Vitamin D vs D3: What’s the Difference?

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Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that promotes the absorption of calcium, regulates bone growth and plays a role in immune function.
Your skin produces vitamin D when it’s exposed to sunlight. However, if you spend most of your time indoors or live at a high latitude, you’ll need to get this vitamin from your diet.
Good dietary sources include fatty fish, fish oils, egg yolk, butter and liver
To prevent deficiency symptoms, make sure to eat vitamin D-rich foods regularly, get some sunlight or take supplements.
The vitamin comes in two main forms:
Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol)
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol)


Vitamin D3 Comes from Animals, Vitamin D2 from Plants

The two forms of vitamin D differ depending on their food sources.
Vitamin D3 is only found in animal-sourced foods, whereas D2 mainly comes from plant sources and fortified foods.
Sources of Vitamin D3

  • Oily fish and fish oil
  • Liver
  • Egg yolk
  • Butter
  • Dietary supplements

Sources of Vitamin D2

  • Mushrooms (grown in UV light)
  • Fortified foods
  • Dietary supplements


Vitamin D3 Is Formed in Your Skin
 Your skin produces vitamin D3 when you spend time in the sun. In contrast, vitamin D2 is produced
by plants and mushrooms exposed to sunlight

Vitamin D3 Is More Effective 
at Improving Vitamin D Status
Vitamin D2 and D3 are not equal when it comes to raising your vitamin D status.
Both are effectively absorbed into the bloodstream. However, the liver metabolizes them differently.
The liver metabolizes vitamin D2 into 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 and vitamin D3 into 25-hydroxyvitamin D3. These two compounds are collectively known as calcifediol.
Calcifediol is the main circulating form of vitamin D, and its blood levels reflect your body’s stores of this nutrient.
Most studies show that vitamin D3 is more effective than vitamin D2 at raising blood levels of calcifediol .
Vitamin D2 Supplements Might Be Lower Quality

In fact, studies suggest vitamin D2 is more sensitive to humidity and fluctuations in temperature. For this reason, vitamin D2 supplements may be more likely to degrade over time
However, whether this is relevant to human health is unknown. Also, no studies have compared the stability of vitamin D2 and D3 dissolved in oil.
Until new research proves otherwise, you shouldn’t worry about the quality of your vitamin D2 supplements. Simply make sure to store your supplements in a closed container, at room temperature, in a dry place and out of direct sunlight.

Conclusion 

Vitamin D is not a single compound but a family of related nutrients. The most common dietary forms are vitamins D2 and D3.
The D3 form is found in fatty animal-sourced foods, such as fish oil and egg yolk. Your skin also produces it in response to sunlight or ultraviolet light. In contrast, vitamin D2 comes from plants.
Interestingly, vitamin D3 appears to be more effective at increasing levels of vitamin D in the blood. Although, scientists debate the relevance of this to human health.
To maintain adequate vitamin D levels, make sure to regularly eat plenty of foods rich in vitamin D or spend some time in the sun. If you take supplements, vitamin D3 is probably your best choice.

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