You may know that vitamin D and calcium are a winning combination for bone health, especially in the prevention of osteoporosis. It has been known for many years that vitamin D allows a good absorption of calcium. Much less well known is the fact that vitamin K, vitamin K2 to be precise, is another player in bone health and helps prevent bone fractures.

A study published in Osteoporosis International found that supplementation with vitamins K, D3, and calcium is likely to reduce fractures in postmenopausal women.
While in allopathic medicine, drugs combined with calcium supplementation seem to be the most attractive answer for strong bones, it seems that a healthy diet, regular sun exposure and supplementation, if needed, is a much more effective way to keep bones healthy.
Researchers have learned that vitamins K1 and D3, combined with calcium, reduce the likelihood of fracture by 20 percent. By combining K2 with vitamin D3 and calcium, this probability decreases by 25 percent.

Vitamin K exists in two forms:

1. K1: Found mainly in leafy green vegetables, vitamin K1 helps with blood clotting.
2. K2: it is practically absent from our diet, results from fermentation and is produced by bacteria. It is present in large quantities in the intestines, but unfortunately this is not where it is absorbed.

When supplementing with calcium and vitamin D for bone health, it is important to add vitamin K2. These three nutrients have a synergistic effect. Indeed, calcium and vitamin D are dependent on vitamin K. Vitamin K2 activates osteocalcin, which is necessary to bind calcium to the bone matrix. This same osteocalcin also prevents calcium deposits in the arteries and thus undesirable calcification of blood vessels.
As already mentioned, vitamin D3 helps the body to absorb calcium. Vitamin K can be considered a "circulating agent", as it allows the vitamin to be placed where it is needed. Without the help of vitamin K2, the absorption of calcium, optimized by vitamin D3, could be in undesirable places, such as the coronary arteries. There is also evidence that vitamin D toxicity, although very rare in the form of D3, is caused by vitamin K2 deficiency.

Calcium and vitamins K2 and D3 are obviously available in supplement form, but it is just as possible to obtain them naturally via food and sunlight.
Calcium is especially best used if it comes from food. Some of the best sources include raw milk from pasture-raised cows, leafy greens and sesame seeds, to name a few. Vitamin D3 requires regular exposure of the skin to the sun. Vitamin K2, although less present in the diet than in our intestine, is mainly found in fermented products such as miso or natto.