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”

Read in full: Comparison of the Effect of Daily Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3 Supplementation on Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration (Total 25(OH)D, 25(OH)D2, and 25(OH)D3) and Importance of Body Mass Index: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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!

It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

Q: Is MSG healthier than salt in terms of sodium content or is it the same or worse?

Great question, and for that matter, MSG itself is a great topic for another day. But your actual question, we can readily answer here and now:

• Firstly, by “salt” we’re assuming from context that you mean sodium chloride.
• Both salt and MSG do contain sodium. However…
• MSG contains only about a third of the sodium that salt does, gram-for-gram.
• It’s still wise to be mindful of it, though. Same with sodium in other ingredients!
• Baking soda contains about twice as much sodium, gram for gram, as MSG.

Wondering why this happens?

Salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) is equal parts sodium and chlorine, by atom count, but sodium’s atomic mass is lower than chlorine’s, so 100g of salt contains only 39.34g of sodium.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO₃) is one part sodium for one part hydrogen, one part carbon, and three parts oxygen. Taking each of their diverse atomic masses into account, we see that 100g of baking soda contains 27.4g sodium.

MSG (monosodium glutamate, C₅H₈NO₄Na) is only one part sodium for 5 parts carbon, 8 parts hydrogen, 1 part nitrogen, and 4 parts oxygen… And all those other atoms put together weigh a lot (comparatively), so 100g of MSG contains only 12.28g sodium.

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

❝I was wondering, is the health difference important between extra virgin olive oil and regular?❞

Assuming that by “regular” you mean “virgin and still sold as a food product”, then there are health differences, but they’re not huge. Or at least: not nearly so big as the differences between those and other oils.

Virgin olive oil (sometimes simply sold as “olive oil”, with no claims of virginity) has been extracted by the same means as extra virgin olive oil, that is to say: purely mechanical.

The difference is that extra virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing*, so the free fatty acid content is slightly lower (later checked and validated and having to score under a 0.8% limit for “extra virgin” instead of 2% limit for a mere “virgin”).

*Fun fact: in Arabic, extra virgin is called “البكر الممتاز“, literally “the amazing first-born”, because of this feature!

It’s also slightly higher in mono-unsaturated fatty acids, which is a commensurately slight health improvement.

It’s very slightly lower in saturated fats, which is an especially slight health improvement, as the saturated fats in olive oil are amongst the healthiest saturated fats one can consume.

On which fats are which:

The truth about fats: the good, the bad, and the in-between

And our own previous discussion of saturated fats in particular:

Can Saturated Fats Be Healthy?

Probably the strongest extra health-benefit of extra virgin is that while that first pressing squeezes out oil with the lowest free fatty acid content, it squeezes out oil with the highest polyphenol content, along with other phytonutrients:

Antioxidants in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Table Olives: Connections between Agriculture and Processing for Health Choices

If you enjoy olive oil, then springing for extra virgin is worth it if that’s not financially onerous, both for health reasons and taste.

However, if mere “virgin” is what’s available, it’s no big deal to have that instead; it still has a very similar nutritional profile, and most of the same benefits.

Don’t settle for less than “virgin”, though.

While some virgin olive oils aren’t marked as such, if it says “refined” or “blended”, then skip it. These will have been extracted by chemical means and/or blended with completely different oils (e.g. canola, which has a very different nutritional profile), and sometimes with a dash of virgin or extra virgin, for the taste and/or so that they can claim in big writing on the label something like:

_{^{a blend of}}
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
_{^{and other oils}}

…despite having only a tiny amount of extra virgin olive oil in it.

Different places have different regulations about what labels can claim.

The main countries that produce olives (and the EU, which contains and/or directly trades with those) have this set of rules:

International Olive Council: Designations and definitions of Olive Oils

…which must be abided by or marketers face heavy fines and sanctions.

In the US, the USDA has its own set of rules based on the above:

USDA | Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil Grades and Standards

…which are voluntary (not protected by law), and marketers can pay to have their goods certified if they want.

So if you’re in the US, look for the USDA certification or it really could be:

• What the USDA calls “US virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption”, which in the IOC is called “lamp oil”*
• crude pomace-oil (oil made from the last bit of olive paste and then chemically treated)
• canola oil with a dash of olive oil
• anything yellow and oily, really

*This technically is virgin olive oil insofar as it was mechanically extracted, but with defects that prevent it from being sold as such, such as having a free fatty acid content above the cut-off, or just a bad taste/smell, or some sort of contamination.

See also: Potential Health Benefits of Olive Oil and Plant Polyphenols

(the above paper has a handy infographic if you scroll down just a little)

Where can I get some?

Your local supermarket, probably, but if you’d like to get some online, here’s an example product on Amazon for your convenience

Enjoy!