A landmark analysis examining vitamin K allocation across physiological systems has identified a striking biochemical deficit: approximately 30% of osteocalcin and matrix Gla protein—critical regulators of bone mineralisation and arterial calcification—remain undercarboxylated in healthy adults consuming adequate vitamin K according to current dietary recommendations.
This finding emerges from the triage theory research conducted at UC Berkeley and Maastricht University, which examined hepatic versus extrahepatic vitamin K-dependent protein carboxylation status across multiple cohort studies from 2007–2012. The data suggest that achieving full activation of bone and vascular protective proteins may require 8 to 17 times the current recommended daily allowance.
These findings challenge the adequacy of established RDA guidelines and raise important questions about long-term skeletal and cardiovascular health in populations consuming only sufficient vitamin K for haemostatic function.
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