I’m intrigued by the Vitamin D Discussion lately, especially when it comes to vitamin D2 vs. D3. And especially since at one point in my vegan diet life, I was diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency. I was shocked. Embarrassed. And annoyed – at myself. Me? How?
Vitamin D Deficiency Diagnosis. The doctor wiggled my toes with various instruments and I was supposed to tell him which sensation was more intense or pointier. Apparently, I got “a few answers wrong.” As he liked to put it, “I failed a few tests.” He suspected, since I’m vegan, that I had a vitamin B12 deficiency. And possibly vitamin D deficiency. The test results returned and surprisingly, my B12 was perfect, but my vitamin D was super low. Here’s what happened next, what I’ve learned since then, and what I’m still confused by. Vita D Discussion…
Diagnosis to Rx. The doctor immediately put me on a vitamin D prescription. It was a little green gelcap about the size of my pinkie nail. The dosage was intense, 50,000 units. But not per day. I took one pill a week for ten weeks. Then switched over to a daily vitamin D supplement to maintain my sufficient levels. Back then I wasn’t too concerned about questioning my doctor. Nor am I today. But when I look back on this, I realized that the pill he prescribed me was vitamin D3 – it comes from animal sources. He knew I was vegan, but didn’t seem to mention this. Looking back, I still would’ve taken the D3 pill no matter what. But I would’ve at least asked him if a vegan version, aka D2, was available via Rx. And what he thought on D2 vs D3. Ask questions.
*update 11/10: a lot of you have asked how my D levels are now. Well yes, my D levels did go up as a result of taking the prescription from my doctor. Since then I have been taking an over the counter supplement daily. I try to get my levels checked once a year now. Especially in the fall/winter when I’m indoors more often.*
D2 vs D3. If you don’t already know, there are two (well actually 3) verisons of vitamin D. Vitamin D2 comes from plant sources and vitamin D3 comes from animal sources – sheep wool in fact. The third source of vitamin D is the sun. The Heart Scan Blog, a blog that has nothing but bad things to say about D2 says this:
“D2 comes from irradiated mushrooms and D3 comes from wool. In other words, D3 is the same kind of vitamin as humans get from the sun. Humans just don’t get enough and we can’t produce it on our own, like the sheep can. (D3 is natural for humans, D2 is not.)”
HSB goes on to describe how D2 is not natural for humans, and thus a poorer supplement. You can read the post “a case against D2” here. Although, many esteemed doctors and scientists still debate on whether or not D2 is as effective as D3. There are arguments on both sides.
In fact, in October 2009, Science Daily published a Boston University study that showed vitamin D2 to be just as effective as D3. Science Daily D2 Study Here.
The only reason I mention the Heart Scan Blog post is because it comes up very high in google searches, and apparently a lot of people are reading the case against D2 – D2, the vegan source of vitamin D supplementation. But is it true that D2 is the ‘less effective’ supplement? And what form do vita D fortified products use?
D Fortified Milk. Most people think that if they aren’t getting their vita D from the sun, it is coming in supplementation form from their milk. Dairy or not. Soy milk, like dairy, is also fortified with vita D. (Check your nutrition labels). I checked all my soy milks, and not too surprisingly, they use D2. I also checked at Horizon Dairy online and they fortify their dairy milk with D3. The animal product form. Interestingly, not all dairy milks use D3. Some use D2 because it is cheaper than D3.
But what I am concerned with is the fact that all the vegan milk I drink, in my chai or espresso lattes, on my oatmeal, in my recipes and in my smoothies are fortified with D2. What does this mean if D2 truly is the less-effective supplement? Wouldn’t all sunshine-lacking, vegans be deficient? And how would vegans survive in the dead of winter?
And how did I become vitamin D deficient when I consume at least 2-4 cups of D2 fortified soy milk a day?? Frustrating indeed. And the truth is, I don’t have any answers right now to my questions. All I know is what I eat and how I feel.
Buying D2 Supplements: Part 1. A while back, after I finished my ten week Rx of vitamin D, I bought a few supplements at Whole Foods to maintain my D levels. One morning, I plopped my vitamin D supplement in my mouth and started to chew, yes chew. Yum. Vitamin D in gummie form. Sunny Gummies! I had taken these for about two weeks, when suddenly I glanced at the ingredients. Gelatin! D3! What? I purchased the product at Whole Foods and blindly assumed that the product was vegetarian and even vegan. Never assume! I remember spitting out that gummy mid chew and feeling really really dumb for not reading the label before buying. And it wasn’t the D3 that bothered me. It was the gelatin. Aka ground up animal bones and such. Read Labels. Even at WF.
