People with blood-clotting problems, such as antiphosopholipid syndrome or atherosclerosis, are at greater risk of stroke and heart attack. It is not a situation that can be ignored or left untreated, but the drugs given to cure these problems – anticoagulants such as Warfarin – tend to trigger a process of vascular calcification (1), which itself increases the risk of stroke and heart attack.
During the process of calcification, despite all the calcium that's ricocheting around the body, the bones actually get thinner, leading to osteoporosis and a higher risk of fracture. This is called the "Calcium Paradox." On the one hand you're losing calcium (from the bones), but on the other, you're building up calcium just where you don't want it: in the blood vessels. For this reason, calcium supplements can actually worsen osteoporosis, unless they're given together with the vital ingredient, vitamin K.
Vitamin K and Calcification
Scientists have discovered that vitamin K – specifically K2 – plays a major role in protecting against osteoporosis, cardiovascular blockages and pathological calcification. This is because the proteins that specifically bind to calcium, the gamma-carboxy glutamic acid (GCGA) proteins, can only be formed in the presence of vitamin K. (Read more here.) The Vitamin K2 dose needed to have a significant effect is 45 mcg per day.
Vitamin K2 seems to solve both halves of the calcification paradox at once – it locks calcium into the bones, and dissolves it in the blood. But it creates another problem: it increases the propensity for blood clots, to the extent that it interferes with anticoagulant medication, such as Warfarin. Since "sticky" blood (which clots easily) also carries a high risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke, it seems that vitamin K2 cures one set of problems, only to trigger off another.
Thinning the Blood and De-calcifying the Blood Vessels
This is where the intriguing Japanese food natto comes in. Natto is eaten widely in Japan, and consists of steamed soya beans that have been fermented by the natto strain of a bacteria, bacillus subtilis. This food has a number of very interesting qualities:
- Natto has very large amounts of vitamin K2: Around 870 mcg per 100 g of natto – effectively solving any calcification problems caused by K2 deficiency.
- Natto contains several elements with anticoagulant properties, including pyrazine and nattokinase (an enzyme that seems to reduce blood-clotting by direct fibrinolysis of clots). As a point of comparison, an enzyme called urokinase, which is used to dissolve blood clots costs around US$200 per dose and lasts for about 30 minutes. In contrast, 100g of natto gives the same effectiveness for around US$1, and continues to be effective for about eight hours. (2)
- Natto has a strong antibiotic effect: It has been used both by Japanese and German doctors to combat dystentery and E-coli. Japanese Naval Medical Lieutenant Arima Genkai conducted research into Natto's anti-dysentery effect, and concluded: "Natto eliminated para-typhus bacteria excretion in a short period of time from a patient who did not respond to all other treatments for five months." (3)
- The natto bacteria produce enzymes that help digestion, including: protease, amylase, lipase, cellulase and others, such as urease, peroxidase, catalase and pectinase. The natto bacteria are rare in that they survive the stomach acids (unlike many other bacteria that are beneficial to the intestines), so actually reach the small intestines.
The Autoimmune Connection
Natto has additional properties that are good news for those with autoimmune disease: it contains more polyamine than any other food, and polyamine is known to suppress excessive immune reactions.
Natto's high vitamin K2 content also gives it a strong anti-inflammatory action; high levels of an inflammation-promoting cytokine – IL-6 (interleukin 6) – is "potently inhibited by vitamin K compounds". (4) People with arthritis, Alzheimer's and atherosclerosis have been found to have higher levels of IL-6.
Lastly, natto is rich in selenium – a major bonus for anyone suffering from any form of hypothyroid condition, such as Hashimoto's (an autoimmune disease), because the thyroid depends on adequate selenium intake to convert the T4 hormone to its active form, T3.
Read more: Why Is My Body Calcifying?
References:
- Long-term warfarin treatment may induce arterial calcification in humans: case report.(Brief Report); Clinical and Investigative Medicine; April 01, 2004; Schori, Thomas R; Stungis, George E.
- www.inoczi.pl/fermented-soybeans-natto.php
- Naval Medical Journal, University of Hokkaido Medical Journal 1936-1938; Arima Genkai
- Interleukin 6 production by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated human fibroblasts is potently inhibited by Naphthoquinone (vitamin K) compounds"; Reddi K., Henderson B., Meghji S., Wilson M, Poole S., Hopper C., Harris M. and Hodges S. J.; Cytokine; Volume 7, Issue 3, April 1995, Pages 287-290
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