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Type 2 D3 and K2 potential benefits?

Ryhia

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,437
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
A friend has told me that taking D3 and K2 together can potentially reduce insulin resistance. Also supposed to improve bone health and cardiovascular health. Anyone know anything about this or tried these supplements out?
 
In my opinion, the only real way to reduce [hyperinsulinemic] resistance - which is commonplace in T2 - is to stop putting glucose into the body and continue burning off what's already there. All the supplements in the world will not remove any sugar.

That's not to say that some things wont help regulate blood glucose to a small degree, but nothing will remove glucose from the body except removing it from the diet. Personally I wouldn't be expecting much improvement to T2DM by taking vitamins.
 
I don't have any information on insulin resistance reduction, but these two vitamins are processed in the liver to assist with mineral binding to bones. This may well be of benefit to some people, but bear in mind that many of us have changes with our liver metabolism as well as abnormal pancreas metabolism, and they may not be processed in the same way as with a normal metabolism. I would speak to your GP or at least a pharmacist, before trying this.
 
ryhopian said:
A friend has told me that taking D3 and K2 together can potentially reduce insulin resistance. Also supposed to improve bone health and cardiovascular health. Anyone know anything about this or tried these supplements out?
Click to expand...

If you google it, you'll get quite a bit of info. k2 can remove calcium from your arteries, it works well with D3 which needs K2 to activate it properly, they both need each other to do their jobs. Vitamin A, another important mineral is activated by K2 as far as I'm aware. K2 also plays a very important roll in bone mineral density. There are a lot of studies showing this and how it all works. There are a number of podcasts about the importance of K2 from Ivor cummins and Dr.Ken berry.

Foods that are good sources of K2 are eggs, dark chicken meat, natto, liver.

I take D and K2, I have a vitd deficiency if I don't take it. So, I take K2 with it. It does improve insulin sensitivity in my case, quite a lot. So, that is something that should be made aware of for anyone taking blood glucose lowering medications.
 
Vitamin D3 also helps with maintaining the immune system. Vitamin D is produced naturally by the body when exposed to sunlight, but as we don't get much of that between October and April it is recommended that Vitamin D supplement should be taken during those months at least.
I take Vitamin D3 and K2 which helps the D3 to be absorbed.
If you are vegetarian/vegan you should be aware that D3 supplements are made from animal sources, but D2 is from vegetable sources.
 
I consider there being no point in supplementing D3 unless you take K2 at the same time, and there are plenty of experts who say that almost all of those living in northern climes need some level of vit D supplementation. The benefits of sufficient Vit D3 are huge. Bone health, immune system, sunburn resistance, dental health, lifting depression, and vit K is usually deficient in the western diet, with implications for calcification of arteries, bone, teeth and heart health.

Well worth reading up on both and if you decide to supplement then make sure you are buying decent quality and taking adequate amounts. Personally, I consider generic chainstore multivits and mins inadequate and a waste of money.

I can’t recall seeing anything about vit D/K benefiting insulin resistance, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that expecting a body to function at its best while experiencing chronic nutritional deficiency, is asking too much of it.
 
I had a doctor's appointment yesterday about something unrelated but when he said "is there anything else" I asked about vitamin D. He said that the normal blood test doesn't test directly for vitamin D but one of the things measured, I think it was a kidney function, would show up a possible shortage. He said if you are in the south of the UK and you get at least 30mins a day of sunlight on bare arms etc. between March and September that should be enough to last you the rest of the year.
 
If you want to find out more about vitamin D and K2 - then there is a podcast produced by the vitamin D council
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vitamin-d-council-podcast - whilst I wouldn't take anything said as gospel ( they are promoting vitamin D - so it will be all about the benefits - there are then independent podcasts you can use to find out more

eg Ivor Cummins aka Fat Emperor - esp. this episode
https://thefatemperor.com/want-to-r...ion-and-heart-disease-heres-how-podcast-ep21/

which discusssd the relationship betweeen Vit D. & K and heart disease.
 
I take Adcal + D3 on prescription as preds have a deleterious effect on bones so I take K2 as it, or so I have read, helps with the uptake of calcium into the bones.

My wife gets very upset as it annoys her that in all the time I have been taking steroids I have never had a bone density test.
 
It's probably worth me adding further clarity to my comments above: short term insulin sensitivity can be affected by all kinds of things from apple cider vinegar to cinnamon to a short walk. But if we're talking about real insulin 'resistance' typical of T2 (hyperinsulinemia) then there's very little substitute for cutting glucose from the diet.

For sure there may be some minor glucose control benefits from all kinds of supplements, but I think it would be wise not to expect miracles.
 
My (new) GP did include Vit D test with last 2 HbA1c tests, and both showed normal levels. I do try to get time out in the sun during Spring/Summer & Winter, and I go somewhere sunny, usually Thailand now, for 4 weeks in January/February.
 

I take steroids as part of transplantation therapy and have done since 1997.... I had a BMD done about 4 yrs ago and another 2 years later. It certainly does some damage over time, but I'm reversing the terrible effects of pred on bone loss. So will probably have another scan in about a year to see how that is progressing.

Maybe you should ask for one, if you want one?
 
Wife works in rheumatology department of local hospital what annoys her is their pationents who are on steroids routinely have bone density checks without the need to request one when next I see my neurologist at the same hospital one floor down from where she works I shall raise the matter with him.

Incedently I have been on steroids for about twenty odd years also. No fun is it?
 
Hi folks thanks to everyone for their contributions and for sharing their knowledge and experience. Brilliant again as usual. I will check out the pod casts and references posted as it looks like taking these supplements might be beneficial to me for other reasons such as cardio vascular health.
 
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