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. It is actually the only vitamin of the 13 essential vitamins that your body can manufacture on its own. 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. Vitamin D3 is found in animal sources of foods, like fatty fish and fish oil, liver, organ meats, and egg yolks.
Vitamin D2 is also less expensive to produce, so it is the form most commonly used to fortify foods, like milk, cereal products, and orange juice. However, high doses of vitamin D2 (up to 50,000 IUs, or International Units) are only available through a prescription.
Which Form Of Vitamin D Is Better?
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. Safety of 50,000-100,000 Units of Vitamin D3/Week in Vitamin D-Deficient, Hypercholesterolemic Patients with Reversible Statin Intolerance.
What Are The Main Differences Between Vitamin D And D3?
The term vitamin D is kind of a misnomer because you will not find anything labeled simply as “vitamin D” in a pharmacy vitamin aisle. Rather, your choices will be vitamin D2 (What is vitamin D2?). Generally, when one mentions vitamin D, the implied selection is vitamin D2.
For the purpose of this article, when vitamin D is mentioned, it will refer to vitamin D2. Its strength is typically measured in international units, which is abbreviated as “IU” on labeling. The 50,000 IU capsules are prescription only, while lower strengths are available over-the-counter.
Vitamin D is less expensive to produce and therefore is the form most commonly found in fortified food products. When your skin is exposed to sunlight, it produces vitamin D3. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the sunshine vitamin.
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?
What Is The Brand 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?
Oral Tablets And Capsules, Oral Liquid Solution Oral Tablets And Capsules, Oral Liquid Solution, Sublingual Liquid Solution What Is The Standard Dosage?
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?
Supplements 101: Vitamin D
While both types help you meet your vitamin D requirements, they differ in a few important ways.