You may be among the many people who have started taking vitamin D supplements to improve your health, especially during the winter months when sunlight is scarce. But as you've browsed the internet for health tips, you've come across references to vitamin K2 and its potential benefits for health. Now you're wondering: Should you take D3 with K2? This article will help answer that question, explaining how combining vitamins D3 and B12 benefits can improve your health. 

Eya Vitamins's premium liposomal vitamin supplements can help as you work to understand how combining D3 and K2 can improve your health. These products promote better absorption of their ingredients so you can reap their benefits sooner.

What are Vitamins D and K?

Vitamin D and vitamin K are two nutrients your body needs for proper functioning. They are both found naturally in food and are also available as supplements. Vitamins D and K can be taken as individual supplements or through a multivitamin that contains both. Usually, these combination products contain vitamins D3 and K2. Although vitamin D has many potential health benefits, its most established is preventing and treating osteoporosis, a disease that causes weakened and brittle bones.

Vitamin K is most known for its role in blood clotting. However, researchers are learning more about additional benefits, such as strengthening bones. The two vitamins may have a synergistic effect when it comes to building bone. For example, at least in animal models, vitamin K may be most effective in increasing bone mass when vitamin D levels are increased.

Considering Vitamin D and K Supplements: What You Need to Know

Many traditional healthcare providers in the U.S. do not recommend supplemental vitamin K in most situations, and they only recommend taking supplemental vitamin D for some people.

But if vitamin D and vitamin K are supplements your healthcare provider has recommended, know that combined products containing the two vitamins are typically safe for most people, especially if taken at lower doses for limited periods. Reviewing the benefits and risks with your provider is always best, especially if you have underlying medical conditions.

What are the Benefits of Vitamin D? 

Vitamin D’s most established role in health is regulating minerals such as calcium. If a person is deficient in vitamin D, their calcium levels might not be optimally regulated, which means they may be at greater risk for osteoporosis. Because of this, treatment and prevention of osteoporosis are the most common reasons a healthcare provider might recommend you take vitamin D.

Vitamin D can also help with other areas of bone health, including treating bone softening (osteomalacia). Evidence is not strong enough to say whether vitamin D significantly benefits health measurements unrelated to bone health. Research suggests vitamin D might be adequate for the following:

• Allergic rhinitis (hay fever): Taking vitamin D may reduce hay fever symptoms, a pollen allergy that can cause sneezing and watery, itchy, red eyes. 

• Dental decay: Children might be less likely to develop tooth decay if they take vitamin D supplements. 

• Heart failure: People who take vitamin D might be less likely to develop heart failure. 

• Respiratory tract infections: Children who take vitamin D might be less likely to develop these infections. 

Vitamin D might also have benefits for a multitude of other conditions, including depression and cancer, but more research is needed to confirm. Keep in mind vitamin D may not be helpful unless the levels of vitamin D in your blood are low.

What are the Types of Vitamin D? 

Vitamin D refers to a group of closely related compounds produced by your skin in response to sunlight or consumed through foods like:

• Dairy products

• Eggs

• Fish

The two primary forms of vitamin D in foods and dietary supplements are D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol). Most evidence suggests your body absorbs D3 better. However, since D3 is only available via animal sources, people who follow a vegetarian diet may want to use D2 instead. 

What are the Benefits of Vitamin K? 

Compared to vitamin D, the benefits of supplemental vitamin K are not as well established. Multiple trials have shown that supplemental vitamin K may help with osteoporosis, but other trials have not replicated these results.

Currently, U.S. medical guidelines don’t recommend testing for vitamin K or using vitamin K as part of osteoporosis treatment or prevention. 

Exploring the Potential Benefits of Vitamin K for Bone, Heart, and Blood Health

Vitamin K is commonly used for osteoporosis in other parts of the world. Researchers are also actively exploring whether vitamin K might help prevent some kinds of heart and blood vessel disease, potentially by reducing damaging deposits of calcium and other minerals in blood vessels.

Under the care and guidance of a healthcare provider, vitamin K might also be used to treat several bleeding-relating conditions, including excess bleeding from taking too much of the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin). 

What are the Types of Vitamin K? 

Vitamin K refers to a group of compounds present in some foods. Its two primary forms available in the U.S. are vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), found mainly in green, leafy vegetables, and vitamin K2 (menaquinone), found mainly in fermented dairy products. Both are also available as supplements.

Vitamin K2 products are also sometimes subdivided further based on even more minor differences in their chemical form, named MK-4 through MK-13. The most studied are:

• MK-4

• MK-7

• MK-9

Related Reading

• How Much K2 to Take With D3?
• Can You Take Vitamin D3 K2 and Calcium Together?
• Vitamin D3 and K2 While Pregnant

Should You Take D3 With K2?

Taking vitamins D and K together is more effective in preventing or treating osteoporosis than alone. Research suggests they have a synergistic effect. Early research published in Bone found that the supplement combination might improve bone mineral density at the lumbar spine among children with beta-thalassemia. This blood disorder reduces the production of hemoglobin. The improvements were seen after the children took 50 micrograms (mcg) of the MK-7 form of vitamin K2 per day and five mcg of vitamin D3 per day for one year. However, researchers aren't sure whether the improvement came from the combination of vitamin K or D3 alone.

The Protective Power of K2 Against D3's Risks

For people already taking vitamin D, adding vitamin K might be protective. Vitamin D can cause increased levels of calcium in the blood, which may lead to mineral deposits in blood vessels that can increase the risk of heart disease. Some supplement manufacturers claim taking vitamin K along with vitamin D might decrease such risks.

