Mushroom extracted Vitamin D & why you should take it.

As we’ve discussed many times before, and I’m sure we will again, there are two distinct forms of supplements. Chemically derived or artificial supplements are created with chemical processes in labs and industrial complexes.

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Natural supplements come from plants or fungi, and are extracted in their natural form and concentrated for consumption. Among the many differences, which I will discuss in detail in a separate article, one of the main ones is bioavailability, or absorption. Chemically derived supplements, among their numerous problems, usually have a much lower absorption rate then naturally derived supplement. This effectively means that taking a load of chemical supplements will only yield minor results, while taking a moderate amount of naturally derived supplements will have the most efficient effect. Not to mention that big amounts of certain supplements, especially chemical ones, can cause damage to your kidneys and other organs. In any case, we will talk about this in much more detail in a future article.

With that basis out of the way, I wanted to talk (write) about vitamin D, and more specifically, what the best sources of it are.

What is Vitamin D in fact? It is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in very few foods, added to others as enriched foods, and available as a dietary supplement in many, many forms. It is also produced by our own bodies when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. Vitamin D obtained from sun exposure, food, and supplements is biologically inert and must undergo two chemical changes in the body for activation. The first occurs in the liver and converts vitamin D to 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], also known as calcidiol. The second occurs primarily in the kidney and forms the physiologically active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], also known as calcitriol. These forms are the biologically active ones.

Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate concentrations to enable normal mineralization of bone and to prevent hypocalcemic tetany, or pathological muscle spasms. It is also needed for bone growth and bone remodeling by osteoblasts and osteoclasts, the cells that generate bones. Without sufficient vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen. Vitamin D sufficiency prevents rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Together with calcium, vitamin D also helps protect older adults from osteoporosis.

For people living in northern parts, where there is not much sunlight, vitamin D deficiency is a real risk most of the year. Based on some surveys, the numbers of people deficient in vitamin D in the northern hemisphere is up to 20%!

So, seems like something we should aim to get as much as possible, within the healthy limits of course. However, very few foods in nature contain vitamin D. The flesh of fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel) and fish liver oils are among the best sources. Small amounts of vitamin D are found in beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks. Now, that’s a problem! With all the other side-effects and bad effects for health, which we discuss at length across various articles, it’s a bit absurd that these foods are the only source of vitamin D in our diet! Vegans and vegetarians are especially vulnerable to lower levels of vitamin D, due to a diet that mostly avoids nutritional sources of it. But there is a loophole. And that loophole is: Mushrooms!

Some mushrooms provide vitamin D2! Mushrooms with enhanced levels of vitamin D2 from being exposed to ultraviolet light under controlled conditions are also available.

Eating mushrooms containing vitamin D2 can be as effective as taking any other naturally derived supplement. However, no everyone is in the position to eat loads of mushrooms every day. So, mushroom derived vitamin D might be the best way to go!

As we said, naturally derived supplements are superior to chemical ones. But, if you are a vegan and want to avoid products derived from meat and animal products and the associated negative effects, then you might think you are doomed to the synthetic and artificial vitamin D variant. Not so! Mushrooms provide the solution.

There’s a debate over bioavailability of mushroom vitamin D, and it relates primarily to the form of vitamin D in mushrooms, called vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol). Past studies conclude that this form isn’t as bioavailable to humans as animal-based vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which is why most commercial dietary supplements contain the latter. Despite the argument, some mushroom farmers irradiate their product with UV to increase vitamin D levels. Mushrooms such as white button (Agaricus bisporus) contain negligible amounts of vitamin D when they grow in darkness; but, place them under UV light, and they become abundant vitamin D sources.

In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, researchers assigned 30 adults to consume daily capsules containing 2000 IU of white button mushroom extract, vitamin D2, or vitamin D3 for three months during winter. The researchers measured blood samples for 25-hydroxyvitamin D, a most common marker for human vitamin D levels. At baseline and the end of the study, vitamin D levels were not statistically different in either group.

In jointly-published research, the Boston University team analysed UV-exposed extracts of cremini, oyster, portabella, shiitake, white button mushrooms, and white button mushroom powder. They found that, beyond presence of vitamin D2 precursors in all mushrooms, UV-exposed oyster, white button, and shiitake also exhibited vitamin D3 precursors. Shiitake even contained a precursor for vitamin D4.

This effectively means that mushrooms, especially white button, oyster and shitake are not only equally as good a source of vitamin D as animal-based products, they are far superior! And they contain none of the nasty cholesterol, fats, and oils usually associated with animal derived fat-soluble vitamins.

Mushrooms are the only known source of natural vitamin D for vegetarians and vegans! So, naturally, the only appropriate supplemental source of vitamin D for vegans and vegetarians are mushrooms, and mushroom derived extracts.

Naturally, all our products use naturally derived, vegan friendly formants of supplements with high bioavailability.

Aaron

Aaron is the founder of www.thehonestearth.com To lead a quality life, one must be nourished with quality. We make the best plant based protein powders & supplements with sustainable, natural ingredients from around the world.