Vitamin D3 + K2 Supplement Review: Comparing Three Dose Options
Three vitamin D3 + K2 supplements compared by dose: 10,000 IU softgels, a 5,000 IU midpoint, and a 1,208 IU drop.
Doctor’s Recipes Vitamin D3 K2 is worth buying if you’ve been told to take a high dose of vitamin D. One softgel gives you 10,000 IU of D3 and 200 mcg of K2 as MK-7, 120 softgels per bottle. If that number is higher than you need, buy a lower tier instead.
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How this review was made: written from my own video review of this product. Every opinion here is my own, from using it myself.
Quick Verdict
Three bottles, three dose tiers: 10,000 IU, about 5,000 IU, and 1,208 IU per drop. All these work. I’ve used all of them and I’ve been very pleased with all three brands, so the only real decision here is which number belongs in your body.
Buy if you:
- Have been told by a doctor to take high-dose D3 and want 10,000 IU in one softgel
- Are older and adding more D3 to your daily stack, which is where I’d land
- Want K2 as MK-7 paired with the D3 instead of buying two bottles
- Prefer a 120-count bottle you’re not reordering every month
Skip if you:
- Haven’t had bloodwork done. 10,000 IU is a lot of D3 to take daily on a guess, and the brand itself says it’s best for people specifically advised to take higher doses
- Want flexible dosing. A softgel is a softgel, you can’t split it the way you can count drops
- Sit at the midpoint, around 5,000 IU, where the Nature Made softgel is the straighter answer
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| Doctor’s Recipes | 10,000 IU D3 + 200 mcg K2 (MK-7), 120 softgels |
|---|---|
| Nature Made | ~5,000 IU D3 + ~100 mcg K2, 30 softgels, USP Verified |
| LiveWise Naturals | 1,208 IU D3 + 25 mcg K2 per drop, ~930 drops |
| LiveWise carrier oils | Olive oil and MCT oil |
| Doctor’s Recipes free from | Soy, gluten, dairy, non-GMO, made in USA |
Three Bottles On The Counter, One Real Question
The question I get most isn’t which brand, it’s how many IU. So I put three bottles on the counter that answer three different versions of that question: Doctor’s Recipes at 10,000 IU per softgel, Nature Made at roughly 5,000 IU per softgel, and LiveWise Naturals as a liquid dropping in at 1,208 IU per drop. Same pairing, D3 and K2, across all three. The only real variable is the number. That’s what this comparison is about.
When 10,000 IU Is The Wrong Bottle
Skip the 10,000 IU bottle unless bloodwork confirms you need it; the brand says so on the label. Doctor’s Recipes is up front about it: the 10,000 IU formula is best suited to people who’ve specifically been advised to take higher doses. That’s a ceiling you want set by bloodwork, not by a label.
There’s a second situation where the softgels don’t fit, and it’s simpler. If you don’t swallow capsules, or you’re dosing a smaller body weight, a softgel gives you no room to adjust. That’s exactly where the LiveWise drops solve the problem. 1,208 IU and 25 mcg of K2 per drop means you’re building your dose one drop at a time instead of taking whatever the capsule decided.
People Buy D3 And Ignore The K2
K2 as MK-7 directs calcium to bones and teeth instead of soft tissue; D3 alone can’t do that. D3 improves calcium absorption in the intestines. K2 as MK-7 is what directs that calcium toward bones and teeth instead of letting it sit in soft tissue and vessels.
So when you compare these three, look at the mcg number next to the IU number. Doctor’s Recipes runs 200 mcg of K2. Nature Made sits around 100 mcg. LiveWise gives you 25 mcg per drop. The ratio tracks the D3 in all three, which is what you want.
What Taking All Three Actually Looked Like
One softgel, once a day, for both capsule brands, that’s the entire routine. No timing to get right, no counting, nothing to spill. That frictionless entry is the main reason I actually stay consistent with supplements. The drops require more intention: dropper over your tongue, count your drops, cap it back tight. I kept all three in rotation, but the softgels are what I reached for on rushed mornings.
The drops are the one that changes your morning. You’re holding a dropper over your tongue or a glass and counting, and olive oil and MCT oil is what you taste. Not unpleasant, but it’s a step. The softgel is faster and I’ll admit that’s usually what wins in my house. Where the drops pull ahead is the bottle math: roughly 930 drops in there. A 30-count Nature Made bottle is a month and then you’re reordering, which caught me off guard the first time. Doctor’s Recipes gives you 120 softgels, so that bottle rides along for a while.
Midpoint, normally where I stand, is going to be the Nature Made brand, right around 5,000 IU with about 100 mcg of K2. That’s been my default for years. But one thing I will note as I started doing my research: as we get older, we typically want to take more vitamin D3. So I would choose the Doctor’s Recipes if I was on that end of the spectrum, and I’m getting closer to it than I used to be.
Softgels Versus Oil In A Dropper, Six Months Out
Softgels beat drops if you value convenience: no spill risk, no cap to leave open, no oil to degrade on a warm shelf. There’s nothing to spill, nothing to leave uncapped, and no oil to go off on a warm shelf. The liquid bottle needs more care from you: cap it right, keep it out of heat, keep the dropper clean. That’s not a knock on LiveWise, it’s just the format.
Where This Sits On The Shelf
Doctor’s Recipes is not the biggest name here, Nature Made is. Nature Made carries a USP Verified designation on the packaging, which is the recognizable quality mark a lot of people shop by. Doctor’s Recipes answers with its own list instead: made in a GMP certified facility in the USA, non-GMO, no soy, no gluten, no dairy.
Worth knowing on the Doctor’s Recipes bottle specifically: it sits around #25,335 in Health & Household right now, which is softer than its 90-day average near #23,018. Still more than 1,000 bought in the past month, and the price has been steady for about three months, so there’s no obvious reason to sit and wait. Check today’s price on Amazon through this link rather than trusting any number written into a blog post.
Picking Your Tier Before You Add To Cart
Pull your last vitamin D blood result and match it to a bottle: 10,000 IU means Doctor’s Recipes, around 5,000 IU means Nature Made, flexible or lower means LiveWise drops. If you don’t have recent bloodwork, start with Nature Made, 5,000 IU is a reasonable midpoint for most adults and you’re not locked in. The 10,000 IU bottle is the right buy only when a doctor has told you to be there. If that’s you, Doctor’s Recipes on Amazon is the straightforward call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take vitamin D3 + K2 if I’m on a blood thinner?
Ask your doctor first, no exceptions. Vitamin K is the one supplement ingredient that interacts directly with warfarin-type blood thinners, so this isn’t a “try it and see” situation. I check for interactions before adding anything to my stack and this is the exact reason why.
Should I take it with food?
With a meal that has some fat in it. D3 and K2 are both fat-soluble, so a dry stomach wastes part of the dose. The LiveWise drops are already suspended in olive oil and MCT oil, which handles that part for you.
Do these need to be refrigerated?
No, a cool cabinet away from the stove is fine for all three. The liquid is the one I’d be fussier about, since oil in a dropper bottle doesn’t love heat or an open cap. Softgels are the easier travel option if you’re flying with your supplements.
Is “no soy” a big deal on a softgel?
It is if you avoid soy, because plenty of softgel shells and oil carriers use it. Doctor’s Recipes lists no soy, no gluten, and no dairy on the bottle, which is a short list of allergens handled in one line. If none of those matter to you, it’s not a reason to pick one bottle over another.
Get it now
Doctor’s Recipes Vitamin D3 + K2, 120 Softgels
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