Vitamin D
Vitamin D has gotten a lot of attention in recent years, and has even been nicknamed “the nutrient of the decade” by many scientists and researchers because it’s been associated with so many health benefits.
It’s essential to the health of most organs, including the brain, heart, skin, reproductive glands, prostate gland and mammary glands. It’s involved in your immune system, plays a role in bone strength, reducing tumor growth, reducing your chances of developing cancer, MS, and even diabetes. It’s linked to protecting you from heart disease, weight gain, depression, and so much more. To put it simply: vitamin D helps you from head to toe.
This flip side of this is the average levels of Vitamin D have dropped over the past decade to the point that, according to a recent study, 77% of Americans have insufficient amounts. Obesity is one of the reasons for this increase because fat retains Vitamin D, making it less available to the rest of the body. Fat cells are notorious for stealing nutrients from all over the body.
There’s also one other link to this deficiency, and that’s how vitamin D works in conjunction with vitamin K2.
Vitamin K2
Vitamin K2 is an important accompaniment to Vitamin D, without which Vitamin D cannot work properly. And the form of K2 is critical. Only the MK-7 form lasts a long time in the bloodstream. The MK-4 version is a synthetic product that lasts only a third as long as MK-7, which comes only from whole foods. Any high potency Vitamin D formula without vitamin K2 in MK-7 form can create deficiencies.
Vitamin K2 mainly works to keep blood vessels free of calcium buildup and ensures calcium is used in the bones. It helps protect you from osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer, and more. Teaming up with vitamin D, they activate what’s called the Matrix GLA Protein (MGP), which helps clear calcium deposits out of your arteries.
So, even if you do get ample sunshine, you can become vitamin D deficient if you don’t have enough vitamin K2 to back it up.
Vitamin K1
This nutrient plays a vital role in blood clotting, bone metabolism and regulating blood calcium levels. While K2 is found in fermented foods and produced by gut bacteria, K1 is found in vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables.
Vitamin A
While there’s this fear of taking in too much vitamin A, you still need it on a daily basis. It is one of the essential vitamins you have to get from food. Vitamin A helps protect your eyes from night blindness and age-related decline.
It also supports a healthy immune system and has been shown to help protect from certain cancers. In observational studies, eating higher amounts of vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene has been linked to a decreased risk of certain types of cancer, including Hodgkin's lymphoma, as well as cervical, lung and bladder cancer.
Vitamin A is tied to bone health. It is necessary for proper bone growth and development, helping reduce the risk of fractures.
