Vitamin K2 supplements protect the bone strength of elderly women

Doctors at Maastricht University in the Netherlands enrolled 244 postmenopausal women between the ages of 55 to 65 into their three-year long study. The women were randomly assigned to take an inactive placebo pill or 180 micrograms of Vitamin K2 each day which by researchers may be considered a too low a dosage to support bone health. In the women on placebo there was a decrease in bone mineral density in their lumbar spine by 1.5%, a little more than three times the level of loss seen in the Vitamin K2 group (with a loss of less than 0.5%). Additionally, the active bone building form of the enzyme osteocalcin was much better in the Vitamin K2 supplemented group. The study is published in the March 2013 issue of the journal Osteoporosis International