K2, THE COMPANION TO VITAMIN D

The benefits of vitamin D have already been discussed here. We know that vitamin D is important for bone, muscle, and nerve health but we have to be careful because vitamin D helps absorb calcium but calcium can also be absorbed in places we might not want calcium build up. One of the places we want to avoid calcium absorption is in your artery walls.

K2 seems to be a director of sorts. It tells the calcium where to go, vitamin D is so good at helping the body absorb calcium but K2 is vital to make sure the calcuim goes to the right place.

One example I can tell you about happens in football players. There is a common injury called a quadriceps contusion (bruise). That is why they have pads there. Well, if a player keeps getting hit in the quad, eventually the inflammation response will linger. As a side affect of uncontrolled inflammation is that the body might lay down some calcium in that area. It is just something the body does, it thinks it is helping resolve the issue. The same thing can happen in your artery walls. Plaque can build and inflammation sets in, calcium forms on the wall and the artery wall can stretch properly because the calcium deposits.

K2 helps the body direct calcium deposit in the places we should lay down calcium and not in the places we shouldn’t.

If you eat beef, drink milk, or use butter opt for grass fed. It has more K2. Also, always get K2 when ingesting vitamin D and calcium.