Vitamin D and K Work Together
Vitamin D and K both play a crucial role in the body's calcium metabolism, and they interact in important ways to maintain bone health and cardiovascular health. Vitamin D helps increase the body's ability to absorb calcium from the diet. When we eat foods containing calcium or take calcium supplements, vitamin D assists in transporting the calcium from the intestines into the bloodstream. Vitamin K plays a key role in effectively utilising the calcium that has been absorbed into the blood.
Vitamin K helps activate proteins that are responsible for regulating where calcium is stored in the body. One of these proteins is osteocalcin, which contributes to binding calcium to the bone matrix, thus strengthening bone tissue. Another protein activated by vitamin K is Matrix Gla-protein (MGP), which helps prevent calcium deposition in the blood vessels, a process that can lead to vascular calcification, which is a risk factor for heart disease.
While vitamin D aids in increasing calcium absorption, vitamin K plays a central role in ensuring that this calcium is used correctly—getting it into the bones, where it is needed, rather than allowing it to accumulate in the blood vessels, where it can be harmful. An imbalance between these two vitamins can potentially lead to bone health issues and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Vitamin D Toxicity Without Vitamin K
Dr. Mercola has interviewed Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue regarding vitamin D3 and vitamin K2. She states:
“There are an incredible number of people taking megadoses of vitamin D. These megadoses can cause harm if there is a deficiency in vitamin K2, which is needed for calcium to be directed to where it should go. We don't often see vitamin D toxicity, but when we do, the symptoms are calcium deposits in soft tissues. In reality, it is a lack of vitamin K2 that causes this.”
This pertains to high doses of vitamin D, which is why we always recommend a multivitamin-mineral as a base, regardless of what other supplements you may take. Several of our multivitamin-minerals contain vitamin K, and our D vitamins with 5000 IU contain both vitamin K1 and vitamin K2.
