What Is Vitamin D2 & What Foods Can I Find It In?
Vitamin D2 is one of two forms of Vitamin D.
The other is vitamin D3.
Vitamin D2 is mainly obtained from plant sources and fortified foods.
Among the plant sources, it’s mainly wild mushrooms that are a naturally rich source of vitamin D2.
Vitamin D2 is the main form of vitamin D for vegans and groups of people who want to avoid animal products.
Vitamin D2 is less effective than D3 but can still improve your vitamin D status.
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Vitamin D2 Is An Important Nutrient
Vitamin D2 is a fat-soluble vitamin with many health benefits.
There are two forms of vitamin D, vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. (source ◳)
Vitamin D2 is obtained from the UV irradiation of the yeast sterol ergosterol, found naturally in mushrooms that have been exposed to the sun. (source ◳)
Vitamin D2 is also found in plant sources and fortified foods. (source ◳)
Vitamin D2 Is Less Effective
Since vitamin D2 is cheaper to produce than D3, it’s the most common form in fortified foods. (source ◳)
Daily supplementation of vitamin D2 is less effective than D3 in maintaining vitamin status over the winter months in healthy adults living in the northern parts of the world. (source ◳)
Foods You Can Find Vitamin D2 In
You find Vitamin D2 mostly in vegetable, legume, dairy and egg, and beverage products.
Examples of food sources include
- Mushrooms
- Portabella Mushrooms
- Maitake Mushrooms
- White Mushrooms
- Chanterelle Mushrooms
- Morel Mushrooms
- Shiitake Mushrooms
Foods That Contain Vitamin D2 In Our Nutrition Tool
You can find regularly updated top ranked lists of foods for over 200+ nutrients in our nutrition tool.
If you are interested in what foods contain the most Vitamin D2 we recommend you visit our tool.
Here's our top ranked list of foods that contain Vitamin D2.