question about vitamin D?

I am in the process of transitioning to a vegan diet. I decided not to do it all at once because that seemed overwhelming and because I didn’t want to wait until I was prepared to do it completely to make those changes that I can easily make now.

One issue I do not know how to deal with is vitamin D. I had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago and do to this I do not absorb vitamin D very well. I get a blood test to check my vitamin D level every six months, and due to that I know how much vitamin D I need to take in order to keep my level good. I do all right if I take large doses of D3 three or four times a week.

Now, I take D3, not D2, because it’s absorbed a lot better. It’s my understanding that it is absorbed better in everyone, not just people that have had gastric bypass surgery, but that may be a more important issue to me due to my surgery. Yesterday I was doing some reading and sad to learn that D3 supplements always come from animals. Apparently you can get D2 from plants but not D3.

So I’m wondering what you wise people might suggest. Take the D3 anyway because I really need it? Switch to D2 instead and just take a whole lot more and hope that works? Other options?

Thanks.

:cat:

Good article…
Once my doctor advised me to stop the using of sun block…
Vitamin D is so important for our bones, it give power to our bones, but sunblock stop the sun rays which provide us vitamin D…

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Vitamin D is not really a vitamin, but one of the oldest prohormones, having been produced by life forms for over 750 million years. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, and most animals that are exposed to sunlight have the capacity to make vitamin D.

In humans, vitamin D is critically important for the development, growth, and maintenance of a healthy body, beginning with gestation in the womb and continuing throughout the lifespan. Vitamin D’s metabolic product, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (calcitriol), is actually a secosteroid hormone that is the key which unlocks binding sites on the human genome. The human genome contains more than 2,700 binding sites for calcitriol; those binding sites are near genes involved in virtually every known major disease of humans. :unamused:

Vitamin D is measured in International Units (IU) and is potent in small quantities - one IU is equal to only 0.000025 milligrams (mg)! Conversely, 40 IU is equal to one microgram (mcg or μg). :laughing:

I’ve read a number of studies on NCBI that mention supplements of D2 and D3 having equivalent results. There are some meta-analyses that say D3 is said to be effective more often (and it seems a lot of hype is circulating about this elsewhere), although they are both in use as medicines because they both work, wouldn’t you think? Here’s one that says results may vary, depending on how they are used, etc. Differential effects of vitamin D2 and D3 supplements… We conclude that the effects of D2 and D3 supplements may be dosing-schedule, time and sex dependent. In the long term, D2 appears to be most effective when given daily and D3 appears to be most effective when given 2-weekly. Further, females appear to mount larger response to D2 than males. The association between BMI and response to D supplement may be more pronounced with D2 and during the first few weeks of treatment. D2 and D3 level in response to treatment are higher in females compared to males. Etc.

I’ve also read that supplements may not work as well in multivitamin forms. I think it’s a good idea to get the kind that is verified by an organization like USP, if it is not prescribed, because there is no regulation of supplements otherwise, and the point of taking them is that they consist of what they claim to, first of all. Report Finds Vitamin D Supplements to Contain 9-146% of Amount on Label… Maybe some of the info about D2 not working as well had to do with the manufacturer not putting enough D2 in the supplement to begin with. Buyer beware.