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Which Magnesium is Best for Me?

Have you heard about the many benefits of magnesium or how common magnesium deficiency is? Or, perhaps you have heard that magnesium can help with a particular issue you are having. With various types of magnesium on the market, you are likely wondering “Which magnesium is best for me?” We believe the best magnesium is pure, without fillers, organically bound, highly absorbable, and offering broad benefits in a form that the body can fully utilize.

Benefits of Magnesium TaurateBenefits of Magnesium Glycinate

Benefits of Magnesium CitrateBenefits of Magnesium Ascorbate

“Why settle for just one type of magnesium?”

Because each type of magnesium acts like a spark to certain biochemical processes, wouldn’t you want to fire up as many of these natural processes as possible?  With a deep background as a Chemical Physicist specializing in molecular biology, Dr. Cross set out to develop a pure and absorbable blend for his family having broad secondary benefits beyond that of magnesium alone.  With unyielding quality standards, his expertly formulated blend takes extra steps to ensure it is balanced, potent, and easy for the body to absorb and utilize.  As a small family-owned manufacturer in the United States, Genesis BioHealth can now share this premium blend and health benefits without sacrificing Dr. Cross’s high standards.

“Why do I feel so much better on your magnesium?”

It starts with getting exactly what’s on the bottle, listed as elemental magnesium vs. total complex weight.  We carefully select high-quality, tested raw materials.  We use ZERO fillers that upset the GI tract and inhibit absorption.

In addition, our magnesium is expertly formulated with a balance of four fully reacted complexes.  What does that mean?  “Fully reacted complexes” mean better bioavailability with a minimal impact on the gut.  Our blend provides broad secondary benefits beyond that of magnesium itself due to the multiple types of magnesium complexes we compound in a balanced way, also making it easy for the body to more completely absorb and utilize.

“What are the Benefits of your Magnesium Complex?”

Because magnesium is broadly involved in so many physiological pathways, the impact of this blend can be vast.  While the entire list is much longer, here are some common ailments for which magnesium has shown documented benefits that are experienced by many users:

  • Heart health: blood pressure, atherosclerosis
  • Mood: anxiety, depression, stress
  • Digestion, mineral absorption, activation of vitamin D
  • Muscle cramps, spasms, Restless Leg Syndrome, tics, hyperexcitability, fidgeting
  • Bone health, osteoporosis
  • Blood sugar, diabetes
  • Some cancers
  • Hormones, PMS
  • Migraines, headaches
  • Sleep
  • Inflammation, pain
  • Exercise performance
  • Autism, ADD
  • Asthma
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Energy
  • Cellular Repair
  • Fighting germs

Shop Our Premium Magnesium Supplements

Shop our magnesium, other foundational nutrition products, and all-natural skincare products.

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Do you know anyone who could benefit from quality magnesium? Please share!

If you found anything in this article interesting or helpful, please consider sharing it with a friend who may benefit. This helps small, quality companies like ours to get the word out in a world of big business and low standards. Please subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more natural health tips and inspiration as well.

If you have any questions, please reach out.

Learn More about Magnesium

Why Women Need Magnesium

Are you getting enough magnesium? It is estimated 70% of women are not consuming the recommended daily intake.

Magnesium is essential for hundreds of processes throughout the body but our bodies do not make it or store it. Daily magnesium needs vary with physical and mental stressors in life, making magnesium an important mineral to understand. Tuning into your body’s magnesium demand can have a big impact on your overall well being.

✨ BONE HEALTH: Magnesium helps keep build strong bones. It helps vitamin K2 utilize calcium in the body so it can be used in the bones.

✨ SLEEP: Magnesium maintains healthy GABA levels to help achieve a deep, restorative sleep.

✨ STRESS RESPONSE: Magnesium’s support of GABA also helps the brain relax and slow down. Those who are more deficient in magnesium tend to feel more stressed and anxious. At the same time, stress and anxiety deplete our magnesium faster so we need more during times of stress to help get out of this vicious cycle.

✨ HORMONE & MOOD: Magnesium has an antidepressant effect on the brain and helps regulate hormones. Magnesium has been found to help prevent and reduce migraines and help relieve menstrual discomforts.

Do you struggle with sleep, osteoporosis, stress, anxiety, hormones or migraines? Give us a try and learn how a high quality magnesium can positively influence your health. Shop our high quality magnesium blend.

