Vitamin D2 vs Vitamin D3: What You Would Benefit From Knowing
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!
So, no question/request too big or small 😎
❝Hi, is there any important difference between vitamin d2 and vitamin d3? Is one better than the other?❞
There is indeed! And one is better than the other!
Where they come from
You’ll find a lot of sources that will tell you “Vitamin D2 is from plants, D3 is from animals”, and in fact only the second half of that is true.
In nature, there are no plants that are known to produce vitamin D.
Vitamin D2, however, is produced by many fungi, as well as algae, neither of which are part of the Kingdom Plantae.
Vitamin D3, meanwhile, is produced by many animals (including humans).
When “the sun” is sometimes considered a source of vitamin D, that’s true only insofar as the sun is also a source of tomatoes, for example, which required the sun to grow. While we humans (and other animals) cannot photosynthesize in general, producing vitamin D is something we can do if exposed to UV light (such as from the sun).
However, of course exposure to UV light (such as from the sun) comes with other problems, so… Should we get sun exposure or not?
We weighed up the balance of evidence, here: The Sun Exposure Dilemma
If, like this writer, you are a mostly crepuscular being who avoids the sun, we have good news: mushrooms can do the sunbathing for us!
❝Exposing mushrooms to UV (from sunlight or in a laboratory) increases the amount of vitamin D in mushrooms by nearly eightfold. Putting five store-bought button mushrooms in the sun, or just one portobello mushroom, produces 24 µg of vitamin D, which translates to nearly 1000 international units, providing the amount of vitamin D one needs in an entire day, and the equivalent found in most vitamin D supplements.
If you’re wondering if the vitamin D from mushrooms actually makes it into your bloodstream, it does. A recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials showed that tanned (UV-exposed) mushrooms may be effective in increasing active vitamin D levels in adults with low levels of vitamin D, and studies (randomised controlled trials) have shown that it may be just as effective as supplements at increasing vitamin D levels in the blood (here, and here).
Some research is very positive, saying that putting your mushrooms in direct sunlight for 10–15 minutes may provide you with 100% of your daily vitamin D needs, and the vitamin D content in sunlight-exposed mushrooms may be retained with refrigeration for up to 8 days.
The production of vitamin D may be increased by a further 30% by placing them in the sun with the underside, or gills, facing up, or by 60% if you slice them.❞
Read all about it: Tan your mushrooms, not your skin
Which is better?
In few words: D3 is better.
They both do the exact same job, but with D3, you simply get more bang-for-buck:
❝The WMD in change in total 25(OH)D based on 12 daily dosed vitamin D2-vitamin D3 comparisons, analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, was 10.39 nmol/L (40%) lower for the vitamin D2 group compared with the vitamin D3 group.
Vitamin D3 leads to a greater increase of 25(OH)D than vitamin D2, even if limited to daily dose studies, but vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 had similar positive impacts on their corresponding 25(OH)D hydroxylated forms.❞
Note: “WMD” here means “weighted mean difference”, not “weapons of mass destruction”
About that “and importance of BMI”, by the way: in persons with a BMI >25, there was no longer a difference between the two forms. Literally, no difference at all; the difference was reduced to 0%.
Another study found similarly, but with different numbers (finding a greater difference), and without recording BMI as a factor:
❝D3 is approximately 87% more potent in raising and maintaining serum 25(OH)D concentrations and produces 2- to 3-fold greater storage of vitamin D than does equimolar D2.❞
See the paper: Vitamin D3 Is More Potent Than Vitamin D2 in Humans
“Well that sucks, because I’m vegan”
Fear not, you can get vegan D3 too.
Much like “you can’t get vegan B12” (but you can; it’s made by yeast), there are vegan D3 supplements, made by lichen.
The trouble with lichen, when it comes to classifying it, it that it’s actually a hybrid colony of many small, strange things (beyond the scope of this article, but they are fascinating, so this writer is holding herself back by the scruff of the neck from explaining in detail), some of which are technically part of Kingdom Animalia, but it is hard to find even the most ardent vegan who will object to consuming bacteria, for example.
Want to try some?
We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon 😎
But watch out with the doses, if supplementing vitamin D in either form, because…
Vit D + Calcium: Too Much Of A Good Thing? ← this also talks about safe and effective doses, and what goes wrong if you take too much
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails: