Building Stronger Bones:
The Power of Vitamin D3 & K2
In previous posts, I’ve highlighted the importance of weight-bearing exercises—especially jumping—for building stronger bones. While exercise is key, supporting bone health with food and supplements is just as crucial.
We've all heard about the importance of calcium for building strong bones, but did you know that the synergistic partnership of vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 plays a pivotal role in ensuring that calcium gets to the right places—like your bones—and stays out of places it shouldn't, like your arteries?
Taking vitamin D3 with K2 ensures optimal bone health, supports immune function, and helps prevent harmful calcification in the cardiovascular system. Here's how it works:
The Role of Vitamin D3 and K2:
Vitamin D3 is essential for calcium absorption in the gut and helps maintain optimal calcium levels in the blood, which is critical for bone health, immune function, and muscle performance. However, without vitamin K2, calcium can end up in soft tissues like arteries, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular problems.
Vitamin K2 activates proteins that help bind calcium to your bones, ensuring proper calcium deposition in the bone matrix while preventing it from accumulating in the arteries. This is essential for both bone and cardiovascular health.
How to Get Vitamin D3 and K2:
Vitamin D3:
Sunlight is the best source. About 10-30 minutes of midday sun several times a week can provide enough vitamin D, depending on factors like skin type and location. Try the Dminder app to help you optimize your sun exposure for vitamin D.
Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna), cod liver oil, and egg yolks provide good sources.
Fortified foods: Many dairy products, plant-based milks, cereals, and orange juice are fortified with vitamin D.
Supplements: If you have limited sun exposure, supplements are a great option.
Vitamin K2:
Fermented foods like natto (the richest source), sauerkraut, and kimchi provide vitamin K2.
Organ meats, especially liver from grass-fed animals, are rich in K2.
Egg yolks from pastured chickens and dairy products (like cheese, butter, and yogurt from grass-fed animals) are also good sources.
Supplements: K2 is available in supplements, often as MK-7 or MK-4.
Recommended Daily Intake:
Vitamin D3: 600-800 IU (15-20 mcg) for most adults. Higher doses may be needed for those with low vitamin D levels or limited sun exposure.
Vitamin K2: The recommended intake is still being studied, but general guidance suggests 90-120 mcg per day. For optimal bone and cardiovascular health, some research recommends 150-200 mcg per day, especially in the MK-7 form.
Since vitamins D3 and K2 work together, getting enough of both is essential for bone, cardiovascular, and immune health. If you're considering supplementation, consult your healthcare provider to tailor your needs.
Do you supplement with Vitamin D3 and K2?
How about getting vitamin D from the sun?
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I'm Lisa Thompson, a Functional Nutritionist (FNTP) and I'd like to guide you on a journey to optimal health by providing education, support, accountability, motivation and inspiration. Using a holistic approach, I look deeply at how all of our inter-dependent systems work uniquely, and specifically in each of us- keeping in mind the bigger picture and LIFESTYLE choices that impact our well-being. For instance: how and when we eat, whether we get good sleep, what role exercise plays in our life, and how community, friends, family and belief systems impact our health and vitality.
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