If you found this interesting or helpful, please save and share this post with all the women in your life! ??❤️

 

References:
  1. Welch AA, Kelaiditi E, Jennings A, Steves CJ, Spector TD, MacGregor A.; Dietary Magnesium Is Positively Associated With Skeletal Muscle Power and Indices of Muscle Mass and May Attenuate the Association Between Circulating C-Reactive Protein and Muscle Mass in Women. J Bone Miner Res. 2016 Feb;31(2):317-25. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.2692. Epub 2015 Sep 11. PMID: 26288012.
  2. Tarleton EK, Littenberg B, MacLean CD, Kennedy AG, Daley C. Role of magnesium supplementation in the treatment of depression: A randomized clinical trial. PLoS One. 2017 Jun 27;12(6):e0180067. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180067. PMID: 28654669; PMCID: PMC5487054.
  3. Chiu HY, Yeh TH, Huang YC, Chen PY. Effects of Intravenous and Oral Magnesium on Reducing Migraine: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Pain Physician. 2016 Jan;19(1):E97-112. PMID: 26752497.
  4. Parazzini F, Di Martino M, Pellegrino P. Magnesium in the gynecological practice: a literature review. Magnes Res. 2017 Feb 1;30(1):1-7. English. doi: 10.1684/mrh.2017.0419. PMID: 28392498.
  5. Rondanelli M, Faliva MA, Tartara A, Gasparri C, Perna S, Infantino V, Riva A, Petrangolini G, Peroni G. An update on magnesium and bone health. Biometals. 2021 Aug;34(4):715-736. doi: 10.1007/s10534-021-00305-0. Epub 2021 May 6. PMID: 33959846; PMCID: PMC8313472.
  6. Zhang Y, Chen C, Lu L, Knutson KL, Carnethon MR, Fly AD, Luo J, Haas DM, Shikany JM, Kahe K. Association of magnesium intake with sleep duration and sleep quality: findings from the CARDIA study. Sleep. 2022 Apr 11;45(4):zsab276. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsab276. PMCID: PMC8996025.

On the Physiological Differences Between K2-MK4 and K2-MK7

This is a re-posting of a letter I wrote on an online forum for Osteoporosis.  It has been slightly edited for reasons of context.

***************

Hi, my name is Dr. Collin Cross.  I am a chemical physicist with specialties in structural molecular biology, biophysics, and rational drug design (a sort of specialized biochemist in short).  Pam XXXX originally invited me to join this group as one of the founding members because of my expertise and domain knowledge of vitamin K, specifically vitamin K2.  I have been reading the deep scientific and medical literature since 1988 and the literature specific to vitamin K2 since 2012.  In short, I have a large degree of both personal and professional knowledge of vitamin K2.  I have not been posting much recently due to other priorities but have decided to chime in on this topic once again.

The topic at hand is regarding the perpetual debate as to whether it is better to take, K2-MK4 or K2-MK7.  This debate is an old one and I have studied the science of it for a long time.  I’m chiming in here to make the case that for your total health, including osteoporosis (one of the best studied human aspects of K2), K2-MK4 is far superior to K2-MK7 for a fair number of different reasons.  I’ll elaborate on the various lines of evidence that show this a little later below.  Before I do that though, it is important to let people understand that the scientific literature surrounding K2 is very complex, and from my perspective, demonstrably tainted by commercial bias to a very large degree.  Additionally, this bias has only increased over the last 7-10 years as the market and learnings about K2 have increased, making it very difficult for lay persons, scientists, & doctors alike to unravel the tangled web.  In fact, I was confused for nearly a year after beginning to read the deep literature.  This was before it became clear what was going on.  When considering the lay literature, the situation is even worse.  People get their information from the internet and/or blogs then sometimes begin parroting all sorts of bad science based on bad premises and a limited understanding of physiology, structural biology, and the principles of biochemistry.  That said, as the details of the physiology of K2 become clearer, it gets easier to see the whole picture.  The commercial bias I am speaking of is due to the confluence of a few forces in the marketplace.  The primary contributing forces as I see them are 1) Canadian Regulatory Law, 2) the Soybean Industry, 3) Big Pharma, 4) Market Profiteers, 5) well-meaning experts and researchers who have not untangled the knot I’m describing and have it wrong.  I’ll explain each of the driving factors contributing to the commercial taint first and then move on to evidence supporting the superiority of MK4.

