Vitamin K Supports Bone Mineral Density

A new study reports that vitamin K, in addition to calcium and vitamin D, provides further benefit to bone health. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin important for blood clotting, regulation of cell growth, and bone mineralization.

The subjects included 78 women over 60 years of age. The women received either a combination of 15 mg of vitamin K2 three times daily, 400 IU of vitamin D daily and 315 mg of calcium twice daily, or vitamin D and calcium without vitamin K to serve as the control group. The women were assessed at the beginning of the study and again after 6 months of supplementation for bone mineral density and undercarboxylated osteocalcin concentration, which is a hormone secreted by the cells that form bone and can be utilized as a marker of bone metabolism. Osteocalcin is dependant on vitamin K for carboxylation in the production of the hormone.

The results showed that the women receiving calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K had significantly enhanced bone mineral density in the lumbar spine (L3) after 6 months compared to the control group. Also, undercarboxylated osteocalcin was reduced in the group receiving vitamin K compared to the subjects in the control group.

The researchers concluded that the addition of vitamin K2 to vitamin D and calcium supplements in postmenopausal women enhanced bone mineral density and reduced the undercarboxylated osteocalcin concentration.

Reference:

Je SH, Joo NS, Choi BH, Kim KM, Kim BT, Park SB, Cho DY, Kim KN, Lee DJ. Vitamin K supplement along with vitamin D and calcium reduced serum concentration of undercarboxylated osteocalcin while increasing bone mineral density in Korean postmenopausal women over sixty-years-old. J Korean Med Sci. 2011 Aug;26(8):1093-8.