vitamin D

I am in the process of transitioning to a vegan diet. I decided not to do it all at once because that seemed overwhelming and because I didn't want to wait until I was prepared to do it completely to make those changes that I can easily make now.

One issue I do not know how to deal with is vitamin D. I had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago and do to this I do not absorb vitamin D very well. I get a blood test to check my vitamin D level every six months, and due to that I know how much vitamin D I need to take in order to keep my level good. I do all right if I take large doses of D3 three or four times a week.

Now, I take D3, not D2, because it's absorbed a lot better. It's my understanding that it is absorbed better in everyone, not just people that have had gastric bypass surgery, but that may be a more important issue to me due to my surgery. Yesterday I was doing some reading and sad to learn that D3 supplements always come from animals. Apparently you can get D2 from plants but not D3.

So I'm wondering what you wise people might suggest. Take the D3 anyway because I really need it? Switch to D2 instead and just take a whole lot more and hope that works? Other options?

Thanks.

Hi Kelly - you might want to have a look at this thread http://www.veganforum.com/forums/sho...ght=vitamin+D3 - the end suggests you now can get vitamin D3 that is vegan though I don't know if it's available where you are. I think there is some discussion about the relative rate of absorption of D2 and D3 as well.

If your vitamin D levels are monitored regularly I suppose you could afford to experiment a bit, maybe a short while before your test is due? But I'm not too clued up in these matters so don't listen to me!