If you’ve been feeling down and run-down, it’s time for a change. And the New Year is the perfect time to get started.
Imagine feeling calm, happy, and full of energy every day, all year long. Bounding out of bed, looking forward to your day, and not getting sidelined by worries or weariness.
That’s easier to achieve than you think! One energy-boosting nutrient (and it’s not the one you’re thinking) and a gut-balancing spore probiotic are all you need to start the New Year happy and ready to roll.
The “Secret” to Abundant Energy: Vitamin K2
Vitamin K2 probably isn’t the nutrient you think of when you’re looking for an energy boost. In fact, you probably don’t think about vitamin K2 very much at all, because it doesn't get even a fraction of the attention it deserves.
Along with building strong bones, protecting your blood vessels, and balancing your blood sugar, vitamin K2 plays a crucial role in energy production.
Every cell in your body contains its own mini power plant called mitochondria. They produce a special kind of energy called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). And when they don’t make enough ATP, you feel tired and weak.
That’s where vitamin K2 comes in.
Scientific research shows that vitamin K2 helps mitochondria make more ATP. That means every cell has more energy – and that includes the cells that make up your brain and your heart.
In one clinical trial, athletes took vitamin K2 for eight weeks, and it had an enormous affect on their energy levels. Their hearts performed better during exercise. And supplementing with vitamin K2 increased their cardiac output (the amount of fresh oxygenated blood the heart pumped into circulation) by an amazing 12%.
How to Get More K2
Unlike many essential nutrients, it’s really tough to get enough vitamin K2 from food. That’s partly because very few foods contain K2, and partly because most of us don’t regularly eat the foods that do.
The best food sources of K2 include:
- Natto, which is soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis
- Goose liver
- Egg yolks
- Dark meat chicken
- Dairy products from grass-fed cows
So, to get enough K2, you need to turn to supplements. And that’s where it can get a little confusing.
Vitamin K2 supplements come in two different forms: K2-4 (also called MK-4) and K2-7 (also called MK-7). These two may seem like they’re the same, but they have some critical differences. For one thing, vitamin K2-4 supplements are created in a lab (they’re synthetic), and K2-7 supplements come from food (they’re natural).
But the most important differences involve availability. One dose of vitamin K2-4 won’t show up in a blood test… and disappears entirely from your system after only about 8 hours. A single dose of K2-7 will show up in your bloodstream within six hours and remains available for up to two days – that’s six times longer!
So, if you want to get the most out of a vitamin K2 supplement, you need the most bioavailable and active form, vitamin K2-7.
Your gut microbiome also affects your energy levels. Recent research showed a direct link between an unbalanced gut microbiome and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Boost Your Mood by Rebalancing Your Gut Microbiome
As weird as it sounds, your mood starts in your gut. To feel happy and relaxed, your gut microbiome – the trillions of bacteria in your gut – needs to be in healthy balance.
Beneficial bacteria (probiotics) in your gut produce feel-good neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA. Probiotic bacteria also calm inflammation and reduce oxidative stress, two major drivers of mood disorders.
But when your gut is out of balance, and bad bacteria (pathogens) outnumber the good, they set off a chain of events that can leave you feeling depressed and anxious. In fact, pathogens can trigger bad and sad moods in five different ways:
- Increasing inflammation, which travels to your brain along a direct path called the “gut-brain axis and causes mood disorders
- Producing harmful proteins, which send bad-mood signals to your brain that bring on symptoms of depression and anxiety
- Block production of key neurotransmitters, by reducing probiotic populations and limiting supplies of serotonin, GABA, and other positive brain chemicals.
- Prolonging stress responses, which releases extra cortisol (the stress hormone) into your body, so you’re never really able to calm down all the way
- Causing toxic streaming, by attacking the protective gut barrier and allowing LPS toxins (lipopolysaccharides) to escape into your blood stream send messages to your brain that trigger fear and anxiety
The best way to get your gut microbiome back in healthy balance: Spore probiotics. These extra-strength strains of beneficial bacteria quickly get pathogens under control and get to work restoring large and diverse probiotic populations. And when your gut is in good balance, it can produce the neurotransmitters you need to feel happy and positive all year long.
Getting plenty of vitamin K2 helps reduce symptoms of depression in adults.
Resolve to Reboot Your Mood and Refresh Your Vitality
With a reliable, high-quality spore probiotic and pharmaceutical grade vitamin K2-7, you’ll be able to spring into the New Year with a bright outlook and abundant energy.
Just Thrive Probiotic contains four clinically proven strains of spore probiotics known to counteract dysbiosis and stop toxic streaming… two major threats to your mental health and your everyday mood
Just Thrive Vitamin K2-7 contains pharmaceutical grade vitamin K2-7 along with synergistic nutrients (including zinc and magnesium) that help your body absorb and use it more fully.
Kick off your Happy New Year by adding Just Thrive Probiotic and Just Thrive Vitamin K2-7 to your daily routine today.
