Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

4

Dr K has made reference to testing grass-fed butters for Vit K2 levels and has said that Kerrygold tested at zero before, which didn't help with some people's suspicions that KG may not be entirely grass fed. But tartare provided a link to a fact sheet advertisement in which Kerrygold proclaims in crystal clear verbiage that their "Cows are entirely grass-fed" and goes into much more detail. Also, sarah-ann, a long time PaleoHacker, says she lives an hour away from where the KG cows are pastured and the grass is super green.

So then I wonder... does the potency of Vitamin K2 diminish with time? If so, how long do we have before the value becomes reduced too much?

edited May 2 2011 at 14:39

asked May 2 2011 at 14:15

Jack Kronk
19.9k●2●33●101

	Great question! I have quite a few sticks of KG in the freezer.... – L. Peltier May 2 2011 at 14:21
	thanks for the mention, Jack! when we were in Ireland, we visited my husband's family's ancestral dairy farm in Tipperary, and all I can say is the Irish are still doing a lot of things right. Had to stick up for them a bit :) – tartare May 2 2011 at 17:19

sarah-ann · Answer 1 · 2011-05-02 14:52:00Z UTC

3

I wonder if the K2 doesn't vary wildly with season. I know that the butter is different colours depending on the time of year. Hence why high vitamin butter oil is only from cows fed on summer pasture.

answered May 2 2011 at 14:52

sarah-ann
4,909●14●31

I, too, think the seasonality of the butter is extremely important here. For what its worth, the WAP maintains that springtime butter, and all dairy for that matter, is higher in pretty much everything that is important, including of course K2. – ben61820 May 2 2011 at 15:14

yah that's a valid point about seasonal changes in grass nutrients. organic valley puts on their label that their pasture butter is only produced from may to september for that reason. maybe that explains the higher tested levels of K2. i wonder if a bright yellow batch of kerrygold produced in the spring/summer would test at higher levels of K2 as well. i was at a fancy restaurant this weekend and asked for 'real butter'. they came out with a bright white, completely tasteless waxy substance. the difference between that and the pasture butter that I have gotten used to is quite noticeable. – Jack Kronk May 2 2011 at 15:36

This makes me wonder if I shouldn't start stockpiling the current stock of kerrygold in the supermarket.. :) – sarah-ann May 2 2011 at 15:54

1

i think it would have been made several months ago. personally, i'd wait til deep summer before stockpiling. – Jack Kronk May 2 2011 at 16:38

Actually Kerrygold is only made from summer milk, just found that out. – sarah-ann Jun 4 2011 at 14:25

The Quilt · Answer 2 · 2011-05-02 16:43:57Z UTC

0

I have read some data that high levels of vitamin A and D can deplete vitamin k levels. That was not in humans but I follow k2 data closely. I think high levels of vitamin are problematic for many reasons

answered May 2 2011 at 16:43

The Quilt
27.4k●1●13●82

	do you think the high levels of A and D in fermented cod liver oil can deplete K2 in butter oil? If so, would that mean that the Green Pastures blend is not the full package of three (A,D,K2) that they purport? – Jack Kronk May 2 2011 at 17:48
	It's biologically plausible – The Quilt May 4 2011 at 0:43

tartare · Answer 3 · 2011-05-02 17:05:59Z UTC

0

do you think the fact that some of the butter is cultured (unsalted) and some is not (salted) could affect this at all?

answered May 2 2011 at 17:05

tartare
5,102●9●23

Does the potency of Vitamin K2 diminish over time?

3 Answers