Supplements: Part 2. I went back to Whole Foods and scanned the vitamin D supplement section. I knew that a lot of vitamins contained gelatin in their capsules or gummy form, but for some reason I had gotten lax about checking lately. But I checked now. Wowsers. About half of the vitamin D supplements at Whole Foods used gelatin in their capsules. And about 99% of the brands used vitamin D3 instead of D2. Many of the multi vitamins also used D3. I really wanted to try a vegan D2, so I scanned the shelves. There was only one good brand that used 100% vegan ingredients: VegLife. It is lanolin free and ‘high potency’. So I bought those, and have been taking them ever since.
But I really despise pills, even supplements. So what about natural food sources of vitamin D?…
Nutrition: Vitamin D in mushrooms. A while back, I tweeted that “Mushrooms are the only fruit or veggie (vegan food) that naturally contain vitamin D” It’s true! And even more interestingly, there seems to be some discussion that when exposed to a ultraviolet light, the mushrooms vitamin D levels increased significantly. Vitamin D fortified mushrooms anyone? The mushroom Lady describes this finding: “It has been demonstrated that when white button mushrooms are exposed to Ultraviolet B radiation, for a short period of time, the level of Vitamin D increases to levels many times the minimum daily requirement, i.e. 10 mcg. Normally, a serving** of white button mushrooms contains 18 IU (0.45 mcg.). Treated mushrooms contain over 80 mcg.***”
Fortified Mushrooms: 100% Vita D. I thought this was pretty cool. A company called Monterey Mushrooms has started selling the ‘light treated’ shrooms, which they claim have 100% RDA of vitamin D. I haven’t seen these in my grocery stores. But I would buy them! Vitamin D Mushrooms.
So for now, talk to your doctor first and foremost. I was glad my doctor tested me for vitamin D and B12 deficiency. But deficient or not, it’s a good thing to know.
Also, eat your mushrooms, take a supplement, and get plenty of sunlight – if you can. Be a kitty in a sunbeam…
The Experts: Dr Weil. I was thrilled when recently Dr. Weil posted an article, “Why You Need More Vitamin D” on Huffington Post about vitamin D. In his article Dr Weil says, “I am raising my recommendation of 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day to 2,000 IU per day.” Why? Here’s his reasoning: “We have known for many years that we need vitamin D to facilitate calcium absorption and promote bone mineralization. But newer research has shown that we also need it for protection against a number of serious diseases. In recent years, scientists have discovered that it may help to prevent several cancers, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, psoriasis, diabetes, psychosis, and respiratory infections including colds and flu.”
In the comments section of Dr Weil’s post, I asked this question, “What are your thoughts on D2 vs. D3? I am vegan and would love to know that the vegan supplement (D2) is indeed as effective as the animal product supplement (D3)”
Here were the responses from random folks:
1. “I saw a very esteemed naturopath MD last week and he was very emphatic about me replacing my D2 with D3. “ -Shutterbabe
2. “VD2 and Vd3 are not interchangeable. VD2 will not give you the remarkable benefits of VD3. See: www.vitamindcouncil.org” -Tritty
Hmm…There are a lot of interesting comments on this post, although not a whole lot of definite answers. And that seems to be where we are at right now. Everyone agrees that Vitamin D is important, but the D2 vs. D3 debate rages on.
I’ll tell you first hand that a lot of discussion says that vegans – and everyone should be taking D3 for optimal supplementation. But the jury is still out. There are arguments on both sides of D2 vs D3, which “prove” that their supplement is effective.
Dr.Dowd: The Vitamin D Cure. Dr.Dowd wrote a book called The Vitamin D Cure. I haven’t read it, but since he seems to be an authority on the subject, I wanted to see his POV of D2: What does he have to say on the D2 vs. D3 debate? Dowd answered this in a Vitamin Cure Blog post: “The short answer is Not D2.”
Dr Dowd goes on to describe testing errors, vitamin forms and a lot of other stuff that only doctors would understand. In short, I’m still confused.
So I guess the answer for me is the same that it is for you: talk to your doctor, get your vitamin D levels checked and try to eat a healthy diet (rich in mushrooms and fortified non-dairy milk, if you’re vegan).
