D2 is really in abundance everywhere. D3 is what huel needs. Customers are paying premium pricing for a powdered product and I’d buy more if it contained premium ingredients. D3 has a much better update. Brits really need more considering the lack of sun!
"According to the latest research, D3 is approximately 87 percent more potent in raising and maintaining vitamin D concentrations and produces 2- to 3-fold greater storage of vitamin D than does D2. Regardless of which form you use, your body must convert it into a more active form, and vitamin D3 is converted 500 percent faster than vitamin D2. Vitamin D2 also has a shorter shelf life, and its metabolites bind poorly with proteins, further hampering its effectiveness.
Unfortunately, vitamin D2—which is a synthetic version made by irradiating fungus and plant matter—is the form of vitamin D most often prescribed by doctors in the U.S. Hopefully this will change sooner rather than later."
I would be a bit careful with Mercola’s “science” myself.
If you look at Medscape and their comparison, it DOES support the part that D3 is better for treating severe vitamin D deficiency, but that isn’t what Huel ought to be doing. It ought to be providing a suitable RDA of D, through whichever means…
@ Marcuc Thanks for the link, I know it’s cheap and I have supplemented before but this is what for me Huel is supposed to avoid; I’m buying something with all the vitamins I need but still having to supplement? Where does it end? Should I supplement more Zinc, Omegas, Vitamin C’s etc. I was hoping Huel or product X would be a total solution. I guess the market isn’t there yet.
@David_Pye, I agree regarding Mercola’s “science” Still, I was hoping the market had an all in one product. I’d happily opt for a non vegan version if it had better quality vitamins.
You can get a vegan version of D3, derived from lichen but it is expensive compared to the non-vegan version. I don’t think Huel will use that anytime soon.
Vegan D3 is about a tenner for 60 tablets - so about 6 times the price of what Marcus says. But if you aren’t vegan then 360 tablets for £9 is quite cheap.
Little bit skeptical of his article if I’m honest. From the study he links to:
Vitamin D in the form of vitamin D(3) seems to decrease mortality in predominantly elderly women who are mainly in institutions and dependent care. Vitamin D(2), alfacalcidol, and calcitriol had no statistically significant effect on mortality
I’m not wanting to lower the importance of this group of people, but for the general population, using vitamin d2 or 3 it has no real effect on mortality from the studies that I’ve read.
Whilst Vitamin D3 is a better D vitamin in many ways, that does not mean D2 is bad at all, and does more than enough to maintain suitable levels when used on its own. As Huel has 300% of your RDA’s for vitamin D, this would cover your levels of vitamin D and then some, whilst also keeping Huel vegan.
I didn’t know that most Vitamin D3 wasn’t vegan, thanks for the info.
I think it’s difficult to address all nutritional needs especially when so much about the body isn’t completely understood. I read some Doctors believe the recommended Vitamin D intake is way too low still, like by a tenfold factor or so. In the end, I think, it’s everyone’s own responsibility to keep being informed and making up their mind whether to intake nationally recommended doses or experiment with different numbers. However, a consumer product always needs to abide the current laws, so it’s up to you to supplement more, if needed.
I use DLux3000 from BetterYou: http://www.betteryou.com/dlux3000 which is fairly reasonably priced on Amazon and lasts ages. Vegetarian (and Veg Soc approved), but not vegan sadly, as it’s sourced from Lanolin.
There is (at least) one confirmed dietary Vitamin D3 supplement that is in fact Vegan. See here - http://vitashine-d3.com/vitashine. Some of the others that claim to be Vegan are simply lying (to charge more money) or stretching the definition of “Vegan” (e.g. one process derives D3 from sheep’s wool - specifically lanolin).
Still, I was hoping the market had an all in one product. I’d happily opt for a non vegan version if it had better quality vitamins.