The Risks of Too Much D3 without K2

Some people are concerned that a high vitamin D intake may promote blood vessel calcification and heart disease among those who are low in vitamin K. Several lines of evidence partly support this idea:

• Vitamin D toxicity causes hypercalcemia: One symptom of high vitamin D levels (toxicity) is hypercalcemia, a condition characterized by excessive calcium levels in the blood. 

• Hypercalcemia leads to blood vessel calcification (BVC): In hypercalcemia, calcium and phosphorus levels become so high that calcium phosphate accumulates in the lining of blood vessels.

• BVC is associated with heart disease: According to experts, blood vessel calcification is one of the main underlying causes of heart disease. 

• Vitamin K deficiency is associated with BVC: Observational studies have linked low vitamin K levels to an increased risk of blood vessel calcification. 

• High-dose vitamin K supplements prevented BVC in animals: A controlled study in rats at a high risk of calcification showed that a high-dose vitamin K2 supplement prevented BVC. 

• Vitamin K supplements may reduce BVC in humans: One controlled study in older people showed that supplementing with 500 mcg of vitamin K1 every day for three years slowed BVC by 6%.

• High vitamin K intake may reduce the risk of heart disease: People who get high amounts of vitamin K2 from their diet are at a reduced risk of blood vessel calcification and heart disease.
  
  

Vitamin D toxicity may cause blood vessel calcification, while vitamin K may help prevent this. 

What the Research Says About Vitamin D and K2

Although these strings of evidence may seem supportive, a few missing puzzle pieces remain. While extremely high doses of vitamin D may lead to dangerously high calcium levels and blood vessel calcification, it is still unclear if lower doses of vitamin D are harmful in the long term. In 2007, one nutritionist proposed that high doses of vitamin D may deplete vitamin K, potentially causing vitamin K deficiency. More research is needed before the validity of this theory can be fully confirmed. No substantial evidence proves that moderate amounts of vitamin D are harmful without adequate vitamin K intake. However, research is ongoing, and the picture might become more apparent shortly.

Related Reading

• Vitamin D3 and K2 Benefits for Hair
• Does D3 and K2 Help With Weight Loss?
• Vitamin D3 and K2 Benefits for Skin
• Benefits of Vitamin K2 and D3
• Can You Take D3 Without K2?

How to Take a Combination of Vitamin D and Vitamin K

Vitamin D is sold as a pill, powder, or liquid, most commonly in D3. It can also be prescribed as an injection for higher doses. Vitamin K can be taken as a pill, powder, or liquid. K2 is the most readily available, but some forms with K1 are also on the market.

Newborns and some rare medical circumstances might require an injection, usually in the form of K1. If your healthcare provider has recommended you take vitamin D and K, you can use two separate products. You could take a combination product that contains vitamins D and K. Combination products use vitamin D3 and the MK-4 or MK-7 forms of vitamin K2, either as a pill or a liquid. The products might include additional ingredients, such as bone or heart health, depending on how they are being marketed. 

How Much Vitamin D Should You Take?  

Dosing for vitamin D can get confusing because two different measurement systems are commonly used. You might get a dose measured in international units (IU) or micrograms. For reference, 400 IU vitamin D is the same as 10 mcg. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends people 1-70 years old get around 600 IU (15 mcg) of vitamin D a day.

This would include intake from dietary and supplement sources. Other medical societies might have different recommendations. A commonly prescribed dose to prevent osteoporosis is 800-1000 IU (20-25 mcg) daily. Some experts recommend higher doses, especially if blood tests show someone is deficient. 

How Much Vitamin K Should You Take?  

The NIH notes that 0.12 milligrams (mg), or 120 mcg, daily should provide adequate vitamin K intake for men 19 or older, and 0.09 mg (90 mcg) should do the same for women. This total could include diet and, if needed, supplements.

It’s unclear what the ideal intake should be or if K1 and K2 might be required. These amounts might provide enough vitamin K to prevent bleeds but not for its other potential benefits, like promoting bone health.

Can You Overdo D3 and K2?

Vitamin D may be unsafe if taken at very high doses for long periods, especially in people who don't have an underlying deficiency. Very high vitamin D levels can increase the risks of hypercalcemia, which can be dangerous. When it occurs, hypercalcemia might cause nausea, constipation, and an increased risk of kidney stones. If severe, hypercalcemia can even cause coma or heart rhythm problems.

Although some people might need higher doses for short periods, the NIH recommends 4000 IU (100 mcg) as the maximum amount of vitamin D an adult should take daily through food and supplements. The NIH does not establish an upper limit on the amount of Vitamin K a person should have due to its low potential for toxicity.

Related Reading

• Best Vitamin D3 and K2 Supplements
• Best Time to Take Vitamin D3 and K2
• Liposomal D3 + K2 Benefits
• Best Organic Vitamin D3 and K2 Supplements

Improve Your Health Today with Our Premium Liposomal Vitamin Supplements with Free Shipping :)

Eya Vitamins offers premium liposomal vitamin supplements paired with personalized wellness support. Our unique approach combines high-quality supplements with complimentary one-on-one access to registered dietitians, ensuring you're supported throughout your health journey.

We stand out through our commitment to:

• Rigorous quality control

• Complete transparency in product composition

• Comprehensive nutritional guidance

Focus on a Holistic Approach

What sets us apart isn't just our superior supplements; we believe health is a holistic journey unique to each individual. Whether seeking nutritional advice, working toward fitness goals, or simply wanting to enhance your overall well-being, you'll have a dedicated registered dietitian as your wellness guide, available whenever you need support.

At Eya Vitamins, we're not just selling supplements but partnering with you on your path to vibrant health. Take your first step towards vibrant health by ordering our premium liposomal vitamin supplements today with free shipping!