  • Canadian Regulatory Law – When K2 biochemistry was in its early days of study it became clear that it was one of the most important hormones ( but regulated as a vitamin in North America like D) yet discovered due to its broad-based ability to impact so many different physiological pathways. Unfortunately, during this time, the Canadian Regulatory body decided to set a maximum threshold of 100 micrograms (mcg) per capsule for K2 supplements, thus limiting what can be legally manufactured and distributed in Canada, which is a very large fraction of the global market.  To this day, it is not legal to manufacture or distribute any supplement formula in Canada whose single serving contains more than 100 mcg of K2.  Luckily for the Canadian people, a 90-day supply of a formula with more can still be legally imported for personal use.  Because longer chain length menaquinones, like K2-MK7, cause side effects in most individuals at less than 100 mcg due to their poor cellular assimilation rates and subsequent inability to clear the plasma, this helps drive the subjective perception that K2-MK7 is more potent (efficacious) than K2-MK4.  In fact, the physiological fact of MK7’s longer ½ life in plasma is one of the main taglines used to tout MK7’s superiority to MK4.  It is said that the longer plasma (blood) ½ life equates to “better bioavailability” relative to MK4.  Unfortunately, this just isn’t true.  It sounds logical, but it is really evidence of quite the opposite, and I’ll speak more on that later.
  • The soybean industry – Many people do not know that roughly 90% of the world’s “vegetable oil” is Soybean oil. Can you imagine how many soybeans are needed to supply 90% of the world’s vegetable oil, and how much money is involved?  How is soybean oil derived?  Primarily from cold pressing the soybeans themselves, leaving behind a crushed soybean husk as the primary industrial waste stream.  This means that huge piles of soybean husks are left over as waste when making Soybean oil.  As it turns out, MK7 can be economically made by the industrial fermentation of soybean husks and subsequent isolation of MK7, hence all the talk about Natto-derived MK7.  So as a Soybean oil manufacturer you can either a) pay to have someone haul off all these piles of rotten soybeans as waste, or b) develop a horizontal market to turn them into a high-margin product and then market aggressively to create a demand you can sell this product into.  In industry, we call this “horizontal integration”, and it is both very common and a very good business practice to support improved profitability for big business.
  • Big Pharma – Did you know that Mk4 (but not MK7) has been shown to be able to help kill cancer and prevent its growth in over 15 different lines of cancer cells, including breast, leukemia, liver, and lung to name a few? Strangely, though, there are no human clinical trials.  Why might that be?  It also can help to cure a wide number of other ailments ranging from the skeleton, the nervous system, the immune system, the brain, diabetes, and many more.  In other words, some of the most common non-communicable diseases in the western world treated by prescription pharmaceuticals can be positively impacted by MK4.  This is a big money opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry, the single largest lobbying entity in the world that also has very deep pockets and advanced R&D operations.  If one studies the patent literature and other publications surrounding menatetrenone (MK4) it becomes possible to see a common direction being taken by many industrial research bodies.  It is more profitable for them to understand the mechanisms of the pathways that MK4 uses to work in the body and exploit them directly with novel drugs than it is to sell MK4 directly.  If the pathways and mechanisms are understood, it then becomes feasible to design a patentable high-margin pharmaceutical to impact these same pathways than it is to peddle MK4 which can be largely derived from the food chain itself or can be cost-effectively and conveniently supplemented.
  • Market Profiteers – K2-MK7, either of biological or synthetic origin, can be purchased in bulk kilogram quantities for nearly the same cost as bulk K2-MK4. However, due to the high tendency for side effects for MK7 and the aggressive marketing literature, it is largely sold at about 1/5 – 1/10 of the active dosage per serving than MK4.  So, if MK4 and MK7 have the same bulk cost and MK7 is marketed at 1/5-1/10 the dosage, then this means a manufacturer can hitchhike on the existing marketing literature and sell 5-10 times the number of capsules for the same raw material cost of K2.  This makes Mk7 more profitable to sell.  It does not make it more potent or efficacious in the reversal of ailments.  In fact, the literature shows just the opposite.  This is one reason why MK4 is a prescription drug in Japan, where the bulk of the R&D has occurred, rather than MK7, even though Natto is a traditional Japanese food.  This does not mean that Mk7 (or MK5, Mk6, MK8, or Mk9 for that matter), doesn’t work.  It just means it doesn’t work as well).
  • Well-meaning researchers with limited understanding – Scientists and Doctors are just like all types of people. Some are more diligent and knowledgeable than others.  It is easy for a Scientist or Doctor to fall victim to the same biased and convoluted literature as a lay person might.  This means they may mistakenly decide to research or advocate Mk7 rather than MK4 due to its growing popularity and unwittingly help to perpetuate the bias.

 

Now that I have outlined my perception of the landscape of commercial bias surrounding this market and influencing the debate of MK4 vs MK7, I’ll move on to the physiological evidence.   Unfortunately, deep scientific literature filled with the technical jargon of biology and chemistry is not easy to read.  I’ll try to simplify it as much as possible, but some independent study may be necessary to fully appreciate the topics I’ll elaborate on.   If you don’t want to read into some jargon that may be unfamiliar to many, it might be good to stop here.

One thing that is often misunderstood about scientific literature is that a) it is often not consistent and b) evolves over its history.  Therefore, one must take the time to read and understand the whole development of the literature to get a reasonable perspective.  One can’t simply cherry-pick a few papers of interest and expect to get a holistic understanding of the science.  One must understand things such as when one thing was proven, and another thing disproven, etc.  One must also be fluent in adjacent and related areas of chemistry and physiology to be able to draw proper conclusions from disparate and conflicting ideas and studies over time.  Then, unfortunately, when commercial bias creeps in, it takes the natural complications to a whole other level.  All that said here are some of the primary facts from studies of K2 properties that have been conclusively established and helped me to see the situation more clearly from a scientific perspective.

