been interested in the Vitamin K2 supplements. What has held me back is the question of safety. Over the years some of trials of supplementation with vitamins and other natural compounds that seemed to make sense didn't turn out well clinically. Specifically, I was thinking of the failure of benefit from folic acid supplementation for elevated homocysteine and the problems associated with beta carotene in smokers.

    Perhaps it is time now for me to give the Vitamin K2 a try.

  • David Moss

    1/22/2010 9:29:09 PM |

    Great post, I'm always after information on K2 (although I read the article in its original form too!).

    Anyway I was interested to see feta in your list and photographed... I thought that feta being a basically unmatured cheese would be quite low (I used to eat tonnes of 18month-5 year matured cows cheese before I switched only to goat/sheep dairy, so I'd be interested if it was worthwhile eating feta for K2.

    I always wondered how much the amounts cited for "hard cheese" varied from cheese to cheese, and how much was from fermentation and how much from cheese being 80% butter.

  • Anonymous

    1/24/2010 6:35:38 PM |

    back in 2002, I had an angiogram due to a series of waring signals and family history. Turns out I had two blockages but somehow my heart had built its own pathways around hence no heat attack. The Surgeon said, he couldn't do much and I needed to get on medication as soon as possible. I won't bother with details but I did slowly make progress to be able to cycle and walk long distances but I always had jaw ache and tightness in my chest just after starting any exercise. I would stop catch my breath, wait for the pain to subside and neither symptom would show again until I went through a rest period.

    In Canada the max allowed K2 dose  is 120mcg. Having looked at the various studies, and mechanisms, I decided K2 was my best bet to see some improvement. I was taking 6 capsules of 120mcg MK4 per day. I felt a whole lot better. So, on a trip to the States, I purchased Life Extension "Super K" which is 1000mcg or 1grm of MK4 and mega-dosed for 6 weeks on 6grm/day.  I am back down to one capsule now but I no longer get ANY angina on changes to intensity of exercise. I played soccer in the summer. I even went Jogging in the first part of winter without any issues (heart at least, my lungs are way out of shape!)

    Is K2 in high dose safe? I have no idea, but I feel it has worked for me and like so many life style choices, that is a big element in one's well-being.

  • livesimply

    1/25/2010 2:29:26 AM |

    I am hypothyroid and avoid all soy; also gluten and casein sensitive so avoid gluten foods and dairy.  I do eat whole eggs regularly and leafy greens with hi-oleic safflower oil or avocado oil.  And since butter is mostly fat and very little casein I do have a fair amount of that, too.  Smile

    Should I therefore avoid the natto (soy) form of K2 and stick with MK-4 or MK-8?  

    Thanks--very interesting topic.

  • Term Papers

    1/29/2010 7:55:51 AM |

    Appreciated post !

  • Anonymous

    2/22/2010 4:36:52 PM |

    Great post, first of all!!!

    Second of all, I have a comment on this part of your post:

    "--The MK-4 form of vitamin K2 is short-lived, lasting only 3-4 hours in the body. The MK-7 form, in contrast, the form in natto, lasts several days. MK-7 and MK-8-10 are extremely well absorbed, virtually complete. "

    While this is true, it tells us nothing about which form is better for human physiology.  Although MK-4 disappears from the bloodstream rapidly, that could either be a good or bad thing.

    On the one hand, this could indicate that MK-4 is rapidly taken up by cells, and thus has a greater physiological absorption than MK-7.  MK-7 hangs around much longer in the bloodstream, but this could very well mean that MK-7 is NOT used by human cells very well.

    On the other hand, it could be that MK-4 is being rapidly removed and excreted from the bloodstream.

    I suspect that the more likely scenario is the first, because the human body does not produce any MK-7 at all.  If you consume MK-1 (phylloquninone) the human body will process some of this into MK-4.  If you take human tissues samples, you will find ONLY MK-4.... no MK-7 or MK-9 at all.

    MK-4 is what mammals produce naturally, so it is likely the most physiologically active.

    Just a comment.

    -greg

  • chave

    3/3/2010 6:14:59 PM |

    Hi Dr. Davis
    I've been very interested in the Japanese and their lower postmenopausal hip fracture and heart disease rates.  I'm probably one of the people who added to the traffic on your K2 info.

    What also interests me is that the Japanese (and most Asians in general) traditionally use very little in the way of milk products too.  They have low fracture rate and low BMD, interestingly.  They only consume about 500mg of calcium per day mostly through vegetable sources.

    I have a study that rated the relative importance of K, magnesium, Vitamin d and calcium in relation to fractures and calcium had the lowest association if any at all.  Vitamin K was strongly associated.

    Ecological studies show that cultures that consume less milk have lower fracture rates and that as they consume more milk their rates go up.

    Also, I've been reading a bit on the so-called bone-vascular axis and how there might be a connection between osteoporosis and vascular calcification.

