What Is Vitamin K All About?

- Emily Kane, ND, LAc

Q: I recently heard vitamin K referred to as the “new” vitamin D. What is vitamin K all about? — Daniela F., Carson City, Nev.

A: As we have become an increasingly indoor society, we’ve come to recognize the risks of deficiencies in vitamin D (which is produced by sun exposure) and the subsequent need to supplement with vitamin D3. Similarly, vitamin K2 has gone “missing” from many of our diets because its most abundant natural source is chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll is passed through the mammalian digestive tract into the Mo to bloodstream and then into the mammary gland. So in the past, humans got this nutrient from drinking cow’s milk. But modern ranchers tend to feed their cows corn, rather than grass, and cows that eat corn do not produce vitamin K2– rich milk.

VITAMIN K AND D WORK TOGETHER

Adequate levels of vitamin K2 help prevent a variety of health issues, including diabetes, arthritis, neurode generative diseases, cancer, kidney disease, osteoporosis, and infertility. Both D3 and K2 are also involved with calcium metabolism. It’s a good thing scientists discovered the need for vitamin D3 supplements, as they help put calcium into bones, as well as expedite wound healing, improve mood, and lessen pain. However, vitamin D3 without vitamin K2 also places calcium into soft  tissue—something you don’t want. This is known as the calcium paradox.