Did you know there is more than one type of Vitamin K?
You've likely heard that Vitamin K is important for blood clotting. That's actually how it became known as Vitamin "K", after the Danish word "Koagulation". Coagulation is the process of blood clotting.
K1 and K2 are molecular cousins that have completely different sources and functions. K1 is involved in clotting, while K2 is involved in the transportation of calcium into your bones. K1 is found in green leafy vegetables while K2 is found in animal fat or natto.
K2 is included in Vitamin D to the Rescue for two primary reasons:
Evidence is accumulating that the modern human is deficient in the nutrient. More on that in another post soon!
Vitamin K2 and Vitamin D3 are both fat-soluble vitamins and seem to work together synergistically. Vitamin D helps your gut absorb dietary calcium and Vitamin K2 helps direct that calcium into your bones by activating carrier proteins that act as a shuttle for calcium floating in your blood-stream.
For further reading, we suggest you check out this book by Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue for an in-depth discussion of K2 and calcium.