The Key to D

Vitamin D - specifically, D3 - can be acquired 2 ways: through sunlight and through food and supplements.  As such, I'm giving you 2 songs on this post. The reason - technically, 2 reasons - that I'm using the first song might be more evident than the second song. It is "Waiting For the Sun" by The Doors. Reason #1: the sun is a fantastic source of Vitamin D. Reason #2: The "D"-oors! OK, it may be a silly reason, but there is more behind my choice of The Doors. Vitamin D isn't as simple as it may seem and you should have a key to unlock the 'D'-oor - hence, the title of this post.
The second song that I chose is "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down. There are also a couple of reasons why I chose this song. Of course, 'D'oors but also because of '3.' Vitamin D3 is really what we want to acquire through food and/or supplements because it is more absorbable/effective than D1 and D2. As well, D2 is synthetic and should be completely avoided! Title of the song also has multiple reasons for its selection. Vitamin D supplement could be your kryptonite if you don't, properly consume it (if you don't know the reference of kryptonite, look up Superman...). So, how do you properly supplement your Vitamin D? Consume it with Vitamin K! Get it? D3 - 3 Doors, K - 'k'-ryptonite? OK, so kryptonite is harmful to Superman/Super Girl but Vitamin K is beneficial to us... Still, I couldn't resist using this song.

So, I may have been a bit off by stating that K is the key to D, but if you are supplementing with Vitamin D3, you really should also supplement with Vitamin K2.

Essentially, taking Vitamin D as a supplement can lead to too much calcium in your blood. This can then cause the hardening of your arteries! Rather than spending too much time to describe all of that here, I recommend that you check it out HERE - the Vitamin D Council website.

What does Vitamin K do for us?

Here's what Dr. Andrew Weil says about Vitamin K:

"Vitamin K is an essential nutrient necessary for responding to injuries – it regulates normal blood clotting. In addition, by assisting the transport of calcium throughout the body, Vitamin K may also be helpful for bone health: it may reduce bone loss, and decrease risk of bone fractures. It also may help to prevent calcification of arteries and other soft tissue."

While it isn't quite the key to Vitamin D, Vitamin K reduces the potential for negative side effects and improves the definite benefits of supplementing with Vitamin D.