Ryan Crossfield Ryan Crossfield

K2 deficiency might be written all over your face

Specifically, the severity of a postmenopausal woman's facial wrinkles predicts her risk of osteoporosis. Women with extensive facial wrinkles are much more likely than their peers to suffer from low bone mass, while those with firmer skin tend to have denser bones, regardless of age or body weight.1

In a similar example, Korean research published in the journal Nephrology in 2008 found that increased facial wrinkling is associated with a reduced kidney filtration rate (a measure of kidney function), independent of age and sex.2 American research published the following year demonstrated that decreased kidney filtration predicts an increase in inactive MGP—in other words, vitamin K2 deficiency.3 When it comes to skin, it seems that a K2 deficiency might be written all over your face.


  1. Pal L, Kidwai N, Glockenberg K, et al. Skin wrinkling and rigidity are predictive of bone mineral density in early postmenopausal women. Endocr Rev 2011, 32(03_Meeting Abstracts): 3–126.)

  2. Park BH, Lee S, Park JW, et al. Facial wrinkles as a predictor of decreased renal function. Nephrology 2008, 13(6): 522–27.

  3. Parker BD, et al. Association of kidney function and uncarboxylated matrix gla protein: data from the Heart and Soul Study. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2009, 24(7): 2095–101, doi:10.1093/ndt/gfp024.)

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glyphosate and sunburns

Melanoma rates have increased in step with the increased use of sunscreen. Though causality has not been proven, there is a strong correlation between sunscreen use and melanoma, which doesn’t make sense since sunscreen is supposed to protect you from the harmful sun’s rays. The connection is thought to start with glyphosate, the herbicide in Roundup, disrupts the skin’s natural ability to protect itself from the sun. Gut microbes normally produce tryptophan and tyrosine, amino acids that serve as precursors of melanin, the dark compound in tan or dark-skinned types. They are meant to soak up UV light and protect you from any damage it might cause. But when your food is exposed to glyphosate, it affects your gut microbes and they cannot produce enough of these amino acids. Your natural mechanisms for sun protection stop functioning. This contributes to dangerous sunburns and/or melanoma—not because of exposure to the sun itself but because of exposure to chemicals that kill off the bacteria you need to protect yourself from the sun. You also need plenty of polyphenols (compounds from brightly colored plants) in your diet for your skin to manufacture melanin because melanin is made out of cross-linked polyphenols.

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