Vitamin D

[SpringyLel]

Anyone got any advice about how to get enough vitamin D?

[littlepurplegoth]

Well for a fair chunk of the year, sunshine will be all you need

[Rochellita]

It's also available in supplemented soy milks like

Alpro plain as well as flavoured soy milks like chocolate, vanilla and strawberry from the same brand. Lots of brands contain vitamin D2 though, though organic versions tend not to.

It's also available in margarine like Pure which you should be able to find easily in most supermarkets.

[Talyn]

you can usually find it in a multivitamin, or fortified in things like soymilk, as flux suggested.

just be careful its not d3, which isn't vegan. d2 is fine.

the best way to get vitamin D isn't via supplementation - getting adequate sunlight does it for you. of course depending on where you live, climate, occupation etc this may not always be possible so then its better to supplement it

good luck

[Konstantin]

How much cane be stored? For example, if I get loads of sunlight then stay indoors, how long before I run out?

[littlepurplegoth]

You won't run out as long as you get plenty of exposure in the summer months. At this time of year there is a query over whether you can get enough UV access to make the vit. D you need this far 'north'... but if you are caucasian and blue eyed you have a distinct advantage in those terms.

It doesn't need to be middle of the day sun either - april to october you will make sufficient (and more) by exposure outside the most 'dangerous' times of day (10 or 11 to 16 or 17 in the UK) for around an hour. But lots lots less if you are out middle of the day.

Using a sunblock is a very effective way to block your ability to make vitamin D so you need to be sure that you get some exposure with out it if you routinely use...

LPG

[Dave Noisy]

You won't run out as long as you get plenty of exposure in the summer months.

Heya, can you qualify this statement? I'm pretty sure that this won't work for a typical Canadian winter (snow nearly half the year).. I think Vitamin D is a vitamin that they find just about everyone deficient in, esp. in off months..

[littlepurplegoth]

OK - clarification... I was going the UK centric thing

But there are various studies (medline is a useful place to start) that find no 'overall' deficiencies in Vitamin D in the majority of populations that eat a wholesome diet. Recent studies finding deficiencies are finding that the lack of UV exposure to be the cause, rather than the lack of vit D in the diet; to which end one (UCLA I think) study concluded that we make much better use of the D we make ourselves and that we must ensure exposure rather than 'a sufficiency in diet'.

[mollymoe]

problem for me is per my doctor i need to supplement with an extra 2,000 i.u./day - and i knew finding a vegan supplement would be difficult. so what's the diff between d3 and d2?

[Fallen_Horse]

D2 is ergocalciferol and it's from non-animal sources. D3 is cholecalciferol and is almost always from animal sources (usually lanolin from sheep). D2 is less effective and less potent than D3, but that's just a price we pay for being vegan! Get a D2 vitamin that has a thousand IUs or so and you should be good to go!

[fredrikw]

D2 is ergocalciferol and it's from non-animal sources. D3 is cholecalciferol and is almost always from animal sources (usually lanolin from sheep). D2 is less effective and less potent than D3, but that's just a price we pay for being vegan! Get a D2 vitamin that has a thousand IUs or so and you should be good to go!

you should be careful so you don't get Ava on your case
http://www.veganfitness.net/forum/viewt ... 375#267375

[The Duke]

you should be careful so you don't get Ava on your case
http://www.veganfitness.net/forum/viewt ... 375#267375

I seem to remember that Ava did something with mushrooms to capture vitamin D. Growing them herself and then drying them in the sun or something?

Can't look the thread up because I have to get back to work, but it should be around somewhere.

[Fallen_Horse]

D2 is ergocalciferol and it's from non-animal sources. D3 is cholecalciferol and is almost always from animal sources (usually lanolin from sheep). D2 is less effective and less potent than D3, but that's just a price we pay for being vegan! Get a D2 vitamin that has a thousand IUs or so and you should be good to go!

you should be careful so you don't get Ava on your case
http://www.veganfitness.net/forum/viewt ... 375#267375

Well Ava surely knows that there are a FEW sources of vegan D3, but I can't imagine a company that would go through great lengths to make it...


Also D2 is inferior to D3. Simple fact. Study after study has shown it. We can all get over it now...

[fredrikw]

Also D2 is inferior to D3. Simple fact. Study after study has shown it. We can all get over it now...

According to the link Ava posted there are studies that points in the other direction as well:
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/004897.html

So you might have to get over the fact that D2 can be as effective as D3. on the other hand, one might also question whether it makes any real difference as well

[chloe]

since none of us are going to ever be using D3, i reakon it doenst make too much of a difference wether D3 is proven more reliable than D2 or not.The important point to remember is that D2 is Vegan and D3 is not.