If you want your body to run at full power, you’re going to want to get your vitamin DAKE – vitamins D,A,K and E. They work together so it’s important to take them together.
Here is why each of them are crucial for your body -
Vitamin D: Vitamin D isn’t just a vitamin, it’s a hormone. Some of its functions include regulating your immune system (source), promoting bone health (source), modulating cell growth (source), and helping to keep your neurotransmitters balanced (source). Having enough vitamin D reduces your risk of high blood pressure (source), type II diabetes (source), and certain types of cancer (source).
Vitamin D carries out so many important functions in your body, but deficiency is a major problem across the globe (source). Your body will manufacture vitamin D out of cholesterol if you expose enough of your skin to enough sunshine and you have the right vitamin D receptor settings in your genes. The problem is most people spend most of their day indoors, and a large portion of the population doesn’t have the right genes to support optimal vitamin D levels just from the sun. That’s why you'll likely require supplementation to feel your best.
The most bioavailable form is vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol (source), which is the form of vitamin D in Vitamin DAKE. The non-profit Vitamin D council recommends supplementing with 1000 IU per 25 lbs of body weight, or until your levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D—the parameter used to assess vitamin D status- reach 70-90 ng/mL. Everyone responds differently to supplementation, so it’s important to get your blood levels tested regularly. The best strategy is to take a combined DAKE supplement, and then add additional D3 until your levels reach 70-90 ng/mL. Always take vitamin D with vitamin K2 (more on this later).
Vitamin A: Vitamin A is well-known for maintaining healthy vision (source). Vitamin A also regulates gene expression (source), helps your body defend itself against infections (source), and acts as an antioxidant, protecting your cells from DNA-damaging free-radicals (source). Studies show that not enough vitamin A causes mitochondrial dysfunction (source) which isn’t a great thing since your mitochondria are in charge of producing energy for your cells!
Your body can’t make vitamin A, so it’s important that you get it from diet or supplements. There are two types of vitamin A – provitamin A from bright-colored vegetables like carrots, and pre-formed vitamin A which is the bioavailable form. This form can only be found in animal foods or supplements. Your body doesn’t do a very good job of converting the provitamin A in plants into the useable form of vitamin A (source) so eating carrots all day won’t give you the vitamin A that you need. And unless you’re having an ounce of liver every day, it’s unlikely you’re eating enough animal foods with pre-formed vitamin A to meet your daily requirements. Vitamin DAKE contains pre-formed vitamin A, so your body doesn’t have to do extra work to convert it to its active form. Most people require about 5000 IU of vitamin A per day, which is equivalent to 1515 mcg RAE (the amount in one serving of DAKE).
Vitamin K: Vitamin K tends to get less attention than the other fat-soluble vitamins, but it is just as important.
There are two types of vitamin K: K1 and K2. Vitamin K1 is important for normal blood clotting (source). You can find K1 in leafy green vegetables.
Vitamin K1 is essential for health, but vitamin K2 is the real superhero. While vitamin D helps you absorb calcium, vitamin K2 helps direct the calcium to the places where it needs to go – into your bones and your teeth (source) instead of in your arteries. That’s why if you’re taking vitamin D and calcium, it’s crucial you’re getting enough vitamin K2 too. Vitamin K can also help prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoarthritis (source). There are two subsets of vitamin K2, MK-4 and MK-7. They’re both important but MK-4 may be more important as it’s the form of K2 that predominates in your brain (source). Vitamin K2 can only be found in animal foods and a few fermented plant foods like natto (fermented soybeans). Chances are you aren’t getting enough through your diet unless you’re regularly eating lots of natto, liver, or cheese. Aim for anywhere from 200 to 2,000 mcg per day, containing 1,000 mcg of K1 and 1,000 mcg of K2 as MK-4.
Vitamin E: Scientists estimate that over 90% of Americans are deficient in vitamin E (source). It’s time to start supplementing. Vitamin E mainly acts as a powerful antioxidant, protecting your DNA and cell membranes from oxidative damage (source). It can also help mitigate some of the negative effects of excess omega-6 consumption because it prevents them from being oxidized (source). Vitamin E also makes your brain work better and reduces your chances of getting Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, and cancer (source).
When it comes to vitamin E, source matters. The synthetic form, DL-alpha tocopherol, can lead to negative health outcomes so be sure to avoid it. There are eight naturally-occurring forms of vitamin E, and each of them have varying levels of effectiveness (source). Most supplements contain alpha, beta, gamma and delta forms of tocopherol-type vitamin E but research suggests that you’ll benefit most from a form of vitamin E called tocotrienols (source). That’s why there are delta- and gamma- tocotrienols in DAKE.
DAKE also contains a cool compound called geranylgeraniol (GG), which comes from the annatto tree. It protects cell membranes, has powerful anti-inflammatory effects, and more recent research suggests that GG has positive effects on glucose regulation, bone health, and the gut microbiome (source). Aim for 50-150 mg of delta- and gamma- tocotrienols with anywhere between 5 and 150 mg of GG.
As for when and how to take vitamin DAKE? These vitamins are fat-soluble meaning they require fat for your body to absorb them. So it’s best to take them with a meal containing fat. You can take them at any time of the day, but some people find that vitamin D works better when you take it during the daytime.
Well, there you have it! Vitamin DAKE simply isn’t optional if you want your brain and body to work at their full potential. You can check out a vitamin DAKE supplement with all the correct forms and recommended amounts here – www.shopsuppgradelabs.com