According to a Dutch prospective study published online couple of weeks ago,
certain forms of vitamin K2 are associated with significantly reduced
incidence of coronary heart disease. Of the different forms of vitamin K2,
menaquinone-7 (MK-7), found in Edam cheese and in the Japanese soy product
/natto/, was found to be the most beneficial form. Menaquinone-4 (MK-4),
which is the most prevalent form of vitamin K2 in the Western diets, was not
associated with reduced incidence of CHD.

The full study says that the Hazard ratio for coronary heart disease per 1
mcg (sic!) increase in the intake of MK-7 was 0.68, confidence interval
(0.46-1.00), p-value 0.05. (Table 5 in the full study).

So, the form of vitamin K2 present in Edam cheese and /natto/ seems to be
very potent. Very little, only 1-2 micrograms daily is needed to reduce
vascular calcification and coronary heart disease. Still that amount is more
than most Westerner's get from the diets. The study confirms the previous
results of the Rotterdam landmark study published in 2004.

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Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Jan 27.[Epub ahead of print]
A high menaquinone reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease in women.
Gast GC, de Roos NM, Sluijs I, Bots ML, Beulens JW, Geleijnse JM, Witteman
JC, Grobbee DE, Peeters PH, van der Schouw YT.

Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical
Center Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Human Nutrition, Wageningen
University, The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Vitamin K dependent proteins have been demonstrated to
inhibit vascular calcification. Data on the effect of vitamin K intake on
coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, however, are scarce. OBJECTIVE: To
examine the relationship between dietary vitamins K(1) and K(2) intake, and
its subtypes, and the incidence of CHD. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used data
from the Prospect-EPIC cohort consisting of 16,057 women, enrolled between
1993 and 1997 and aged 49-70 years, who were free of cardiovascular diseases
at baseline. Intake of vitamin K and other nutrients was estimated with a
food frequency questionnaire. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models
were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: After a mean+/-SD follow-up of
8.1+/-1.6 years, we identified 480 incident cases of CHD. Mean vitamin K(1)
intake was 211.7+/-100.3mug/d and vitamin K(2) intake was 29.1+/-12.8mug/d.
After adjustment for traditional risk factors and dietary factors, we
observed an inverse association between vitamin K(2) and risk of CHD with a
Hazard Ratio (HR) of 0.91 [95% CI 0.85-1.00] per 10mug/d vitamin K(2)
intake. This association was mainly due to vitamin K(2) subtypes MK-7, MK-8
and MK-9. Vitamin K(1) intake was not significantly related to CHD.
CONCLUSIONS: A high intake of menoquinones, especially MK-7, MK-8 and MK-9,
could protect against CHD. However, more research is necessary to define
optimal intake levels of vitamin K intake for the prevention of CHD. PMID:
19179058

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19179058