Vitamin D 2000-5,000 IU and Vitamin K2 320 microgram – June 2018

The Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 Connection: Understanding the Mechanisms, What to Test, and How Much D3 and K2 to Take Dr. Alex Rinehart

• Recommends Vitamin D 40-80 ng/mL, with 50-70ng/mL being an even more optimal sweet spot
• “Once calcium is absorbed or released in the blood, it still needs to be told where to go! That is why vitamin K2 status is crucial to healthy calcium balance in the body.”
• “K2-4 is only available as a synthetic supplement and metabolized quickly by the body. The longer K2-7 is non-synthetic & stays in your blood for 24-72 hours. K2-7 can be taken once daily to maintain K2 levels, whereas K2-4 is taken a few times per day.”
• “If you're looking for a baseline recommendation for D3 and K2 supplementation. 2000-5000 IU of D3 ("cholecalciferol) and up to 320mcg/day of vitamin K2-7 (found in Megaquinone K2-7) are popular and safe ways to go as long as you're periodically checking at least your 25-OH vitamin D levels (storage; calcidiol).”
• He uses active Vitamin D as an indicator of Vitamin K2 needs
• Lots of details in the article

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See also VitaminDWiki

• Vitamin D and Vitamin K together fight CVD Part 1- Pizzorno
• Importance of Vitamin K – Pizzorno – July 2018
• Adding just vitamin D again failed to add bone density (also need Magnesium, Vitamin K, etc) – RCT Aug 2018
• Multiple Sclerosis patients have 3X less Vitamin K2 in their blood – March 2018
  • In addition to low Vitamin D
• Vitamin K and bone – review Oct 2017
• Mortality associated with Vitamin K insufficiency (PREVEND Study) – Nov 2017
• Should increase Vitamin K when increasing Vitamin D – RCT Jan 2019

Overview Vitamin K and Vitamin D contains the following summary

Vitamin K2 is similar to D3 in many ways

1. Both vitamins were initially confused with its lesser form (D2 ==> D3, K1 ==> K2)
2. Both vitamins appear to influence health in large number of ways
3. Both vitamins in the body are about 1/10 that of a century ago
   Example: Grass-fed beef has a lot more K2, D3, and Magnesium
4. Need very little of both vitamins: <1 milligram daily
5. When Vitamin D3 is increased, it appears that Vitamin K2 should also be increased
6. Vitamin K2 understanding and research is about 20 years behind that of Vitamin D3
   One of the reasons: No simple blood test for K2 as of Dec 2024