 

  • MK4 is made from K1 in animal cells and MK7 is not

What is the difference between a hormone and a vitamin?  A good working definition is that both are metabolic co-factors that an animal will eventually die without.  However, the body can make a hormone via internal biosynthesis, whereas a vitamin must be procured from outside the body by diet or otherwise.  By this definition, K2-MK4 is a hormone.  This means it is made by the body from K1 found in vegetables and animal products and we will die if we run out.  On the other hand, MK7 is neither a hormone nor a vitamin as we will not die without it, and it is not made by the body.  MK7, like all the other long chain Mkn’s (menaquinones), is a bacterial metabolite that shares some structural homology with MK4.  In the early days of study, MK4 was thought to be made in the GI tracts of animals via bacterial fermentation by inhabiting symbiotic microbes.  There were several problems with this hypothesis though that kept people searching.  It has now been firmly established that K2-MK4 is made by a wide variety of animal tissue cells by the direct conversion of K1 (phylloquinone) into K2-MK4 (menatetrenone).  This process is studied and measured by introducing deuterium labeled K1 into an animal’s diet and then looking for the same radio-labeled fragments in MK4 isolated from the same animal.  In nature, there is not much deuterium labeled K2-MK4 or K1.  So, if you feed labeled K1 to a rat and then find labeled K2 it is proof positive that the K1 was converted to K2.  Then by placing the label in different parts of the K1 molecule and then comparing where it lands in the K2, it is possible to understand more intricate parts of the chemical biosynthesis mechanism.  From here, however, the question becomes where did the conversation occur?  Was it bacteria in the GI tract, or was it in the animal cells themselves?  So, by performing this type of experiment on rats that have been fed powerful antibiotics that kill the GI microbiome and seeing that the conversion still occurs, it is proof that it is tissue cells that are doing the conversion, not GI bacteria.  Interestingly it has also been conclusively shown that MK4 assimilation and storage is tissue-specific, but I’ll talk more about that later.  However, by looking at how the radio labeled K2-MK4 is distributed to various tissue cells over time it is possible to see which cells are using either greater or lesser quantities of MK4.  The most important point here is that no radio labeled MK7, or other longer chain menaquinones, are ever found during these experiments.  Meaning MK7 is not created in animal cells using vitamin K1 as a precursor.  So, in summary, K2-MK4 is an animal hormone and MK7, or other MKn forms, are not.  Nor is MK7, or any other form of MKn, essential for the life preservation of an animal.  The real question that evolves here is why? and how? would a human animal be more able to use MK7 than MK4 when it doesn’t even create it in the first place and it isn’t essential for life?  The answer is that it wouldn’t.  The experiments listed above and many more have been performed and conclusively show the situation I have described.   Here is one important reference to get those started that are interested in further study.  There is a whole line of such studies by multiple groups and they are very consistent.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9468334/

 

  • MK4 is selectively produced and distributed within the tissues of the body in very specific ways, while the longer chain length menaquinones (MK5-MK9) are not

In addition to being made within the cells of the body from K1, MK4 is also selectively distributed and utilized in different ways by different tissues according to their various needs.  On the other hand, longer chain menaquinones (MK5-MK9) have been shown to accumulate primarily in the plasma (blood), liver (hepatic tissue cells), and other passive tissue compartments.  Using the same sort of radio-labeling experiments, both deuterium labeled K1 and deuterium labeled MK4 can be fed to animals and then various tissues can be analyzed to see how they take up (assimilate), store, and/or make MK4 via biosynthesis.  Many such experiments have been performed and are all very consistent.  Additionally, molecular markers for MK4 recycling can be studied to infer differing rates of MK4 usage in various cells in addition to the different assimilation rates.  While a complete discussion of this body of work and the wealth of conclusions it provides is beyond the scope of this article, the important points relative to the usage of MK4 vs MK7 in animals are that MK7 is not a) made by the body at all, and b) is not selectively assimilated and accumulated by various tissues in specific ways whereas MK4 is.  Again, this is because MK4 is a hormone essential for life that is used in animal tissue cells in a wide variety of very important and complex ways, whereas MK7 is not.  Therefore, we don’t see MK7 being selectively used, distributed, and accumulated in animal tissues in the same way.  Instead, MK6-9 primarily accumulate in the liver where they can be metabolized, with much more minor uptake by most other tissues.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8785182

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14654717/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7947656/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9468334/

 

  • MK4 passes the placenta and is found in human umbilical cord blood but MK7 is not

