Post by dfree

From what I understand, yes. Sounds like a really healthy lifestyle you run there. I think that is the key more than any specific thing. The intent towards healthy living.

If you want to geek out on Vitamin D and how it is synthesized int he body, I dug up some notes from several years ago when I was into studying it. This is an excerpt.

I studied the production/synthesis process for Vitamin D. The synthesis process of Vitamin D starts in the skin using UVB radiation from the sun. The process begins with a form of cholesterol, which assists in converting the sunlight into pre-vitamin D3. ‘Thermal isomerization’ then converts pre vitamin D3 to cholecalciferol, a still as yet unusable form of Vitamin D. The cholecalciferol enters the bloodstream and is transported to the liver where an enzyme, 25 hydroxylase transforms it into 25-hydroxyvitamin D, also known as calcifediol. In this form, it is still not useable by the body for its known purposes. At this point in the synthesis, when activated based on whatever the need for the hormone is - it is transported to the kidneys where another enzyme is used to create 1, 25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 also known as calcitriol which is the final and only usable form of vitamin D, a steroid hormone.

As I understand it, the reason calcitriol, the active form of Vitamin D, is not used as a supplement, is that it is too potent a hormone and would cause damage in the body with regular use though it is occasionally prescribed in edge cases by a physician.

The reason I think it’s important to understand all this is that the supplement form comes generally, in the form of cholecalciferol and in order to be useful it still has to go through the bloodstream and liver and kidneys with its conversions through enzymatic process to calcitriol, a steroid hormone. So the supplement is forcing the body to create more of the hormone than what is natural.