Everyone needs enough vitamin D. But before they complement their diet with this important vitamin, you should know the difference between vitamin D2 and D3. Vitamin D is important for the health of the bones and the function of the immune system.

The problem with vitamin D production is that our body needs sunlight to make it. Therefore, many people access vitamin preparations and enriched food to increase their vitamin D levels. That's a smart strategy. But did you know that vitamin D is actually from several different shapes?

Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3

Vitamin D2 and D3 are the two main vitamins for your health. Vitamin D2 is produced by plants and Vitamin D3 becomes of the skin if you get enough sunlight. Angered foods can contain both forms. Studies show that vitamin D3 is much more important to our health than vitamin D2. So select either a vitamin D3 preparation or a preparation that contains both shapes in an optimal amount. Vitamin D2 is not enough.

Vitamins D2 and D3 for human health

Not too long ago, experts believed that the vitamins D2 and D3 were equally important for human health, but that was based on obsolete studies on rachitis in children. Nowadays, we know much more about vitamin D. Meanwhile, it is clear that D3 is much more important and more effective for our health and well-being. If you look at how the body absorbs vitamin D, it becomes clear why vitamin D3 is more important. There are many biological processes in the body that influence this. A certain enzyme in the liver ensures that that vitamin D3 is converted into the biologically active form of vitamin D. In vitamin D2, this process takes much longer.

Vitamin D2

Vitamin D2 plants produce this form of vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet light (similar to our body produces vitamin D). The most common example are forest mushrooms or mushrooms that grow under ultraviolet light. Milk set (including soy, coconut and almond milk) is often enriched with vitamin D2.

Vitamins D2 and D3

Vitamin D is a sunshine vitamin that is synthesized by the body thanks to the natural light and is essential for our metabolism. We speak of the vitamins D2, D3, D5, D6 and D7, the vitamins D1 and D4 does not exist. Among them are The vitamins D2 and D3 are most well-known and most common in daily life In the form of dietary supplements used. We differ in particular:

• Vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol produced by plants.
• Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol, which is obtained from animal products and certain lichens.

Vitamin D3 comes from animals, vitamin D2 of plants

Vitamin D2 sources

• Mushrooms (with contact with UV radiation)
• Foods that contain this vitamin (milk, butter etc.)
• Dietary supplement

Vitamin D3 sources

• Sun (UVB radiation)
• Fat fish / fish oil
• Fish liver
• egg yolk
• butter
• Dietary supplement

Body and vitamin D3

The body can use both shapes - but in different dimensions. While vitamin D2 with many years as equivalent Vitamin D3 Recently, newer research suggests that vitamin D3 could be much more effective than vitamin D2. Vitamin D3 is also the shape that our body can produce with sunlight itself - so it would be quite plausible that we can use this form particularly well.

History of Vitamin D2

While vitamin D2 is hardly used in Europe today as a drug in vitamin D preparations, it is still widespread in the USA. The clinically used, highly dosed vitamin D preparations in the US remain almost exclusively vitamin D2. In the 1930s, for a long time in America as well as in Europe, cow's milk was enriched with vitamin D2 in order to curb the then richly richitis epidemic - with great success. In Europe, however, it was soon Vitamin D3 20 000 Converted because the instructions condenses that this is probably the more effective form of vitamin D. In fact, there is still no difference between the two forms today: An international unit of vitamin D2 is still considered equivalent with an IE vitamin D3.

Vitamin D3 and Vitamin D2 - What is the difference?

The main difference between vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3 50 000 Lies in the way they are metabolized in the body. A study published in the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism showed that vitamin D3 increases the vitamin D levels in the blood twice as effectively as vitamin D2 (1). For this reason, a vitamin D3 supplement is recommended because it optimizes recording in the body and offers the best price-performance ratio. A vitamin D3 supplement is also an effective means to increase the calcium intake in the body and to promote the skeleton's health, to name only a few advantages. The vitamins D2 and D3 are converted to the liver in Calcifediol. This gets into the kidneys and leads to the release of calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D. Vitamin D2 is less stable than Vitamin D3 capsules And reacts more sensitive to moisture and heat. On the other hand, vitamin D3 would increase the calcitriol mirror in the body more than vitamin D2. Doctors recommend a supplement with vitamin D3 because it is better absorbed by the body.

Vitamin D2 and D3

You now know that the human body needs two types of vitamin D and can easily be based on the labels of their vitamin preparations or vitamin enriched foods. Food such as milk exchangers, orange juice and breakfast flakes are often enriched with vitamin D. Pay attention to the balance of vitamins D2 and D3 to ensure that you take enough D3. When you take medications that contain vitamin D, you should consult your doctor before taking dietary supplements. Most vitamin D preparations mainly contain vitamin D3. Make sure that you do not grab a preparation that contains only D2. If you are vegetarian or vegan, choose a D3 preparation that is not based on animal products.