If MK7 were of use and/or important for the growth of fetal cells, wouldn’t we expect to find them in the blood passing to a fetus through the umbilical cord past the placenta?  In fact, a pregnant woman’s “placenta” is a selective barrier that allows necessary nutrients and gasses to pass to the fetus but can block certain things it recognizes as a problem.  According to a very interesting and pivotal experiment, a researcher collected paired samples from two groups of pregnant women.  The first group A) was fed a non-supplemented diet.  The second group B) was fed an MK7-rich diet via fermented soybeans (natto).  Then in both groups, maternal blood, maternal placenta, and umbilical cord blood were sampled.  As expected, the maternal blood and placenta of group B) contained much more long chain length menaquinones (MK6-MK9) than the A) group, while both groups showed similar concentrations of MK4 and K1.  The amazing thing is that only K1 and MK4 were found in the blood of the umbilical cord and the longer MKn’s were not detected at all.  This experiment conclusively shows that the placental barrier excluded the longer chain MKn’s, preventing them from passing but did allow both K1 and MK4 to pass to the fetus.  This is because as discussed above, both are necessary to animal life in very important ways, whereas MK7 is not.  In fact, MK7 has a very much higher rate of detrimental side effects, such as heart arrhythmia, than MK4 and these occur at much lower dosages.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892036217301769

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3348316/

 

  • MK7 is completely unable to upregulate several key bone growth factors

Bone growth is a very complex and balanced orchestra of complex biochemistry.  Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by slower than normal “bone remodeling” rates.  Bone remodeling is a balance between the growth of new bone cells and the resorption of older bone cells.  Thus like all other tissues, bone is constantly turning over.  When its turnover rate becomes compromised, or unbalanced, osteoporosis ensues as a result.  So how does the body know how to balance bone growth with bone resorption?  Well, it is a complicated multi-stage cellular process that, in part, proceeds under the influence of “bone growth factors” (also called nuclear growth factors) that are upregulated from the genetic code in a specific way.   In short, the body produces many important bone growth factors to control and regulate the bone growth process.  In a pivotal study, it was shown that MK7 was completely unable to upregulate several key bone growth factors, whereas MK4 was.  Now, this is very important.  To have the biggest and most holistic impact on health we want our cells to be able to upregulate ALL the factors it needs, not just some of them.  Following is a quote from the second reference below that clearly states the result.  “Among these up-regulated genes by MK-4, growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and stanniocalcin 2 (STC2) were identified as novel MK-4 target genes independent of GGCX and SXR pathways in human and mouse osteoblastic cells. The induction of GDF15 and STC2 is likely specific to MK-4, as it was not exerted by another vitamin K2 isoform MK-7, vitamin K1, or the MK-4 side chain structure geranylgeraniol”.

In short, it is clearly shown that MK7 can’t upregulate all the same important cellular machines as can MK4.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8122528/

http://jme.endocrinology-journals.org/content/39/4/239.long

 

  • MK4 is used to activate proteins inside the endoplasmic reticulum of cells, not in the blood. A longer ½ life in the blood means it is not being assimilated and used effectively.  As shown in the tissue distribution studies, it does not mean it is more “bioavailable”

One of the most common justifications touting the superiority of MK7 is that it has a “longer plasma half-life”.  Well, this at least is true.  The half-life of MK4 is roughly 4 hours, while MK7 is 12-14 hours, interestingly MK9 is on the order of 60 hours.  The longer ½ life, however, does not mean that these forms are more “bioavailable”, or more effective.  In fact, quite the opposite.  MK4 is utilized deep inside the endoplasmic reticulum of cells where enzymes are being biosynthesized after being upregulated for production at the genetic level.  This does not happen in the blood.  For any menaquinone to work, MK4, MK7, or any other variety, they must first get transported through the cell wall and into the endoplasmic reticulum.  The longer it is in the blood, the longer it takes to be put to work.  While the details of these mechanisms are very complex, they have nevertheless been largely understood for quite some time now.  However, as the tissue distribution and other studies show, MK4 is very selectively and effectively assimilated and distributed within the various tissues of the body and is even excluded from growing babies by the maternal placenta.  It is also known to be used at different rates depending upon the different needs of various types of tissue cells.  In short, a quick half-life is a sign of effective utilization and assimilation.  The opposite is true of a longer half-life.  Once in the cell, K2-MK4 and K1 are efficiently recycled by a mechanism surrounding an enzyme called VKORC1 (Vitamin K epOxide Reductase Complex subunit 1).  This type of recycling mechanism is a means by which an animal can extend the use of a rare nutrient to buffer against times of shortage.  In nature, the availability of MK4 and K1 is not constant and so this buffering mechanism helps stabilize critical physiology on a daily basis even in times of scarcity.

http://www.bloodjournal.org/content/93/6/1798

 

