Vitamin D
Vitamin D3 naturally occurs almost exclusively in animal sources, particularly in fish, dairy products, eggs and meat. Plants, such as lichens and various fungi, contain only very small amounts of the much less effective form of vitamin D2.
Vitamin D plays a very important role in the body. It is one of the few vitamins that is not absorbed directly from food, but rather produced by skin cells from sunlight. It is not a vitamin in the traditional sense of the word, but rather a pro-hormone.
Vitamin D is still being intensively researched. New mechanisms of action of this fascinating vitamin are discovered almost every year. So far, the following statements on vitamin D have been released by the EU (EFSA):
Vitamin D contributes to:
- Normal absorption and utilisation of calcium and phosphorus
- Normal calcium levels in the blood
- The maintenance of bones
- The maintenance of normal muscle function
- The maintenance of healthy teeth
- Normal immune system functioning
- Cell division
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is found in nature as vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and vitamin K2 (menaquinone), with vitamin K2 appearing to be the more active of the two forms. Phylloquinone is mainly found in plants, while menaquinone is produced by some human intestinal bacteria or is found in foods fermented by microorganisms, such as sauerkraut or the Japanese dish natto.
Vitamin K2
Vitamin K2 activates a range of special proteins in the body that play a role in important metabolic processes, including the transport and utilisation of calcium, blood clotting, the regulation of cell division, cell differentiation, cell migration and important repair processes in various vessels and organs.
As far as their effects on the body, virtually every health authority currently treats the vitamins of the K group as one. Accordingly, statements released for vitamin K1 are also attributed to vitamin K2.
Vitamin K contributes to:
- normal blood clotting
- the maintenance of normal bones
Original K2Vital®: Vitamin K2 all-trans MK-7 from Norway
Vitamin K2 exists in various forms, which have different levels of effectiveness. Vitamin K2 MK-7 is considered by far the most effective form of K2 today. However, since vitamin K2 molecules occur in a variety chemical structures (the so-called cis–trans isomers of vitamin K2), there are considerable differences in efficacy even between different vitamin K2 MK-7 compounds. It is believed that only the trans forms can be utilised by the body.
Our original K2VITAL® vitamin K2 from Norway is one of the few commercial supplements that consists of at least 99.7% highly effective all-trans MK-7, guaranteed by Norwegian laboratory testing.
Vitamin K2 & Vitamin D
Vitamin K2 is the most important cofactor of vitamin D in the regulation of calcium metabolism. Together, the two vitamins control bone-building as well as breaking down cells and important transport molecules that ensure the correct utilisation of calcium.
