Many people worry about their vitamin D levels, especially in winter when sunlight is scarce. That’s why vitamin D3 supplements are so popular. But there’s a lot of confusion about how to take them safely. Can you take D3 without K2? What happens if you do? This article will clear up the confusion so you can enjoy the benefits of vitamin D3 without worrying about unintended consequences. We will also touch upon Vitamin D3 And B12 Benefits.
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Why Everyone Needs to Take Vitamin D3 with K2
Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients that your body needs to function. They help your body resist infections, keep your nerves healthy, get energy from food, and keep your blood clotting correctly. You can typically get these nutrients from a nutritious diet, but sometimes, it may be hard to keep that up. You may need supplements to maintain all those healthy body functions and get these much-needed vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol, is a nutrient that helps your body absorb calcium. You can get it through eating foods such as fish, eggs, and cheese or through exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D3 has many functions for your body, including bone growth, bone remodeling, regulating muscle contractions, and converting food into energy.
Vitamin K2 plays a vital role in many functions of your body, including blood clotting. It also protects the health of your heart and keeps your bones strong. You can find vitamin K2 in some animal foods and fermented foods.
How Do Vitamins D3 and K2 Work Together?
The K family of vitamins is integral to the nutritional framework needed to keep bodily functions running as usual. All are categorized as fat-soluble vitamins; there are 12 forms of the vitamin K molecule. Each type of vitamin K2 delivers a subtly different effect on the body, but for this article, we’ll focus on the two most abundant forms in the human diet.
K2 MK-4
This form of the molecule represents a smaller proportion of total vitamin K2 intake but is relatively easy to obtain through the consumption of animal products. MK-4’s primary use is supporting bone and heart health.
K2 MK-7
The most bioactive of the vitamin K family is also the least naturally available. K2 MK-7 is only found in specific fermented foods, such as natto cheese. The diets of most Western consumers are severely lacking in this nutrient. This is particularly concerning, considering that the molecule plays a vital role in regulating calcium metabolism.
Consumers and nutraceutical brands alike are becoming more familiar with the applications and importance of vitamin K. Most remain unaware of the benefits vitamin K2 MK-7 can offer alone and combined with a molecule already famous for its health-supporting properties: vitamin D3.
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Can You Take D3 Without K2?
Vitamin D3 and K2 work together to ensure that calcium is utilized correctly in the body. Without vitamin K2, high levels of vitamin D3 can lead to high calcium levels and inappropriate calcification.
What Happens If You Take D3 Without K2?
You can take D3 without K2. The only real consideration to remember is taking vitamin D3 without taking any vitamin K because if you have a high level of vitamin D3 without enough vitamin K, the calcium might not transfer to the bones properly and instead end up in the vascular tissue.
This is because vitamin K is required to activate proteins that concentrate calcium in bones, such as matrix GLA and osteocalcin, which locks calcium into the structure of your bones. Without vitamin K2, calcium can get deposited in ways that do more harm than good.
Dr. Rheaume-Bleue, the author of Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life, warns:
“There are so many people on the vitamin-D-mega-dose bandwagon, taking more and more of vitamin D. And it could absolutely be causing harm if you are lacking the K2 to complete the job to get the calcium where it’s supposed to be. We don’t see symptoms of vitamin D toxicity very often. But when we do, those symptoms are inappropriate calcification. That’s the symptom of vitamin D toxicity. And it is actually a lack of vitamin K2 that can cause that.”
An example of misplaced calcium is atherosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries characterized by arterial calcium deposits. Atherosclerosis is a major sign of severe heart disease and a significant risk factor for stroke and heart attack, so it shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Can Vitamin D3 Alone Cause Heart Problems?
Researchers dug deeper into this concern by comparing supplementation with vitamin D plus K2 versus supplementation with vitamin D alone. Vitamin D combined with vitamin K2 protected against cardiovascular calcification (as measured by the coronary artery calcification score and the carotid intima-media thickness), while vitamin D alone did not.
This means that taking too much vitamin D without the balancing effect of vitamin K2 can be worse than taking neither supplement. And because calcification is the primary issue if your vitamin D supplement contains calcium (or if you’re supplementing with calcium independently), adding vitamin K2 to your regimen is even more critical.
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Benefits of Vitamin K2 and D3
What is the Best Ratio of Vitamin D3 to K2?
Vitamin D3 is often measured in international units (IU) instead of micrograms (mcg). 1000 IU of vitamin D3 is equal to 25 mcg of vitamin D3. The best ratio of vitamin D3 to K2 is 1000:10, 1000 IU (25 mcg) of vitamin D3 to 10 mcg of vitamin K2. You should take 10 mcg of vitamin K2 for every 1000 IU of vitamin D3.
When taking these nutrients separately, achieving the proper D3 to K2 ratio can be challenging. It’s best to choose a supplement with a balanced D3 to K2 ratio of around 1000:10. For example, if a supplement contains 5000 IU (125 mcg) of vitamin D3, it should include 50 mcg of vitamin K2.
How Much Should You Take?
General recommendations suggest a daily dose of 600 IU of vitamin D. Recent evidence indicates that 600 IU isn’t enough for most adults. A study published in Life found that a daily vitamin D intake of around 5,000 IU may be needed to correct a deficiency and maintain healthy vitamin D levels. While vitamin K2 intake recommendations range between 120 mcg daily for men and 90 mcg for women, the most effective vitamin K2 dosage depends on how much vitamin D you take.
For example, if you take 5000 IU of vitamin D3, an ideal vitamin K2 dose would be around 50 mcg. The best way to identify your optimal D3 and K2 dosage is to perform a simple blood test to evaluate your vitamin D status. This helps formulate an appropriate vitamin D3 dose, determining how much vitamin K2 you should take.
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