Overview Vitamin D3 not D2

Created October 2011

Vitamin D2 has been known for a long time to not be as good as vitamin D3

VitaminD2 was the first to be discovered and, until 2011, was the only one that most doctors could prescribe

The D3 form has been known for many decades, but the medical profession has not yet adapted - after all, only 12,000 papers on D3 asof Oct 2023.

Several recent studies have shown that vitamin D2 actually reduces the levels of D3 in the blood

AND, worse still, D2 actually INCREASES a health problem , instead of reducing it, the way vitamin D3 does

Notes:

Some multivitamins and milk/food fortifications still use D2, but in such low quantities that it can be ignored.

Some people buy D2 because it is vegan, being unaware that there are vegan forms of D3

All items in D3 vs D2 items

Vitamin D2 actually decreased vitamin D3 levels – RCT Nov 2012
Vitamin D3 increased and Vitamin D2 decreased the D3 serum levels – RCT Sept 2013
Vitamin D2 decreased blood levels of Vitamin D3 by 12 ng – RCT July 2012
Vitamin D3 is much better than D2, especially if not taken daily – meta-analysis June 2012
MS worse with Vitamin D2 - Oct 2011 high dose of D2 resulted in worse MS than low dose
Chance of a fall decreased with vitamin D3 but increased with D2 – Oct 2011
10 million IU of vitamin D3 for cows was great unless had vitamin D2 – July 2011
Hemodialysis not helped by weekly vitamin D2 – RCT April 2015
Following large doses of vitamin D2, Vitamin D3 doses were unable to achieve sufficiency – Jan 2014
Vitamin D2 decreased vitamin D3 levels in the blood – Feb 2011
Vitamin D2 loading doses did not increase, and may have decreased blood levels– June 2011
Vitamin D3 for Vegans - Oct 2011 lichen, etc.
Primates Nutrient Requirements – 2003 ALL primates need D3, not D2
Vitamin D3 but not D2 reduces mortality – Cochrane meta-analysis July 2011
- 6% relative risk REDUCTION of mortality when supplementing with vitamin D3 ;
- 2% relative risk INCREASE of mortality when supplementing with vitamin D2
Vitamin D2 reduced the Vitamin D3 by half – Feb 2012
Vitamin D from mushroom or supplements decreased vitamin D3 in the body – June 2012
Vitamin D3 much better than D2 for loading doses– meta-analysis May 2012
- Not much difference between D3 and D2 for daily doses?
Vitamin D2 did not help Lupus (no surprise, D2 was given weekly) – June 2013
Cooked mushrooms (Vitamin D2) did not increase vitamin D serum levels – Aug 2014
Vitamin D3 far better than D2 at raising infant vitamin D blood levels – Dec 2012
- Vets no longer use D2 Vitamin D2 should not be used as a Vitamin supplement for any mammal – Oct 2006
Graphs of diseases vs vitamin D levels - and D3 vs D2- April 2011 which has the following

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Far better response to D3 than D2

Response to 20,000 IU vitamin D3 extra per week

Most > 20ng and some > 40ng

Response to 20,000 IU of vitamin D2 per week (im = inter-muscular injection)

Very few got to 40ng

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The 2006 study can be read at Vitamin D2 should not be used as a Vitamin supplement for any mammal – Oct 2006

D2 decreases D3 (50,000 IU D2 every 14 days) - June 2012

TREATMENT WITH 50000 IU VITAMIN D 2 EVERY OTHER WEEK AND EFFECT ON SERUM 25-HYDROXYVITAMIN D2. .

📄 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

Irradiated mushrooms decreased Vitamin D3 levels by 40% - Nov 2020

Assessing the impact of a mushroom-derived food ingredient on vitamin D levels in healthy volunteers

1000 IU D2 daily from irradiated Mushrooms for 12 weeks

📄 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

11+ Vitamin D Life pages with MUSHROOM(S) in the title

This list is automatcially updated

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