KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Vitamin K2 helps your body activate proteins that guide calcium to the right places.
- MK-4 comes mainly from animal foods, while MK-7 comes mainly from fermented foods and generally stays in the blood longer.
- There is no established target for vitamin K2 specifically. Eat a varied diet with eggs, meat, cheese, fermented foods and green vegetables.
- Speak to a healthcare professional before taking supplements, especially if you use blood thinners like warfarin.
It's Saturday morning at your usual kopitiam and eating your nasi lemak. You're scrolling through your phone when a tweet catches your eye: "Do you take your vitamin K2?"
"Vitamin what?" you stop.
If that was your reaction, you're not alone (and it's not too late). Most of us don't think about vitamin K2. We hear plenty about calcium for strong bones and vitamin D for calcium absorption. But vitamin K2? It rarely gets a mention. So, are we overlooking something important, such as our daily vitamin K2 intake?
What Is Vitamin K2, and Why Does It Matter?
Vitamin K is a nutrient your body needs for several important functions. It comes in two main forms:
- Vitamin K1: Found mainly in green vegetables.
- Vitamin K2: Found in certain fermented foods and animal products.
Both forms contribute to your body's vitamin K supply. Vitamin K helps your blood clot normally and also activates proteins involved in bone health and calcium regulation.
Think of your bones as a building site. Calcium is the pile of bricks, and vitamin D is the lorry that delivers them. Vitamin K2 is the site supervisor. It helps make sure the bricks end up where they belong and are not stacked in places they shouldn’t be.
In more technical terms, vitamin K2 helps activate a protein called osteocalcin, which supports calcium binding in bone tissue. Another protein, matrix Gla protein, helps regulate calcium in soft tissues.
Does taking extra K2 automatically give you stronger bones? Not quite. Researchers are still studying its potential benefits, so it is worth paying attention to.
What Are the Different Forms of Vitamin K2?
Here’s where the label can get confusing. You pick up a bottle and see “MK-7” in brackets. Or you read online about “MK-4”. Are they the same thing?
Not quite.
Vitamin K2 isn’t one single compound. It is a family of related compounds called menaquinones, shortened to “MK” followed by a number. The number refers to the length of the compound’s side chain.
You’ll come across several, but MK-4 and MK-7 are the two you’ll hear about most.
Here is how the forms compare:
| Form | Where it comes from | What to know |
| Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) | Green vegetables such as sawi, spinach and broccoli | The main form in most diets. Your body can convert some of it into MK-4. |
| MK-4 | Animal products such as eggs, meat and liver | A short-chain form. It is generally cleared from the blood relatively quickly. |
| MK-7 | Fermented foods, especially natto | A longer-chain form made by bacteria. It generally stays in the blood longer than MK-4. |
| Other longer-chain forms (such as MK-8 and MK-9) | Some cheeses and fermented foods | Found in smaller amounts and less widely studied. |
Think of MK-4 as a sprinter and MK-7 as a marathon runner. Both are vitamin K2, but they behave differently in the body. MK-4 tends to be quick but short-lived, while MK-7 tends to hang around for much longer.
That is why MK-7 supplements are often taken once a day, while MK-4 products may suggest several smaller doses. Knowing which form can help you make sense of your daily vitamin K2 intake, especially when you read supplement labels.
SUMMARY:
MK-4 comes mainly from animal products and is generally cleared from the blood relatively quickly. MK-7 comes mainly from fermented foods and generally stays in the blood for longer.
What Is a Healthy Daily Vitamin K2 Intake?
Back at the kopitiam, you put your phone down and wonder: "Okay, so how much should I actually be getting?"
It's a fair question. What should your daily vitamin K2 intake be? The honest answer is that there isn't a widely accepted target. The NHS recommends around 1 mg of vitamin K per kilogram of body weight daily for adults. For example, someone weighing 65 kg would need approximately 65 micrograms daily.
However, this recommendation covers vitamin K overall, not vitamin K2 specifically. There is no established target for daily vitamin K2 intake in healthy adults.
Are You Getting Enough Vitamin K2 From Diet?
"So how do I know if I'm getting enough?" Honestly, nobody can tell just by looking at their plate.
It's a fair point. Without a specific target, how can you tell whether your vitamin K2 from diet is enough? Start by looking at your usual eating habits rather than worrying about every meal.
Perhaps you eat eggs most mornings and have chicken or fish for lunch. Maybe fermented foods rarely appear on your plate. These details help describe your diet, but they cannot tell you precisely what your daily vitamin K2 intake is.
Why is it so difficult to know? There are a few reasons:
- Vitamin K2 levels vary between foods
- Reliable measurements aren't available for every food
- Similar products can contain different amounts
- There are no reliable everyday symptoms that specifically identify low K2 intake
Severe vitamin K deficiency can affect normal blood clotting. However, it is uncommon in healthy adults, and symptoms alone cannot establish the cause.
Which Foods Contain Vitamin K2?
