The nutritional values of the two types of vitamin D are significantly different, according to British researchers today.
The research, undertaken by the University of Surrey and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that despite widespread belief to the contrary, the nutritional benefits of vitamin D2 and D3 are not the same.
The research team studied 335 South Asian and white European women over two consecutive winter periods and used low doses of vitamin D in fortified food to investigate if D2, which is plant based, or animal-derived D3, was more effective in raising levels of the nutrient in the body.
The study participants were split into five groups and each group received a placebo, a juice containing vitamin D2 or D3, or a biscuit with D2 or D3.
They found that vitamin D3 was doubly effective in increasing levels of the vitamin in the body compared to D2.
Women who received vitamin D3 via juice or a biscuit increased their levels by 75% and 74% respectively compared to those who were given D2 through the same methods.
Women who were given D2 saw an increase of 33% and 34% over the 12-week intervention.
However, those who were given the placebo saw a 25% in the levels of vitamin D in their bodies over the same period.
Lead author Dr Laura Tripkovic from the University of Surrey, said its findings turns current thinking about the two types of vitamin D on its head.
“Those who consume D3 through fish, eggs or vitamin D3 containing supplements are twice as more likely to raise their vitamin D status than when consuming vitamin D2 rich foods such as mushrooms, vitamin D2 fortified bread or vitamin D2 containing supplements, helping to improve their long-term health,” she said.
Current guidance given by a number of Government bodies around the world, including the US National Institute of Health, state that the two forms of vitamin D are equivalent and can be used to equal effect.
The findings mean there could be radical implications for both the health sector and the retail market as retailers have been adding vitamin D2 to their products in the belief that it will help a person fulfil their daily intake.
Professor Susan Lanham-New, Head of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Surrey and who was principal investigator, said: “This is a very exciting discovery which will revolutionise how the health and retail sector views vitamin D.
“Vitamin D deficiency is a serious matter, but this will help people make a more informed choice about what they can eat or drink to raise their levels through their diet.”
Lanham New S, Tripkovic L et al. Daily supplementation with 15 mg vitamin D2 compared with vitamin D3 to increase wintertime 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in healthy South Asian and white European women: a 12-wk randomized, placebo-controlled food-fortification trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 6 July 2017; doi: AJCN/2016/138693
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