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Thread: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

  1. #51

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    Default How much vitamin D?

    I havent been out and about much this summer and Ive now taken a job on the night shift so Im sleeping during day light hours. Im a bit worried about my vitamin D levels being low, so can anyone suggest a suitable supplement or food containing vitamin D? How much should I take etc etc

    xxFLame7

  2. #52
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegans and vitamin D

    The Vegan Society have started selling their own supplement containing vitamin D (along with some other vitamins and minerals that they they think are relevant) here: http://www.vegansociety.com/catalog/...roducts_id=239

    It seems quite cheap at £4.99 for three months' supply and I suppose we can safely assume that it's suitable for vegans Unfortunately it's out of stock at the moment but you can still order it, apparently.

  3. #53

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    Default Re: Vegans and vitamin D

    And yet another study
    linking low levels of vitamin D to health problems. Interestingly, other than sun exposure every food mentioned is animal derived.
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  4. #54
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    Default Re: Vegans and vitamin D

    What many people don't know is that many (farm) animals get their vitamin D from plants: from sundried hay. The sundrying process has the same effect on hay that it has on animals/humans; it causes the creation of vitmain D in plants.


    From http://www.horsejunction.co.za/infor.../feeding4.html
    All green, sundried hays contain carotene i.e. the essential Vitamin A precursor as well as Vitamin D which is so important for young, growing animals.

    From http://horse.purinamills.com/bulletins/vitamind.htm

    Vitamin D2 is found in the dried leaves of cut plants that have been exposed to sunlight-in other words, hay.

  5. #55
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    American Public Health Association:

    Vitamin D status differs by latitude and race, with residents of the northeastern United States and individuals with more skin pigmentation being at increased risk of deficiency. A PubMed database search yielded 63 observational studies of vitamin D status in relation to cancer risk, including 30 of colon, 13 of breast, 26 of prostate, and 7 of ovarian cancer, and several that assessed the association of vitamin D receptor genotype with cancer risk.
    The majority of studies found a protective relationship between sufficient vitamin D status and lower risk of cancer. The evidence suggests that efforts to improve vitamin D status, for example by vitamin D supplementation, could reduce cancer incidence and mortality at low cost, with few or no adverse effects.
    More here...

  6. #56
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    I take vegan vitamins and minerals and a vitamin B complex every day. I don't think me and john need vitamin D as we're naturists and spend all summer at the naturist club or down on the naturist beach near our home. I'm pretty sure we store up all the vit D we need for the winter in the summer.
    We also do "everything stew" every other day in the winter, an enormous pot of loads of veg (at least 6-10 different types - roughly chopped) including copious amounts of garlic with rice, barley, lentils, tofu, nuts and anything else we can think of chucked in which we eat as a thick soup with bread and eat loads of fruit.
    If we're not getting enough nutrients from that lot we may as well give up now
    Silent but deadly :p

  7. #57

    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Why have I read that D3 is more important than D2? Can't find specifically why people think so. Just in case though, I've started drinking Tropicana, which is fortified with D3 that they've said is not derived from any animal products.

  8. #58

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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Sproutsfan,

    There is no vitamin D3 that is not animal derived (the company probably doesn't even know this). There is previtamin D3 (precalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) that are derived from fish, sheep wool, hides or other animal parts such as brains.

    Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and previtamin D2 (ergosterol) are both from plant sources such as some mushrooms, some seaweeds and yeast. Commercially, it is produced from yeast.

    7-dehydrocholesterol is the substance on your skin that converts to vitamin D when you are exposed to sunlight. The previtamins D2 and D3 also need sunlight to convert to vitamin D in your body.

    I have "vegetarian" vitamin pills that have vitamin D3 in them. There are a lot of people involved in the making of products so it is easy to see that miscommunication is bound to happen.

    Sorry, but you cannot always rely on a company to know the source of ingredients in it's products - you always need to read the labels.
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  9. #59

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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Quote bulletproof
    vitamin d is vitamin day. just go outside!
    Depends how far from the equator you live. In Northern Europe the sun's rays are only long enough to produce vitamin D in the skin from about April to October.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  10. #60

    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Thanks DianeVegan, it seems there is disagreement online as to whether it is possible to make D3 without animal products. Tropicana say they use 7-dehydrocholesterol, but don't mention how they get it. Most people seem to be agreeing with you that it's probable they are using wool or something. I may e-mail them for more specific information. It'll at least let them know there's demand out there for a vegan version. I'll let you all know what they say...

  11. #61
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Quote sproutsfan
    Thanks DianeVegan, it seems there is disagreement online as to whether it is possible to make D3 without animal products. Tropicana say they use 7-dehydrocholesterol....
    The "cholesterol" bit of that ingredient throws me off a bit suggesting if it a cholesterol product, it's not vegan.
    Peace, love, and happiness.