And a few trips a year to a super sunny tropical island probably wouldn’t hurt either. Take a vacay, get your vitamin D – sounds good to me. South Beach anyone?
i don't know if you realized that there ARE vegan d3 sources, however they originated from animal sources, so not as pure. D2 takes too much work for the body to transfer over, and isn't really effective.
Wow, what a great post…..and I just recently wrote a post about Vitamin D too. So this was especially interesting to me…my husband and I got our Vitamin D levels checked for the first time ever and we were both low. So our Dr prescribed 50,000 IU tablets for us. One per month for me, one per week for my husband for the first month, then 1 per month. The pharmacists had no idea if it was D2 or D3 when I asked. I just read an article online that refers to 2 forms of Vitamin D that are D2 and are prescriptions: Drisdol and Calciferol (both brand names). But my Vitamin D (I just picked it up today) doesn't have any name on it…it just says Vitamin D! Why is that? But the article said you could get D2 in prescription, but I also read another article that stated that most prescriptions are D2. Grrrr…..why is this so frustrating?? Thank you for this post 🙂
My recent Vit D Post(if you're interested): tanya’s cooking blog
I know we all need vitamin D and as a vegan we take D2. We get alot of sun out here in California so it's not that hard to get it from the sun as well. As far as the debate. If you looks back to early man their animal intake was very small, they ate mostly plant foods. What I'm saying is that they weren't getting very much D3 and they didn't have all the diseases we have today. Does that make sense?
Zoltan Rona, MD, MSc, a Toronto physician who specializes in preventative medicine and natural, complementary therapies, writes about the D2/D3 controversy in his new book, "Vitamin D, The Sunshine Vitamin" (Book Publishing Company, 2010).
He quotes Dr. Michael Holick, a leading medical researcher and expert on vitamin D from a Boston University study published in 2008 in the Journal of Clinical Metabolism (93:677-81).
"According to Holick, '1,000IU of vitamin D2 daily was as effective as 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 in maintaining serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels [the active form found in the bloodstream] and did not negatively influence serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels. Therefore, vitamin D2 is equally as effective as vitamin D3 in maintaining 25-hydroxy vitamin D status.'"
Dr. Rona concludes the discussion with the following statement: "It's difficult to make a definitive conclusion about the use of vitamin D2, especially when such contrasting expert opinions exist. At present, unless I am proven wrong by new research on the subject, my conclusion is that vitamin D2 is as safe and effective as D3 as a supplement. Blood testing will certainly tell you whether or not you are getting adequate blood levels, regardless of the type and amount of vitamin D supplement you are using."
this is a wonderful post. i have been realizing how much i need some D. until i can make the treak to a health food store i'm going to stock up on mushrooms.
my sister who has trouble with fatigue which was until recently accredited to low iron started supplementing her multi-vitamin with a vitamin D and has reported feeling much better. less fatigue and even more optimism about her life! i'm going to get some ASAP.
Grishanone is right. Anyone who lives north of South Carolina cannot make enough vitamin D from the sun even with the recommended time outdoors (I always understood it to be 20 min a day). Also, be aware that if you are wearing sunscreen, you aren't making Vitamin D. So if you are religious about putting on sunscreen (your dermatologist will love you) but that could also prevent you from making enough.
As for the D2 vs D3 debate. As I understand it, because your body has to metabolize vitamin D2 into components that it can actually absorb (not all of which is the absorb-able kind of vitamin D) it is less effective than vitamin D3 which is the very type that our bodies make when exposed to sunlight. I'm not saying you should go out and break your veganism to up your vitamin D, I'm just saying that it's something us vegans have to be aware of.
One more closing thought, for those people who may not be able to find the vegan vitamins you need at your local mega mart, the internet is a beautiful thing when it comes to provides a variety of choices for vitamins.
I just read the Garden of Life page about how they "grow" Vitamin D3, which they consider vegan. First, they explain (if I am understanding this right) that even organic vegetables are grown using fish and bone meal for fertilizer, and this is acceptable to vegans because without vegetables, we would die.
So, they then describe how they are add D3 to yeast, which then makes more D3. "At the same time the yeast is growing in its tank, isolated Unites States Pharmacopeia (USP) grade vitamin D3 is put into a much smaller preparation tank. Widely used, the commercially available D3 we purchase has been synthesized from animal cholesterol, primarily lanolin. The starting material is subjected to a lengthy conversion and UV exposure process briefly described below."
