Bone and Heart health

Low calcium levels may double the risk of cardiovascular disease it also increases the risk of osteoporosis fracture, particularly hip fracture.

Both osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are degenerative illnesses that impose a growing medical and economic burden on the world’s ageing populations¹. Cardiovascular disease also increases the risk of osteoporotic fracture, particularly hip fracture².

There is a relationship between reduced bone density (the quantity of bone mineral in bone tissue) and stiffer arteries (a marker of poor heart health). Evidence recently imply that these two illnesses share an etiologic factor: hyperlipidemia promotes not just atherosclerotic plaque development, but also osteoporosis, via a similar physiological process involving lipid oxidation³. A growing collection of biological and epidemiological data supports a relationship between the two illnesses that cannot be explained only by age⁸.

Vitamin K2-7 is crucial as a cardiovascular health nutrient.

MGP (Matrix Gla protein) is essential for preventing tissue calcification. MGP must be carboxylated or activated in order to work correctly, and vitamin K27 does this. Therefore, a lack of vitamin K27 increases the risk of vascular calcification. To minimize the calcium plaque development of atherosclerosis and hence keep the risk and rate of calcification as low as possible, optimal Vitamin K2 consumption is critical. When compared to premenopausal women, osteocalcin was shown to be 40% less carboxylated in postmenopausal women. Vitamin K2-7 supplementation resulted in an increase in total and carboxylated osteocalcin and a reduction in urine calcium and hydroxyproline in postmenopausal women. Vitamin K2-7 deficiency cause inadequate calcium metabolism and utilization. This is called the Calcium Paradox. Vitamin K2-7 is necessary to prevent complications of the calcium paradox⁴.

Vitamin K2-7 is crucial as for Bone health.

Vitamin K2 is required as a cofactor for γ-carboxylase. Incomplete γ-carboxylation of osteocalcin (OC) caused by Vitamin K2-7 deficiency is linked to osteoporosis and increased fracture risk. Vitamin K2-7 plays two roles in bone homeostasis. It stimulates the creation of osteoblastic markers and bone deposition in an anabolic way. Vitamin K2-7 reduces bone resorption by reducing osteoclast development and bone resorption activity. Osteoblasts and vascular cells, such as endothelial cells and muscle cells in coronary arteries, both release OPG. OPG have a big role in controlling arterial calcification and serve as a marker of vascular injury. Additionally, many research populations have supported the association between elevated OPG levels and a rise in cardiovascular disease incidence and death⁸.

Calcium is important for bone health, but it is also essential for heart health. Low blood pressure (hypotension), cardiac rhythm problems, and heart failure can all result from a lack of calcium. If you’re wondering what the recommended daily calcium consumption is, it varies according to your age and gender. The National Institutes of Health offers recommendations    for how much calcium you should take each day. Adults between the ages of 19 and 50 should aim for 1,000 mg each day. Women between the ages of 51 and 70 should eat 1,200 mg, while males should consume 1,000 mg. Calcium consumption should be increased to 1,200 mg per day if you are above the age of 70⁵.

References:

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1521693422000414
2. https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/thin-and-brittle-bones-strongly-linked-to-womens-heart-disease-risk/
3. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.ATV.20.11.2346#:~:text=Osteoporotic%20postmenopausal%20women%20are%20at,disease%20than%20age%2Dmatched%20controls.&text=Patients%20with%20lower%20bone%20density,greater%20risk%20of%20stroke%20death.
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7238900/#:~:text=Optimal%20Vitamin%20K2%20intake,calcification%20as%20low%20as%20possible.&text=Matrix%20GLA%20protein%20(MGP)%E2%80%94,role%20in%20vascular%20calcium%20metabolism.
5. https://news.yahoo.com/surprising-between-calcium-consumption-heart-104548604.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEOoZEIG6dPgIWph3Zs7SqH6vQuPFmvbEGl5m7HKNRC1AbVBr_wDW2fXTJ2Z5Ncm0m-EegUjj84iKfNzoHxChEl0o7TA_G7apJrYPW9VPfUfvaj0ziqvE4sVe7cd2DrtljhSigqlOmAaJhBSerblQIKN4kOxaRMK26zivGTreoMJ
6. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318760406_International_Journal_of_Pharmacological_Research_Antimicrobials_Usage_in_Obstetrics_Gynecology_Department_of_a_Tertiary_Care_Teaching_QR_Code_Correspondence_Info
7. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319672
8. http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/5042/
9. https://www.elsevier.es/en-revista-endocrinologia-nutricion-english-edition–412-articulo-cardiovascular-disease-bone-metabolism-S2173509311000080