Vitamin D3 + K2
Vitamin D is important for your overall health and wellbeing. It supports normal immune and muscle function and helps your body absorb the calcium needed to maintain healthy bones and teeth.
A blood test can be used to check your vitamin D levels. Low levels do not always cause noticeable symptoms, but a severe deficiency can lead to bone pain, muscle weakness and softer bones. Dry skin, tiredness or changes in mood can have many different causes, so these symptoms alone do not necessarily mean that you are deficient in vitamin D.
### Why take vitamin D3 with vitamin K2?
Vitamin D3 helps your body absorb calcium, while vitamin K2 activates proteins involved in normal bone mineralisation and calcium regulation. This means the two vitamins have complementary roles in supporting healthy bones and teeth.
Some studies suggest that taking vitamins D and K together may support bone mineral density, particularly in postmenopausal women and people with osteoporosis. However, the current evidence is not strong enough to claim that D3 and K2 prevent arterial stiffness, heart disease or fractures in everyone.
It is also not entirely accurate to say that K2 “directs” calcium away from the arteries or that vitamin D automatically causes calcium to become trapped in the bloodstream. Excessive vitamin D intake can cause abnormally high calcium levels, but vitamin K2 does not make high doses of vitamin D safe.
A severe vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Severe vitamin K deficiency can affect normal blood clotting and lead to unusual bruising or bleeding. Low vitamin K levels may be associated with poor dietary intake, fat-malabsorption conditions or certain medicines.
Vitamin D3 and K2 may work well together, but not everyone needs a combined supplement. Anyone taking warfarin or another vitamin K antagonist should speak to a doctor or pharmacist before taking a vitamin K2 supplement.