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Vitamin D is a very special vitamin - in several ways: It belongs to the group of fat-soluble vitamins and, unlike water-soluble vitamins, it can therefore be stored in the body. Because fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed along with fats, concomitant addition of fats may increase the absorption of these vitamins. However, this also means that people who eat very low-fat foods only get a small amount of these vitamins into their bodies. In addition, vitamin D is the only vitamin that the body can produce on its own - by staying in the sun. Vitamin D is important for a number of metabolic processes. However, for this, the so-called calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol) must first be converted into a usable form in the skin, liver and kidneys. Vitamin D hormones, known as calcitriol derivatives, are needed mainly in the intestines and kidneys, as well as in the bones, muscles and nerves. They affect the balance of calcium and phosphates and ensure sufficient absorption and storage of calcium. However, the prohormone also plays an important role in many other biological processes, especially in relation to the immune system.
Two forms of vitamin K are distinguished, K1 (phylloquinone) and K2 (menaquinone). They are one of the basic, fat-soluble vitamins, although the body can produce a very small amount of vitamin K on its own.
Vitamin K2 is considered to be the most valuable of these two substances. On the one hand, unlike K1, it also has anti-inflammatory properties, on the other hand, because it appears to have a more important function for bone, cartilage and blood vessel health than K1 and also to be distributed more rapidly in the body.
The combination of vitamin D and vitamin K plays an important role, especially when it comes to bone health. In bone mineralization, vitamin D is responsible for producing the protein osteocalcin. Vitamin K2 is needed to activate this protein. Vitamin K-activated osteocalcin can bind calcium and thus promote bone formation.