In summary, MK4 has been much more widely studied from a biochemical perspective than MK7.  This is because it has been clear academically, at least to some, for a long time that MK4 is a specifically regulated and important hormone used and needed by the animal kingdom in a wide variety of very important ways.  The longer chain menaquinones are, instead, produced by bacteria for a much narrower and less complicated range of cellular functions in single-celled organisms.  As such, these longer chain MKn’s, including MK7, are much more widely available from food and while they do have some activity, they can’t accommodate the full range of animal needs and have much higher rates of side effects in many people.  While the longer chain menaquinones have weaker binding to animal protein receptor sites due to their longer chains, the shorter ones like MK5, MK6, Mk7, and MK9 can still partially activate some of the body’s cellular machinery.  However, because the longer chain menaquinones do not bind as ideally to animal receptor pockets they are not assimilated, transported, and used as effectively as is MK4 in humans and other animals.  This is clearly shown by the references above and is specifically why these larger forms have longer ½ lives in blood plasma.  This is simply because the body cannot use them as effectively, so they continue to circulate in the blood rather than being assimilated.  The longer the side chain, the longer the half-life.  Therefore, MK9 has a much longer serum ½ life even than MK7.  If a longer serum ½ life is indeed a good thing, we should then consider MK9 as a supplement rather than MK7 and see hordes of marketing literature working to convince us of that.  It is likewise available on the raw material market and has the same basic cost in bulk wholesale.  Only Mk7, however, is the economical product of horizontal integration in the food industry.  However, as I hope to have shown, a longer ½ life is not a good thing and we should stick to the compounds that are created by our body when it is in good health and has all the resources it needs.  What I do for myself is to supplement with high-quality MK4, eat an MK4-rich diet, and work to get a wide variety of longer chain menaquinones from foods.  Fermented vegetables and dairy are a rich source of most of the longer chain MKn’s.  Good cheeses, along with Kefir, and a variety of live fermented vegetables easily provide more than enough long chain MKn’s for my needs.

Benefits of Vitamin K2-MK4

Benefits of Vitamin K2

Vitamin K2-MK4 is critical to development, health, and aging due to its involvement in cellular healing, repair, and maintenance processes for virtually the entire body. It is one of the most critically important nutrients in the human body. Its actions are intertwined in a complex web of processes at the core of the body’s regulatory and restorative biochemistry surrounding the cellular life cycle including: 

  • Cardiovascular HealthVitamin K2-KM4
  • Diabetes & Metabolic Health
  • Osteoporosis & Skeletal Health
  • Immune System & Anti-Cancer
  • Brain & Nervous System
  • Energy, Moods & Hormones
  • Anti-Aging & Healthy Skin
  • Athletic Performance & Recovery 

Vitamin K2 Deficiency 

Today most people have a nutritional deficiency in vitamin K2, magnesium, and other fat-soluble vitamins (like D & A) which work in symphony to activate many biochemical processes. Maintaining sufficient levels of all these nutrients is vital for activating a wide range of mission-critical enzymes in the human body called Vitamin K Dependent Proteins (VKDP). 

Because the typical diet & food supply for modern society do not contain enough of these nutrients, we fall victim to a range of age-related disorders that did not exist in many societies in earlier times. Ultimately, deficiency leads to the body’s inability to keep pace with the rate of age or stress-related damage. Increasingly, studies are showing a broad range of diseases and disorders that can be linked to vitamin K2-MK4 and magnesium status.

  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • DiabetesCountry Dinner
  • Osteoporosis
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Depression
  • Arthritis
  • Restless Leg syndrome
  • Tremors or palsies
  • Gingivitis
  • Dental cavities (caries)
  • Spider/varicose veins
  • Psoriasis/eczema
  • Blood pressure
  • Cancer
  • Tendonitis
  • Joint aches and pains
  • Gall / Kidney Stones
  • Low Hormones
  • Obesity
  • Many more

 

Shop Vitamin K2 Supplements

We call it the superhero effectGenesis BioHealth is committed to offering you the safest, most effective products, offering a broad spectrum impact at a low daily cost. Therefore, we utilize the MK4 form of vitamin K2 in all of our Regenesis Products which is able to activate the full range of bodily functions in comparison to other forms (learn more below). Shop Regenesis K2 products individually or maximize your results with our full Regenesis Protocol. Our protocol is specifically designed to deliver vitamin K2 and these commonly deficient critical nutrients in symphony with each other. It is customizable to the individual and adaptable over time.

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Learn More about Vitamin K2

Love the nitty gritty details? Learn more about Vitamin K2 Science & History

Vitamin K2-MK…What? Learn about the different forms of Vitamin K2:

Vitamin K2-MK4 vs. MK7 Basics 

Vitamin K2-MK4 vs. MK7 Deeper Science & Research

 

What type of Vitamin K2 should I take? MK4 vs. MK7

Vitamin K2-MK4 for Optimal Performance

Vitamin K2 Supplements 

Vitamin K2 supplementation has become increasingly common as more info is released about its many benefits, activation of other vitamins, and widespread deficiency in our modern day.