    Is it possible that the recommendation to consume 3 daily helpings of dairy and supplemental calcium is contributing to the much higher fracture rate and heart disease in the West?

  • Cris P (Alonzo Neighbor)

    4/6/2010 6:30:10 PM |

    Dr Davis - like a previous poster, I have a factor V (Leiden) heterozygosity. I am currently taking a D3 tab with K2 several times a day for bone health as I now have ostopenia in my neck and osteoporosis in my spine.  I have previously had a TIA and am concerned about another or a full-blown stroke.  After my TIA, my cardiologist found a PFO, which further complicates things.  Is it safe for me to take up to 1,000 mcg of K2 daily?  Thanks

  • sammy

    4/9/2010 2:16:07 PM |

    If you’re looking for a supplement to assist in bone health, consider VitaNat Natural Natto Vitamin K2. This takes natto, the Japanese superfood known for being nature’s richest source of Vitamin K, and puts it into capsules. No extracts, no vitamin supplements, just Natto blended to a standard strength of Vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 is recognised for its role in maintaining good bone health, for more information look up www.vitanatshop.com.

  • Anonymous

    5/12/2010 12:17:12 AM |

    Canola oil is not 'healthy'.  It is processed and most likely GMO.  The industry promoted it as health... Go with Coconut Oil instead! Cheers! Smile

  • Term papers

    6/8/2010 2:01:11 PM |

    Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts.

  • lionel

    6/9/2010 10:58:46 AM |

    wonderful post and equally good comments. thanks for sharing

  • Knowledge Mass

    9/18/2010 2:50:50 AM |

    This is a great read. Lots of great information.

  • Shane Boulton

    9/20/2010 12:13:23 PM |

    Wow! That is some great work. You got to admire the hardwork they exert to build that structure - not to mention how they used a very old technique of using mud.
    Essay | Admission Essay

  • Anna Delin

    10/4/2010 8:21:07 PM |

    I would add fermented (lactic acid bacteria) herring as a potentially vitamin K2 rich food. This food is traditionally eaten in August in north Sweden. It has a horrible smell (H2S), but the taste reminds me of well matured cheese (think rural France).

  • buy jeans

    11/3/2010 9:08:48 PM |

    Much of the developing research on vit K2 is coming from the laboratories of Drs. Vermeer, Geleijnse, and Schurgers at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, along with several laboratories in Japan, the champions of K2.

  • Richard the Foolhardy

    12/23/2010 7:05:29 PM |

    What labs can, or where/how can I, do a test for vitamin K2 level in the blood, preferrably with a report that distinguishes between MK-4 and MK-7?

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    1/6/2011 3:26:34 AM |

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    4/14/2011 5:50:11 AM |

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  • Janet

    7/6/2011 1:32:11 PM |

    Can anyone tell me where I might find Natto minus MSG?

    Thanks a bunch.

  • daniel ketchum

    7/13/2011 5:20:47 AM |

    Ok so k2 is produced by bacterial fermentation but of what nutrient? i have not been able to find any info on what nutrient the bacteria converts into k2 is it k1? or something else.. if its k1 then wouldn't fermentation of foods high in k1 produce the most k2? If so then is Natto loaded with k1?  Just curious because i just tarted making my own sauerkraut and lacto fermented vegetable juice...Have never even tasted Natto but i am going try it and if i like it well ill just have to start making that to...been making homemade curds and whey for awhile now and that should be a good source to. Also it seems that some of the fermented foods that have the most k2 (Natto, sauerkraut) in them are also very high in PQQ which is awesome!!!

  • Doug Warren

    7/22/2011 12:56:38 AM |

    Dr. Are you aware that Nature's Pearl Muscadine Grape Seed Extract, inhibited the growth of 7 human cancers in-vitro @ Wake Forerst University Sciences. The in-vivo tests are just now getting done with very very good results as well.....

  • Alfina

    10/14/2011 12:04:16 AM |

    Found your question why googling K2 when testing positive for Factor V.  I wanted to begin taking vitamin K2 to help in the calcium buildup in my arteries but now found about about Factor V and cannot seem to find information online. Have you received a reply to this question from 2010?

  • GB

    11/18/2011 4:15:34 PM |

    A question: If you take a look (google them) at several websites (such as whfoods) where they look at foods that contain the vitamin K, it seems that whole foods such as Kale along with other leafy greens provide a huge amount of vitamin K - I was surprised to see that this was not mentioned among the various comments - rather supplements are mentioned first and foremost – is this because the Vitamin K and the Vitamin K2 are different? - doesn’t one come from the other? Can someone explain this as I will always try to do through diet first before resorting to supplements?

  • Dr. William Davis

    11/20/2011 3:59:11 PM |

    Yes, two different nutrients.

    K1 comes from green vegetables, K2 does not.

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