Osteopenia and Women's Health

Vitamin K₂ (menaquinone) together with vitamin D₃ are necessary for bone health. When we are diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis, doctors generally prescribe a calcium supplement. In the last years, some of them have added a vitamin D₃ supplement. Does this sound familiar to you? But nobody suggests to consume food that help our body produce vitamin K₂. Health insurance companies do not even cover this vitamin’s supplements.

There is scientific evidence that shows that intestinal flora (that is, bacteria that compose it) is an important source of various vitamins (B group and K). The microorganisms in our guts use certain foods to synthesize these vitamins.

Many studies endorse the idea that fermentation increases the presence of various vitamins of the B group and vitamin K₂. The latter is difficult to find in non-fermented foods. It is a key vitamin for both, bone and coronary health, and it has a role in the prevention of certain types of cancer.

There are two vitamins that should be in every woman’s diet, vitamin D₃ which stimulates calcium absorption from food and vitamin K₂ which assures calcium stores in the right sites (teeth and bones) and not in arteries (it stiffens and plugs them).

Now you have a reason (and a really important one) to incorporate fermented food to your diet. Obviously, you do not have to eat only fermented food. Not even a huge quantity. Six small portions are just enough. And do not forget that an adequate intake of veggies and fruits of different colours (phytochemicals) provide the right food to feed the good bacteria in your body (prebiotics).

#fermentedfoodandvitaminK_2 #menaquinone #vitamina K₂ #vitamin D₃ #osteoporosis #osteopenia