 

Why supplement with Vitamin K2? 

Vitamin K2 is critical to development, health, and aging due to its involvement in cellular healing, repair, and maintenance processes for virtually the entire body. However, most individuals are deficient in Vitamin K2 or its activators that include magnesium and other fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin D & A due to today’s food supply.

 

Vitamin K2-MK4 vs MK7

When we speak of the vitamin K2 subtype, there are several known species. Subtypes differ in molecule chain lengths from 4 units to 15 units, thus named as vitamin K2-MK4 to K2-MK15. Because Genesis BioHealth is committed to offering you the safest, most effective products for the lowest daily cost, we utilize the MK4 form. 

Vitamin K2-MK4 Vitamin K2-MK4 vs MK7

This form is naturally used in human and animal physiology.  It can be manufactured directly by conversion of K1 in various tissues of the body and is the ideal size and shape to fit into the activation pocket of the appropriate enzymes in humans and animals.  This enables it to properly activate all the body’s required functions.  

Vitamin K2-MK7+

The K2 species with longer chain lengths, MK5-MK15, are products and by-products of anaerobic bacterial respiration. Human bodies can use these species to some extent. However, they are not optimized to fit into the activation pockets of the enzymes, are not as completely utilized by the body, nor are they transported as effectively to tissues prior to their use.

Unfortunately, there is much misinformation surrounding the use of MK7.  MK7 is inexpensive and widely available. Therefore it has become the most widely available commercial source of vitamin K2 even though it does not work as well in the body and can produce adverse effects at lower dosages.  

Why we use the MK4 form of Vitamin K2

We include the vitamin K2-MK4 form in our products and find it very effective for our clients.  Its very low tendency to create side effects and rapid assimilation by tissues mean that MK4 can be taken at much higher dosages than MK7, thereby boosting its efficacy by a large margin. For the consumer, this generally means a slightly higher cost for much-improved results.

Learn More about Vitamin K2 

Benefits of Vitamin K2-MK4.

Want to learn more about the nitty gritty science? Read more…

 

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Homemade Electrolyte Drink

Making your own electrolyte drink is a healthier, more cost effective way of keeping up with summer hydration when water just isn’t cutting it. It is also a great way to flavor your water for those who just don’t crave plain water.

Many sports drinks have artificial colors, flavors, and are heavy on sweeteners. By making it at home, you’ll know your ingredients, can customize to your preferences, and save money. 

Basic Electrolyte Drink Recipe:

  • 2 cups water (or coconut water, cooled tea, etc.)
  • 1/8 tsp pink Himalayan se salt
  • Juice from 1/4 – 1/2 lemon
  • 1-3 tsp local raw honey
  • 1 capsule Genesis BioHealth Magnesium emptied (optional)
  • Ice cubes (optional)

Directions:

Run for a few seconds in a blender. Alternatively, use slightly warm liquid and shake vigorously to dissolve before adding ice. Serve cold.

Tips: 

  • Experiment with other flavors and add-ins like stevia, lemon/lime, orange, pineapple & coconut water, a splash of apple cider vinegar, and herbs like mint and basil.
  • This may taste saltier if left overnight, but keeps up to a week. Make sure to shake any leftovers vigorously, or add more water.
  • Easily doubles or triples for a party.
  • Freeze this mixture into ice cubes, then simply add water.

Taurine & Weight Loss

Our Magnesium formula is unique in the market, optimized to provide the body with a wide basket of nutrients and broad health benefits. About 40% of the formula is devoted to Magnesium Taurate for its ability to improve cardiac function, improve insulin sensitivity, and reduce hyper-excitability for the nervous system. In addition to taurine’s long list of well established health benefits, research is now emerging that shows it can also help with weight loss.  The combined value of our synergistic ingredients, including a healthy dose of vitamin C, is the “secret sauce” that produces markedly different health results in our clients. We use four different fully reacted magnesium complexes, each with excellent bioavailability to help ensure effective absorption and minimal GI impact: 

  • Magnesium Taurate
  • Magnesium Bisglycinate
  • Magnesium Citrate
  • Magnesium Ascorbate

We compound these materials to better mimic mother nature’s diversity.  The formula aids absorption, balances digestive impact, and offers the body a variety of important resources towards boosting cellular metabolism.  Each of the various organic portions bound to magnesium work together and are used by the body to support a healthy metabolism.  

Don’t take our word for it. Try it yourself!  Shop now.

Taurine Research & References:

Kim KS, Jang MJ, Fang S, Yoon SG, Kim IY, Seong JK, Yang HI, Hahm DH. Anti-obesity effect of taurine through inhibition of adipogenesis in white fat tissue but not in brown fat tissue in a high-fat diet-induced obese mouse model. Amino Acids. 2019 Feb;51(2):245-254. doi: 10.1007/s00726-018-2659-7. Epub 2018 Sep 25. PMID: 30255260.

