At a glance
- Vitamin D contributes to normal blood calcium levels, maintaining healthy bones and teeth, normal function of the immune system, maintenance of normal muscle function, has a role in the process of cell division and reduces the risk of falling associated with postural instability and muscle weakness 1
- We can make it on our skin via sunshine, but deficiencies are common, especially in vegans as dietary sources are mostly of animal origin.
What is role of vitamin D and do vegans get enough
Vitamin D helps us regulate calcium and phosphorous levels in the body, and is thus critical in maintaining healthy bones and muscle, including the heart. Recently it is becoming more and more recognised as playing a critical role in the immune system, with new studies indicating it plays a role in preventing Covid-19 infection.2
We can make vitamin D via the action of sunlight on our skin, but deficiences are ‘alarmingly’ common3. The combination of dark skin and little sunlight results in 50% of asians being vitamin D deficient in the UK.
In the UK, the NHS recommends boosting the vitamin D we get from sunshine through our diet, however the major sources of vitamin D are Meat, Fish and Eggs. Mushrooms do contain some vitamin D but only in the form of D2 which is not as useful as the D3 form found in meats (D3 raises blood levels of vitamin D twice as much as D2).4
The dosage of vitamin D to supplement has some controversy. Whilst the UK and US governments currently recommends to supplement with 10 – 20mcg, (400 – 800IU) of vitamin D, some studies indicate a daily level of upto 1680 IU is needed to maintain sufficient blood levels.5 For people with vitamin D deficiency (a large portion of the population), 5000IU a day was required to bring their levels up to healthy amounts5.
Both the NHS and the Institue of Medicine place the safe upper limit at 100mcg (4000iu).
To stay safe whilst accounting for lower levels in the vegan community, we have included 2000 IU in our formula, which is a much larger dose than found in most multi vitamins.
(1) EU authorised health claims
(2) https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239252
(3) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201215091635.htm
(5) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28679555/
(6)Vitamin D Intake to Attain a Desired Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D ConcentrationJohn F Aloia 1, Manish Patel, Rhett Dimaano, Melissa Li-Ng, Sonia A Talwar, Mageda Mikhail, Simcha Pollack, James K Yeh