It is very confusing! But I am thinking that to me, I wouldn't call this vegan. It may be better than other methods, but still not "vegan". For the record, I am vegetarian, not vegan, but often try to use vegan products.
Garden of Life now makes a raw vegan Vitamin D3. I am not affiliated with them at all: http://www.gardenoflife.com/ProductsforLife/THEVITAMINCODE/TargetedNutrientFormulas/RAWD3/tabid/1896/Default.aspx
Thanks for such a well researched article. I am not vegan but I hate popping pills and prefer to get my nutirents from natural sources. Luckily I live in a tropical country so this just reminds me that I need to get outdoors a bit more.
The Monterey Mushrooms website cites a study and discussion of VitD2:
http://newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/130266
In Reuters article http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE58M6HT20090923:
"Almost half the population worldwide has lower-than-optimal levels of vitamin D and researchers say the problem is worsening as people spend more time indoors."
I will be eating more mushrooms–thanks for the reminder.
Wow. I didn't even know about the various sources of Vitamin D. I did know I get it from the sun (living in FL I get a lot) but didn't realize the two different sources. Very interesting. Thanks for such a well researched post.
Oh I also was going to mention that when reading up on Vitamin D a while back I read that above a certain latitude in the winter, it is impossible to get any Vitamin D from the sun because it never gets high enough in the sky. I believe the source was US News and World Reports. Just a thought for our Montrealers etc.
Wow, I was just about to head downtown to buy some more Vitamin D. Thanks for this post, it will be informing my purchase!
The prescription high dose, 50,000 i.u., vitamin D you took was/is D2 not D3. So D2 can't be all bad since that is what a Dr. gives by prescription.
I too was severly low in vitamin D at one time. My N.D. suggested I take D3 just to get it up cause she said the D2 version would take a lot longer and then I could switch to D2. She also gave me the option of the high dose prescription you took, which I am now glad I didn't take cause you said they are gel caps. That would take away the whole point of getting them cause the vit. D is vegan.
When I had the deficiancy I was not taking any supplement except for "milks" and I was barely ever outside.
Though vitamin D has been in the news a lot saying that there are a lot of people deficient and they do not know it, partly because vitamin D is not easily found in food, that includes animals. Veg. or not it is not an easy to get from just food alone.
Vitamin D is not really a vitamin but a hormone that has to be converted into the vitamin using cholesterol in the body. By what I know D3 is pretty much already converted so it is easier for the body to assimilate where D2 has to be converted, but your body also needs to convert the suns rays too so how can D2 be bad? Your body was made to convert what it gets into vit. D. Let it do what it was made to do :o).
Anyway the prescription version, to treat deficiencies, is D2. And my naturapath said I was fine taking D2 as a supplement. Some say you just have to take a higher dose. That is fine with me as long as it keeps the animals from being harmed :o).
Thanks Kris! I really want to encourage folks to respond and start a discussion about vitamin D. It can be a frustrating topic – even if you have all the facts.
Thanks for sharing your personal story. It's frustrating when health professionals aren't respectful of certain diets. Then again, I have met a great bunch of doctors who encourage, respect and fully understand vegetarian and vegan values.
Thanks for the comment, lets keep the discussion about D going!
K
What a fantastic, well-researched, and informative post. Thank you for providing all of this information.
I had read in the past, when I went vegan almost seven years ago, about the different sources for D vitamins, but I seem to have forgotten and taken the source of my vitamins to be veg for granted; this is simply because I take a multivitamin from Pangea once or twice every day. (Pangea's vitamins are vegan.) Nevertheless, I never thought about "what's most effective?"
Something similar to your situation with your doctor happened to me, about two weeks ago, when I went to a naturopath: he gave me two homeopathic remedies, knowing I am vegan, and when I asked him whether the products were vegan, he said, "yes." When I got home, I read the bottles: "bovine" is what the source was. What? Like your doctor, he ignored my values/preference and undermined my intelligence. I was profoundly insulted. It turns out, as might be the case with the D2 VS. D3 debate, trying an alternative method is best: the best way may not reside in a capsule at all, but just taking the sun 5 minutes a day, difficult as it may be in cold climates (I live in Montreal, Quebec! :)). As for my dilemma, I returned the homeopathic capsules, was reimbursed, sought the advice of another naturopath, and have to call an acupunturist or reflexologist. So be it.
Good luck with your research in this debate, and please keep us all updated. And, most importantly, please keep yourself healthy! 🙂
Cheers,
Christina