Cautions To Synthetic Vitamin D3

Vitamin K2 is traditionally taken with high doses of vitamin D3 or vitamin A to help prevent and minimize adverse effects of the high doses such as calcification of the arteries which can cause heart attack, stroke, and death.

Synthetic vitamin D3 is stated by multiple sources to be made from lanolin extracted from sheep’s wool, they are not derived from natural sources such as mother’s milk or traditional sources such as cod liver oil. Natural vitamin D contains sulfate molecules. Traditionally vitamin D has been made from UVB rays from the sun interacting with cholesterol sulfate within the skin. Scientific study has found that sunlight and cod liver oil have protective effects against CVD. Synthetic vitamin D doesn’t have sulfate molecules, animal studies show the synthetic form can cause damage to arteries.

Evaluating scientific literature comparing the two forms as equals based on labels can been seen as a mistake since the molecular structure of natural vitamin D has sulfate molecules attached and synthetic versions do not, they have different molecular structures and synthetic forms should be more critically evaluated.

Sunlight is the main natural source for vitamin D which has been consistently shown to have cardio-protective effects, lower blood pressure, and help to reduce risk of heart attacks, stroke, and many forms of cancer such as breast cancer.

In a controlled study synthetic vitamin D given to swines showed pathological damage to thoracic aorta in swine consuming the equivalent of 11000 IU of vitamin D3 daily; and lower doses of 2200 IU of D3 daily worsened atherosclerosis in the animals on high fat diets.

Studies using vitamin D3 supplements found little difference in bone density between the placebo group and treatment group; one group taking vitamin D3 had higher fractures than that of the control group.

Synthetic vitamin D3 has been registered to be used as active ingredient in rodenticide poison since 1984: Terad3 Blox made by Bell Laboratories say their product combines recent advancements in bait poison formulations to yield highly wetherable BLOX with the benefits of the active ingredient Vitamin D3, adding after years of research TERAD3 BLOX with Vitamin D3 kills anticoagulant resistant rats and mice with reduced translocation.

There are safer choices for vitamin D such as traditional cod liver oil, fermented cod liver oil, being outside for 30 minutes a week or a tanning bed giving off UVB light. It is recommended to make sure to take a vitamin K2 capsule daily to help prevent and reduce calcification of the arteries caused by high doses of synthetic vitamin D2 or D3. Do not buy cod liver oil that has been over processed to add synthetic D2 or D3, and make sure the vitamin A and D in the formula are naturally occuring in the cod liver oil.