Vitamin D
Vitamin D plays a very important role. It is one of the few vitamins that is not absorbed directly from food, but rather produced by skin cells from sunlight. It is not a vitamin in the traditional sense of the word, but rather a pro-hormone.
In contrast to many other vitamins, vitamin D is converted into an important hormone which regulates cell functioning and bodily processes. Almost all bodily cells have special receptors for the vitamin D hormone that are dependent on sufficient supply.
Vitamin K2
Vitamin K2 is one of the most important cofactors of vitamin D. Vitamin K2 activates a series of transport proteins that ensure the specific utilisation of calcium. Together, the two vitamins control bone-building and breaking down cells.
Vitamin D is still the subject of intensive research. New mechanisms of action of this fascinating vitamin are discovered almost every year. To date, the following statements on vitamin D have been approved by the EU (EFSA):
Vitamin D contributes to:
- Normal absorption and utilisation of calcium and phosphorus
- Normal calcium levels in the blood
- The maintenance of bones
- The maintenance of normal muscle function
- The maintenance of healthy teeth
- Normal immune system functioning
- Cell division
Currently, almost all authorities do not consider vitamin K2 separately, but all K vitamins together. Accordingly, the statements released for vitamin K1 currently apply to vitamin K2.
Vitamin K contributes to:
- normal blood clotting
- the maintenance of normal bones
