If you’re here then you’ve probably Google’d about: what does vitamin d 3 mean. This article aims to clear any doubts and questions you may have about this subject and we will do our best to do so.
What Are The Main Differences Between Vitamin D And D3?
Vitamin D (D2) comes from plant sources, such as wild mushrooms, as well as fortified foods, such as milk or cereal products. When your skin is exposed to sunlight, it produces vitamin D3. All forms of vitamin D3 are available over-the-counter.
Main Differences Between Vitamin D And D3 Vitamin D2 Vitamin D3 Drug Class Vitamin D Analog Vitamin D Analog Brand/Generic Status Brand And Generic Available Brand And Generic Available What Is The Generic Name?
Ergocalciferol or vitamin D2
Drisdol, Calcidol, Calciferol Cholecalciferol, Vitamin D, Or Vitamin D3
Decara, Dialyvite D3 Max What Form(S) Does The Drug Come In?
1,000 Iu To 2,000 Iu Daily For Vitamin D Supplementation 1,000 Iu To 2,000 Iu Daily For Vitamin D Supplementation How Long Is The Typical Treatment?
Indefinite Indefinite Who Typically Uses The Medication?
Supplements 101: Vitamin D
It’s a family of nutrients that shares similarities in chemical structure. In your diet, the most commonly found members are vitamin D2 and D3. While both types help you meet your vitamin D requirements, they differ in a few important ways.
Research even suggests that vitamin D2 is less effective than vitamin D3 at raising blood levels of vitamin D. This article sums up the main differences between vitamin D2 and D3.
What Is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is found in certain foods and supplements, but it can also be made by the body when your skin is exposed to the ultraviolet rays of sunlight. One of the main roles of vitamin D is promoting calcium absorption, which allows for proper bone mineralization and growth.
It also plays diverse roles throughout the body, including reducing inflammation, supporting immune function, and metabolizing glucose.
What’S The Difference Between Vitamin D And Vitamin D3?
There are two possible forms of vitamin D in the human body: vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. Both D2 and D3 are simply called “vitamin D,” so there’s no meaningful difference between vitamin D3 and just vitamin D.
That being said, it can be worth understanding how vitamin D2 and D3 specifically are different from each other—so here’s a quick rundown:
Vitamin D3 is the form of vitamin D the human body makes when sunlight strikes the skin.
Similarities between vitamin D2 and vitamin D3
While their chemical makeup and sources differ, vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 have much more in common. When ingested, both vitamin D2 and D3 have to pass through the liver and kidneys, where they get processed into the active, usable form of vitamin D. Both forms of vitamin D are readily available as over-the-counter oral supplements. However, high doses of vitamin D2 (up to 50,000 IUs, or International Units) are only available through a prescription.
Recent studies involving daily doses of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 show that they are equally effective in boosting your vitamin D levels. Thus, the type of vitamin D you get is less important than getting the right dose and making sure your levels are in the right range to avoid deficiency. (The amount of vitamin D in foods and supplements is usually expressed in terms of International Units, or IUs.).
If you want to see what your vitamin D levels are like, take the Everlywell Vitamin D Test—an easy at-home option that lets you conveniently collect a sample at home and send it to a lab for accurate testing (a prepaid shipping label is included with the kit). Accessed February 15, 2021. Nair R, Maseeh A. Vitamin D: The “sunshine” vitamin.
Cleveland Clinic. Safety of 50,000-100,000 Units of Vitamin D3/Week in Vitamin D-Deficient, Hypercholesterolemic Patients with Reversible Statin Intolerance.