Healthy Cheese Lady

Benefits Of Vitamin K2 #11

Marcella Wright wrote:

I have been doing research for a customer onto which cheeses have the highest vitamin K2. In my research all I see is Edam, Gouda and Bries. I’m trying to find the specifics like which Goudas contain the highest K2; Rembrandt, Beemster XO or Vlaaskas to name a few. Is there a website or book any of you would recommend, that even contains the percentage of K2?

Babs answers:

The winning cheese is Jarlsberg (see Table below for more)

“Jarlsberg cheese, which originates from Norway, is richest in K2. According to the value listed in the database, it would take nine ounces of Jarlsberg to provide 200 μg. Its true content of K2 has likely been underestimated, however, and it may actually take as little as 4.5 ounces.”  (Source:  Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D.)  Click the following link for more information.

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2016/12/09/the-ultimate-vitamin-k2-resource/

The role of vitamin K2:

  • Needed for blood clotting
  • Protective against heart disease
  • Promotes healthy skin
  • Increases bone strength
  • Enhances brain function
  • Protects dental cavities
  • Reduces risk of kidney stones
  • Stabilizes blood sugar
  • Increases testosterone and fertility in males
  • Reduces risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent.

Learn more from Chris Kresser:   https://chriskresser.com/vitamin-k2-the-missing-nutrient/

And Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D.:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2016/12/09/the-ultimate-vitamin-k2-resource/

Two types of Vitamin K:

K1:  Phylloquinone – found in plants, mostly in leafy greens

K2:  Menaquinones – found in animals foods and fermented plant foods

Animals grazing on vitamin K-rich cereal grasses, especially wheat grass, and alfalfa in a lush green state of growth produced fat with the highest amounts of K2.

EPIC Study

In the EPIC study, dairy (cheese) products had a stronger inverse association with advanced prostate cancer than did menaquinones from meat.  This is great news for cheese lovers!

Source:  EPIC study:  Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):985-92

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18400723

Searchable Database

Scroll down on the following page:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2016/12/09/the-ultimate-vitamin-k2-resource/#database

See the box:  Food, category, etc

Example:  Here’s the result from my search for Edam:

Cheese (Edam type)

      • Total Vitamin K2= 47.5
      • Total Vitamin K= 49.4
      • MK-4= 3.3
      • MK-7= 1.3
      • Sum of MK-4 + MK-7= 4.6
      • MK-5= 1.1
      • MK-6= 0.6
      • MK-8= 10.5
      • MK-9= 30
      • MK-10= 0.9
      • MK-11= NM
      • MK-12= NM
      • MK-13= NM
      • Vitamin K1= 1.9
      • Category:  Dairy Foods and Eggs
      • Reference:   Koivu-Tikkanen TJ, Ollilainen V, Piironen VI. Determination of phylloquinone and menaquinones in animal products with fluorescence detection after postcolumn reduction with metallic zinc. Journal Agriculture and Food Chemistry. 2000 Dec;48(12):6325-31.

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/advanced-results-mk-4/entry/5859/

Table, based on values as μg/100g food for solids

This information was obtained from Dr. Masterjohn’s website, but you probably knew that.

How much? In the United States, the current recommendation for total vitamin K is 90 μg per day for adults. 

NAME OF CHEESE VITAMIN K2 MORE INFORMATION
Hard cheese
(general)
76.3 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Jarlsberg 73.6 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Gamalost Cheese (ripened for 30 days) 57 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Soft Cheeses 56.5 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Gamalost Cheese (ripened for 10 days) 56.2 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Little Milk Company
Aged Raw Cheese Mature (average of two samples)
54.2 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Gamalost Cheese (ripened for 60 days 52.6 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Gamalost Cheese (ripened for 20 days) 51.1 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Little Milk Company Aged Raw Cheese Vintage (average of two samples) 47.5 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Cheese (edam type) 47.5 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Caerphilly Cheese (hardC-caer) 41.9 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Norvegia Cheese (ripened for 90 days) 41.5 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Soft Cheese (average of seven samples) 38.3 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Gamalost Cheese (ripened for zero days) 38.2 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Blue Cheese (average of four samples) 36.4 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Emmental Cheese (average of two samples) 35.2 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
PA Bowen Farmstead Raw Blue Cheese (average of two samples) 32.9 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Cheshire Cheese (hardC-ches) 31.5 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Leicester Cheese (hardC-lei) 29.5 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Curd Cheese 24.8 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Semi-Hard Cheese (average of 11 samples) 21.2 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Cheddar Cheese (hardC-ched, average of six samples) 20.6 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Comte Cheese (average of two samples) 12.6 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Cheddar Cheese 10.2 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Raclette Cheese 9.7 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Gruyere Cheese (average of two samples) 8.9 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Swiss Cheese 7.8 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Kraft Processed Cheese Slices (average of two samples) 6.7 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Appenzeller Cheese (average of two samples) 5.8 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Emmental Cheese (average of two samples) 5.7 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Processed Cheese 5.3 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Emmental Cheese (hard C-em, average of six samples) 4.01 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Mozzarella Cheese (low moisture, part skim, shredded) 3.6 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Hamburger with cheese (2-4 oz) 2.9 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Hamburger with cheese and sauce (>4 oz) 2.3 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).
Cheese (regular, thin, and thick crust) 1.8 View more details (specific subforms of Vitamin K2 and references).

For more information on the health benefits of cheese/yogurt, contact Babs Hogan.  babshealthcoach@gmail.com