Now for the fun part: THE FOOD! You don't need to overhaul your Malaysian meals or hunt for unusual ingredients. Vitamin K2 occurs in certain fermented foods and animal products, although amounts vary considerably. Foods high in vitamin K2 include natto, while others provide smaller or more variable amounts:
| Food | What to know |
| Eggs | Egg yolks contain some vitamin K2 |
| Chicken and meat | Can provide varying amounts |
| Liver | Contains vitamin K2, although levels depend on the source |
| Cheese | Certain varieties contain vitamin K2 |
| Tempeh | A familiar fermented soybean food, but K2 levels vary |
What About Natto?
Natto is made from fermented soybeans and contains particularly high amounts of vitamin K2. Natto isn't a staple in most Malaysian households, and its texture and strong smell may take some getting used to.
Never tried natto? You're certainly not alone. You don't have to eat it to understand vitamin K2 or maintain a balanced diet.
What About Familiar Malaysian Foods?
Here's the good news: your everyday meals are not a blank slate. Eggs, chicken and meat are familiar ingredients in many Malaysian households. They can contribute to vitamin K2 intake, although their exact amounts vary.
Tempeh is another food worth knowing about. It provides protein and other nutrients, but fermentation doesn't guarantee high vitamin K2 levels.
Don't overlook vegetables such as sawi, spinach, and broccoli, either. They provide vitamin K1, which contributes to your overall vitamin K supply.
SUMMARY:
Natto is exceptionally rich in vitamin K2, while eggs, meat, cheese and some fermented foods provide varying amounts. Green vegetables supply vitamin K1.
Should You Take Vitamin K2 Supplements?
Walk into any pharmacy and you'll find a shelf of bottles with bold promises like "stronger bones in 30 days". When you're unsure about your nutrient intake, grabbing one can feel like the easy answer.
Taking a capsule certainly feels simpler than researching every meal. But does simpler automatically mean better? Not always.
Vitamin K2 supplements are available, but their benefits depend on why you're considering them. Researchers continue studying whether supplementation can improve bone health or influence cardiovascular outcomes.
Before choosing a supplement, consider these points:
- Your needs: A pharmacist or doctor can assess your circumstances. They can also advise whether your daily vitamin K2 intake needs extra support
- The evidence: Be cautious about products promising guaranteed improvements in bone or heart health
- Your medicines: Vitamin K can interact with warfarin, an anticoagulant used to prevent blood clots
If you take warfarin, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before starting supplements or significantly changing your vitamin K intake.
How Can You Make Better Choices?
You don't need to turn every meal into a nutritional calculation. Think of it less like sitting an exam and more like packing a good lunchbox. A bit of everything, nothing extreme.
A few practical steps can help:
- Eat a variety of foods that suit your preferences and dietary needs
- Include green vegetables to support your overall vitamin K intake
- Remember that different foods contain different amounts of nutrients
- Avoid relying on supplements to compensate for an unbalanced diet
- Ask a healthcare professional about specific concerns
Remember, a higher daily vitamin K2 intake isn't automatically better. The aim is to meet your nutritional needs, not consume as much as possible. Other nutrients and your broader eating habits matter, too.
The Bottom Line
Vitamin K2 helps activate proteins involved in bone health and calcium regulation. However, there isn’t an established target for daily vitamin K2 intake that applies to everyone.
Eggs, meat, cheese and certain fermented foods can contribute to your intake. Green vegetables also supply vitamin K1, which supports your body’s overall vitamin K needs.
Do you need to rush out and buy supplements today? Probably not. Start by understanding your usual diet and considering your broader nutritional needs.
Still curious about how vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 are paired together in supplements? A pharmacist or doctor is the best person to ask. If you’d like to explore further, Nano Singapore offers a Vitamin K2 + D3 Complex as well as Calcium. The K2 + D3 Complex uses MK-7, the longer-lasting form of vitamin K2 we covered earlier. Each capsule fits along with black pepper extract to support the absorption.
Is vitamin K2 the same as vitamin K?
Vitamin K2 is one form of vitamin K. Vitamin K1 is found mainly in green vegetables, while K2 occurs in certain fermented foods and animal products.
Should you take vitamin K2 with vitamin D3?
Not everyone needs to take these supplements together. Speak to a healthcare professional about your circumstances before starting supplementation.
Can you take too much vitamin K2?
Evidence about the long-term effects of high supplemental doses remains limited. People taking warfarin should seek medical advice before changing their vitamin K intake.
Can you tell if your vitamin K2 intake is too low?
There are no reliable everyday symptoms that specifically identify low vitamin K2 intake. A healthcare professional can help assess your concerns and nutritional needs.
References:
- Myneni, V. D., & Mezey, E. (2017). Regulation of bone remodeling by vitamin K2. Oral Diseases, 23(8), 1021–1028. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7598164/
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (n.d.). Vitamin K: Fact sheet for health professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminK-HealthProfessional/
- Osteocalcin. (n.d.). In ScienceDirect Topics. Elsevier. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/osteocalcin
