NUTRIDOM VITAMIN D3 + K2, D3 EDITORIAL
Research into vitamin D3 and K2 has increased in recent years and specifically their synergistic relationship to skeletal and cardiovascular health has caught the attention of health professionals.
Vitamin D can be obtained in the diet, but it is most commonly known to be made in the skin when exposed to sunlight. There are two forms of vitamin D, vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), of which the D3 form is generally accepted to be the more bioavailable form of the two and thus is the form you should look for in a supplement. Deficiency in vitamin D has become more common as the evidence of sun damage and skin cancer has resulted in people limiting their skins exposure to the sun. In northern climates where long cold winters keep people inside and covered up, deficiency is even more common. A recent US study reported deficiency rates of 41.6%-86% in a study of over 4000 individuals. The importance of vitamin D in bone health has been known for a while as it was shown to eliminate rickets (defective mineralization of bones) in the 1930’s and decrease risk of fracture. This effect is due to vitamin D improving the body’s ability to absorb calcium in the intestine. Vitamin D however also plays a role in the management of autoimmune conditions, cardiovascular health and maintaining a healthy immune system.
Vitamin K was first discovered in Germany in 1929 as an essential nutrient for the process of blood clotting, where it was first called “Koagulationsvitamin” and thus named vitamin K. There are two main forms of vitamin K: K1 (phylloquinone) which is found in a variety of plants and Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) which is found in animal and fermented food, as well as being produced by healthy gut bacteria. While vitamin K1 is more abundant in foods, vitamin K2 is more bioactive in the human body. The main function of vitamin K is to modify proteins in the body to give them the ability to bind calcium, however each type of vitamin K has a specific target for this action in the body. Vitamin K1 is mostly used by the liver to activate calcium-binding proteins that are involved in blood clotting, while vitamin K2, is used to activated proteins that will regulate where calcium ends up in the body. While healthy bones require calcium, calcium build up in the arteries is a significant risk factor for heart disease. Preventing calcification of the arteries is thought to be the main mechanism of how vitamin K2 decreases cardiovascular disease risk. Vitamin K has also to have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and antioxidant effects in the body.
The overlap in health benefits of these two fat soluble vitamins is where some studies on the synergistic effects have been done. The combination of D3 and K2 in a group of postmenopausal women showed significant improvements in bone mineral density, over the control group or D3 or K2 alone. Both vitamins have also been shown to decrease inflammation in the body, which is implicated in both cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, among other chronic disease. It appears that the two vitamins target different inflammatory cytokines and biomarkers and thus may likely again show a synergistic effect in their actions to combat inflammation. Finally, both vitamins appear to enhance each other’s antioxidant capabilities in the body.
Sources:
Forrest KY, Stuhldreher WL. Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults. Nutr Res. 2011 Jan;31(1):48-54.
Newman, Paul. & Shearer Martin J. (1998) Vitamin K Metabolism. In PJ. Quinn & VE. Kagen (Eds.) Fat Soluble Vitamins (pp 455-488) New York, NY: Springer US.
Margueritta S. El Asmar, Joseph J. Naoum, and Elias J. Arbid. Vitamin K Dependent Proteins and the Role of Vitamin K2 in the Modulation of Vascular Calcification: A Review. Oman Med J. 2014 May; 29(3): 172–177.
Kidd PM. Vitamins D and K as pleiotropic nutrients: clinical importance to the skeletal and cardiovascular systems and preliminary evidence for synergy. Altern Med Rev. 2010 Sep;15(3):199-222.
<Written by David Health Research Centre>
05/21/2017
