Vitamin D derived from animal products superior to plant-based, finds study

One type of vitamin D is twice as effective as the other, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Surrey used low doses of both D3 (derived from animals) and D2 (plant-based) in fortified food, and found that overall, D3 was twice as effective in raising vitam in D levels in the body.

335 South Asian and white European women served as test subjects for the study. Throughout a 12-week period over two consecutive winters, they were split into five groups and given either a juice or biscuit containing D2 or D3, or a placebo.

Vitamin D levels in the women who consumed the juice or biscuit with D3 increased by 75% and 74% respectively, while those given D2 saw their levels increase by 33% (juice) and 34% (biscuit).

The study’s authors are hoping their findings will spur government bodies to encourage vitamin D3 consumption instead of vitamin D in general.

Professor Susan Lanham-New, head of the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Surrey, and who was principal investigator of the trial, said: “This is a very exciting discovery which will revolutionise how the health and retail sectors view vitamin D.”

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