Supplementation: Sunshine vs. Vitamin D supplementation (WAS: Large dose vegan Vit D2? Calcium?)

January 28, 2010

I agree that sunshine is the best way to get your Vitamin D levels up, but it is not always feasible for everyone to get out with your arms, legs, and back exposed for the 10-30 minutes daily or at least a few times per week that is recommended and one also has to balance not getting skin cancer. Some people may have a history of that and need to be cautious. Yes, I know such little sun exposure may not cause skin cancer in most, but one has to balance...

Melissa

On Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 8:37 AM, Elchanan <Elchanan wrote:

Hi Janice, Melissa, and everyone,

May I suggest that you take a step back and give yourself an opportunity to form a new perspective here?

Far and away, you are your own best source of vitamin D. Since you (presumably) live in the San Francisco bay area, I'm guessing that you can easily get enough sunshine to trigger adequate D3 (cholecalciferol) production in your own skin.

D2 (ergocalciferol) is manufactured by plants. You may wish to know that D2 has a rather short shelf-life and is not well metabolized in any primate species, including humans. That is, the serum level doesn't change much in response to D2 supplementation. In other words, it may not serve as an effective supplement.

D3 supplements have a longer shelf-life and are indeed better metabolized. But synthetic D3 functions in the human body as a steroid, and taking D3 supplements, particularly for an extended period of time, would be akin to taking prednisone.

So save your money and save yourself ... go outside and play today!

Make sense?Elchanan

vegan4animalsSent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 8:08 PMJanice RothsteinCc: SFBAVeg

Re: Large dose vegan Vit D2? Calcium?

VegLife makes a 2000iu Vegan D2. Here's a link from Vegan Essentials:

http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/veglife-supreme-vegan-vitamin-d2-capsules.htm

I special ordered it from Whole Foods.

When I looked into it last year, the 50,000iu at Kaiser had gelatin in it. So, I had it made in a liquid at a compunding pharmacy. Here's a link to compounding pharmacies in California.

http://www.findings.net/sucompoundingCA.html

But when I took that high dose for 16 weeks, it barely raised my Vitamin D level...

Melissa

On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 4:58 PM, Janice Rothstein <bikegata wrote:

Hi all,Can anyone recommend very high dose vegan Vit. D, which I guess would be the D2?My dr at Kaiser claims my dexa bone scan results put me in the " oseopenia " dangerrange, and the blood draw result for Vit D was incredibly low. She's recommending

50,000units/week of Vit. D. Rainbow is out of their only vegan Vit. D, and it's only 400IU'sanyway, so I'd have to take a mountain of them. She's waiting for someone at the pharmacyto return from vacation to ask whether Kaiser's own Vit. D,which she's willing to prescribe for

me, is animal based or not.She's also recommending 1500mb Calcium/day, either by supplements or diet. Any ideas?Thanks in advance,Janice

January 28, 2010

Generally I prefer to get what I need from Vegan, Organic, Whole Plants. Recently I have tried some really great Vitamin D2, MultiVitamin and DHA. I use Osteo-Sun with Vitamin D2 from Dr. Joel Fuhrman, I really noticed a difference especially in more healthy nails:-) I also use the Gentle Care Formula MultiVitamin and Mineral Supplement and DHA Purity 100% Vegan DHA (long chain Omega-3) All are vegan and all from Dr. Joel Fuhrman. They all seem to be really well formulated to give just the right nutritional excellence:-)Peace,sam(415)309-1879Osteo-Sun vegan formulation utilizes vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), a form of the vitamin which is obtained only from plant sources. Higher levels of vitamin D2 are used in this product to adjust for its lower vitamin activity.Osteo-Sunwith Vitamin D2vegan formulation60–Day Supply(180 Capsules)$21.99Member Price: $19.79Recurring Order AvailableCase of 12$233.68On Jan 28, 2010, at 8:37 AM, Elchanan wrote:Hi Janice, Melissa, and everyone, May I suggest that you take a step back and give yourself an opportunity to form a new perspective here? Far and away, you are your own best source of vitamin D. Since you (presumably) live in the San Francisco bay area, I'm guessing that you can easily get enough sunshine to trigger adequate D3 (cholecalciferol) production in your own skin. D2 (ergocalciferol) is manufactured by plants. You may wish to know that D2 has a rather short shelf-life and is not well metabolized in any primate species, including humans. That is, the serum level doesn't change much in response to D2 supplementation. In other words, it may not serve as an effective supplement. D3 supplements have a longer shelf-life and are indeed better metabolized. But synthetic D3 functions in the human body as a steroid, and taking D3 supplements, particularly for an extended period of time, would be akin to taking prednisone. So save your money and save yourself ... go outside and play today! Make sense?Elchananvegan4animals Wednesday, January 27, 2010 8:08 PMJanice RothsteinCc: SFBAVeg Re: Large dose vegan Vit D2? Calcium?VegLife makes a 2000iu Vegan D2. Here's a link from Vegan Essentials: http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/veglife-supreme-vegan-vitamin-d2-capsules.htm I special ordered it from Whole Foods. When I looked into it last year, the 50,000iu at Kaiser had gelatin in it. So, I had it made in a liquid at a compunding pharmacy. Here's a link to compounding pharmacies in California. http://www.findings.net/sucompoundingCA.html But when I took that high dose for 16 weeks, it barely raised my Vitamin D level... Melissa On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 4:58 PM, Janice Rothstein <bikegata (AT) copper (DOT) net> wrote: Hi all,Can anyone recommend very high dose vegan Vit. D, which I guess would be the D2?My dr at Kaiser claims my dexa bone scan results put me in the "oseopenia" dangerrange, and the blood draw result for Vit D was incredibly low. She's recommending50,000units/week of Vit. D. Rainbow is out of their only vegan Vit. D, and it's only 400IU'sanyway, so I'd have to take a mountain of them. She's waiting for someone at the pharmacyto return from vacation to ask whether Kaiser's own Vit. D,which she's willing to prescribe forme, is animal based or not.She's also recommending 1500mb Calcium/day, either by supplements or diet. Any ideas?Thanks in advance,Janice