Vitamin K

Vitamin K

A growing body of literature supports the concept that increased intake of vitamin K both from food as well as supplements can have a beneficial impact on bone health. While the term “vitamin K” may imply a single molecule, vitamin K is actually a group of similar molecular forms including K1 (phylloquinone) and K2 (menaquinone).

Liquid D and K has been specially formulated to include the most important molecular forms of vitamin K for optimal health.

Vitamin K1 is the most abundant form of vitamin K in the diet and is most often found in green vegetables such as spinach, lettuce and broccoli. Often this source of vitamin K is difficult to obtain in sufficient amounts from the diet, as the molecule can be bound tightly to the chloroplast membrane in the plant.

Vitamin K1 is well regarded for the important roles it plays in the body’s normal blood clotting mechanisms

Vitamin K2 is not commonly found in the diet; as only a few products including meats and certain fermented foods provide this relatively rare form of the vitamin. Vitamin K2 is actually comprised of a group of several different molecules, abbreviated as MK-n, where n represents a number.

MK-4, found in some animal meats and liver, and MK-7, found in fermented cheeses and soy products (Natto) are two of the most studied forms of vitamin K2. Supplementation with this vitamin is important as most people do not receive enough vitamin K2 from diet alone.

Human studies show that vitamin K plays important roles in bone health. Vitamin K has been shown to decrease calcium excretion and is involved in gamma-carboxylation of osteocalcin. Osteocalcin is important for healthy bone formation, as it facilitates the binding of calcium to hydroxyapatite (bone matrix).

Additional studies also indicate the vitamin K2 may play important roles in supporting cardiovascular health and normal arterial elasticity.

While Vitamin K1 has shown to be useful in some studies, vitamin K2 is thought to have additional, beneficial effects, as the body has a natural preference to accumulate this vitamin in tissues such as bone. MK-7, a natural form of vitamin K2, in particular has shown to have rapid bioavailability in the body and the low dosages required (45 mcg) can be effective for supporting bone health.