Vitamin K2: Is a supplement a good idea?
About this episode
Monica Reinagel discusses the complexities of vitamin K2 and its role in bone health, examining whether supplements are beneficial.
876. There's no vitamin F or G. After E, we jump straight to K, and that quirk is a hint that this nutrient is more complicated than it looks. Vitamin K isn't one thing. It's a whole family of compounds -- K1, K2, MK-4, MK-7 -- that come from different sources and do completely different jobs, from blood clotting to steering calcium into your bones instead of your artery walls. In this episode, Monica untangles the confusing terminology and gets to the question listeners keep asking: does a vitamin K2 supplement actually protect your bones? She digs into what the research really shows, including a widely cited meta-analysis that lumped together two very different kinds of studies, why the prescription-strength results don't tell you much about the low-dose supplement in your cabinet, and whether the food and gut bacteria you already have might be doing the job on their own. Plus, the truth about taking vitamin K with your vitamin D. New to Nutrition Diva? Check out our special Spotify playlist for a collection of the best episodes curated by our team and Monica herself! We've also curated some great playlists on specific episode topics including Staying Strong as We Age…
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