Kendler BS. Taurine: an overview of its role in preventive medicine. Prev Med. 1989 Jan;18(1):79-100. doi: 10.1016/0091-7435(89)90056-x. PMID: 2496406.

Xu YJ, Arneja AS, Tappia PS, Dhalla NS. The potential health benefits of taurine in cardiovascular disease. Exp Clin Cardiol. 2008 Summer;13(2):57-65. PMID: 19343117; PMCID: PMC2586397.

Stacy A, Andrade-Oliveira V, McCulloch JA, Hild B, Oh JH, Perez-Chaparro PJ, Sim CK, Lim AI, Link VM, Enamorado M, Trinchieri G, Segre JA, Rehermann B, Belkaid Y. Infection trains the host for microbiota-enhanced resistance to pathogens. Cell. 2021 Feb 4;184(3):615-627.e17. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.12.011. Epub 2021 Jan 15. PMID: 33453153; PMCID: PMC8786454.

How much magnesium do I need?

It’s estimated that over 80% of individuals are deficient in magnesium (Mg) which has a broad impact in the body (Benefits of Magnesium). The minimum RDA for magnesium is 400mg/day. Reaching this amount between food and supplements is a starting point for an average size adult.  Unfortunately, it is not just people that are deficient in Mg.  Commercially raised plants and animals also have widespread Mg deficiency so this makes it very difficult to consistently get enough from food alone, even for those that focus on a healthy diet.   This situation makes supplementation a good way to ensure we get enough of this most precious mineral to fuel our bodies. 

While 400 mg of Mg is considered a good initial target, most people find they benefit from significantly higher amounts, often up to 800mg/day.  Regardless of your specific target, personal demand will vary daily. Body size and lifestyle factors also affect magnesium demand.  Here are a few tools to help you dial into your magnesium need:

  • Individuals with higher body mass will need more. You can estimate your difference and dial-up proportionately. Or, you can dial down for smaller individuals or kids.
  • Daily demand increases during times of high stress, activity, disease, or sickness.
  • People with osteoporosis and long-term deficiency need more.

Magnesium Needs Guide:

↑↑↑ Signs you need more magnesium: 

  • Restlessness, cramps, abnormally excitable, irritable, abrupt, hyperactive, twitchy, anxious, racing heart

↓↓↓ Signs to decrease magnesium:

  • Severe diarrhea – cut the dosage 
  • Constipation – stop taking until the inflammation subsides. Reintroduce one capsule at a time to manage symptoms

Building Magnesium Intake Slowly:

People who are magnesium deficient are, unfortunately, often challenged with absorption. Thus, we always stress building slowly, even with our “gut-friendly” formulas. Much like starting a new workout regimen, we often need to push through mild symptoms to acclimate our body to the new steady supply of magnesium.

If you ever have questions, please reach out to us at ccross@genesis-biohealth.com. We’re always happy to also send you our step-by-step guide for a gentle progression.

Learn more about our proprietary magnesium blend without fillers and purchase here.

Stress & Magnesium

Chronic stress has become so prevalent that it almost seems normal, especially in the last couple of years. Stress comes in a variety of forms such as mental, chemical, and physical stress (yes, heavy exercise!). By now most are aware that  long term stress has serious health implications. So, what can we do? While we can’t control the outside world, we can help our bodies manage stress.

Magnesium has been called the ‘master’ mineral, critical to thousands of biochemical processes that affect the brain, stress response and many other systems in the body including blood sugar regulation, inflammation, blood pressure, sleep, detoxification, relaxation, bone health, energy & heart health. It also activates other important minerals such as vitamin D and K2 to optimize their broad impacts on the body. Read more: Benefits of Magnesium.

Magnesium Deficiency Cycle

Unfortunately, magnesium deficiency is common with today’s food supply and is correlated with stress and anxiety. Those who are deficient tend to feel more anxious and stressed. Compounding the deficiency, when we become stressed or anxious, the body uses up more magnesium. At the same time, we also use up more vitamin C that our adrenal glands need to cope with the stress hormone cortisol. It’s a losing cycle.

High Quality, Gentle Magnesium

At Genesis BioHealth, our magnesium contains a proprietary blend of four broadly effective, bioavailable magnesium complexes that are gentle on the GI tract with ZERO fillers. It also includes vitamin C that works synergistically with the magnesium. We aren’t the cheapest, but our quality and efficacy is outstanding in the market. Our customers tell us they feel the difference and we think you will, too. Learn more…

Other Natural Stress Management Tips

  • Reduce chemical stress by removing toxic products from your home and body care routine.
  • Eat a clean, nutrient dense diet. 
  • Get movement daily, especially outdoors.
  • Start a gratitude journal or count your blessings.
  • Prioritize sleep.
  • Practice deep breathing.

 

Introducing Dr. Cross