NutraCast: Dr. Andrew Myers, CEO and Chief Science Officer of NutraGenetics

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Overcoming micronutrient deficiencies could become part of an effective strategy in the fight against COVID-19. While vitamin D supplementation has gained wide attention amid the pandemic, in the shadows is a lesser known but equally important nutrient: vitamin K2.

Dr. Andrew Myers, CEO and Chief Science Officer of NutraGenetics, said in order to understand vitamin K2, you must first know what vitamin K is. 

“There are actually two forms of vitamin K. K1 is found mostly in plants like leafy greens and it kind of resides in our liver. The other K is vitamin K2, and that's the one that works outside of the liver and has wide-ranging benefits in the body. So when you say ‘What is vitamin K2?’ Well, it's an essential vitamin that's part of the vitamin K family and it's a distinct nutrient from vitamin K1. It's an immune enhancing nutrient. So it's beneficial to the function of our immune system and it has inflammatory modulating capabilities when it comes to how our immune system creates and responds to inflammation,” explained Myers. “Beyond that, vitamin K2 is a cardiovascular nutrient, it's also probably best known for its role in terms of bone health, because it helps vitamin D to manage calcium levels in the body.”

Nutrients like vitamins C and D, magnesium and zinc are all known to help support the immune system. The difference between these and K2 is there’s no daily recommended intake (DRI) for K2, which Myers said is crucial. 

Myers is the co-author of the new book, “Simplifying the Covid Puzzle,” which addresses the connection between vitamin D and K2 deficiency.

“The book is really very straightforward. It talks about the fact that we missed an opportunity in the Covid pandemic, and we're still missing that opportunity to be proactive and not just focus on vaccinations, which are an important part of the treatment continuum. Not just speak to masks and hand washing, and social distancing and those types of behaviors that help to prevent the transmission of the virus. But the foundational point that was missed by both the politicians, the medical doctors and the scientists was that we all have an immune system that can protect us against viruses and has been doing so for thousands of years,” explained Myers. “But in order for our immune system to be healthy and strong, we need to have optimal nutritional intake and if deficient in nutrients like vitamin D and vitamin K2, you cannot have an efficient and potent immune response. And so what we talked about in the book is the role that vitamin D and vitamin K play in terms of overall, immune health, immune functionality and specifically the role that each of them play both separately and together in the progression of Covid.”