  12. #62

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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    [QUOTE=Tigerlily]
    Quote sproutsfan
    Thanks DianeVegan, it seems there is disagreement online as to whether it is possible to make D3 without animal products. Tropicana say they use 7-dehydrocholesterol....QUOTE]

    The "cholesterol" bit of that ingredient throws me off a bit suggesting if it a cholesterol product, it's not vegan.
    According to http://medical-dictionary.thefreedic...drocholesterol

    7-de·hy·dro·cho·les·ter·ol (-d-hdr-k-lst-rôl, -rl)
    n.
    A provitamin present in the skin of humans as well as the milk of mammals that becomes vitamin D3 when exposed to ultraviolet light.

    Also a read of http://www.vegsource.com/talk/campbe...ages/6074.html

    would indicate its not vegan
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  13. #63
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Quote Hemlock
    I'm pretty sure we store up all the vit D we need for the winter in the summer.
    I didn't think our bodies could store vit D? At least not for that long.
    "Do what you can with what you have where you are."
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  14. #64
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    This page by the Vegan Society suggests it's worth taking a supplement in the winter if you live in a northern country like the UK

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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Quote RedWellies
    I didn't think our bodies could store vit D? At least not for that long.
    Yes, we are good at storing it, its stored in fat and is fat soluble, so I suppose if a body is underweight it may be harder to store it. We also have to have enough stores to get us through the winters if we live far from the equator.
    Thats why we need to be careful to get enough. Unfortunately it's a slightly complicated issue so its worth having a read of that vegan society web link.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  16. #66

    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Thanks for those links, herbwormwood and harpy

    Haven't had a reply from Tropicana yet, and I won't but any now until I do.
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  17. #67
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    Default Vitamin D

    I know you can get this in the summer from the sunlight. but is there anyway (other than supplements) to get vit.d in the winter??
    Last edited by flutterby; Sep 14th, 2006 at 11:22 PM. Reason: This was the first post in a similar thread

  18. #68
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    Default Re: Vitamin D

    Hmm, I don't think so.

    The Vegan Society has some information:
    http://www.vegansociety.com/html/foo...n/vitaminD.php
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  19. #69
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    Default Re: Vitamin D

    thanks

  20. #70

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    Default Re: Vitamin D

    Quote tofutofu View Post
    I know you can get this in the summer from the sunlight. but is there anyway (other than supplements) to get vit.d in the winter??
    fortified foods.
    Many vegan margarines ,& soya milk contain it. Check the label to see if it is fortified.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  21. #71

    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Being in India, we enjoy lot of natural sun light.

    Manish Jain

  22. #72
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Here are some links about plants containing vitamin D after being sundried:

    From http://ohioline.osu.edu/b762/b762_10.html
    Vitamin D is called the sunshine vitamin because the ultraviolet rays of the sun will convert a compound (7-dehydrocholesterol) in the skin into vitamin D. Horses exposed to four to six hours of outdoor light (even on cloudy days) will make sufficient vitamin D. Also, sun-cured forages contain the vitamin. If a horse is not exposed to the sun or is fed poor-quality hay, a deficiency could occur

    From http://www.goatworld.com/articles/nu...ngpygmys.shtml
    Vitamin D is needed for the proper use of calcium and phosphorus in building or repair of bones. The action of sunlight on the skin of animals can convert certain steriods in the skin into vitamin D. During the summer when goats are outside in the sun, they will make their vitamin D that is needed. When animals are kept inside most of the time, vitamin D should be provided. Hay that has been sun cured is high in vitamin D but hay that is heat cured may contain no vitamin D. If one is in doubt,
    From http://www.alpacasnz.co.nz/articles-vitamind.htm
    Vitamin D also comes from consumption of sun cured dried foods, such as hay (which has vitamin D2).

    From http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2...ne/CT153.shtml
    Ergosterol, a sterol in green plants, is converted to D2 when the plant is harvested and cured in sunlight.
    From http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faqingredients.htm#d3
    D-3 can also be produced by plants and fungi, but this isn't as common as using lanolin or fish as a source.

    From http://www.world-of-fungi.org/Mostly...ONAL_VALUE.htm
    Outila et al. (1999) found that ergocalciferol in mushrooms increased serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations as effectively as did supplements, allowing mushrooms to be reliably recommended as a natural vitamin D source. Pro-vitamin D is present in some mushrooms, particularly shiitake, and can be converted to vitamin D by ultraviolet irradiation (sunlight).


    And here's a another one about vitamin D in alfalfa hay (couldn't paste in the text since it's a gif-file.

    These links are from sites about vitamin D in animals, and no, I don't eat hay.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  23. #73
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Here's reference to a study about light-dependent synthesis of Vitamin D3 in a green plants:

    We now demonstrate that cholecalciferol is formed in T. flavescens only in the presence of UV light, thus suggesting a similar path of synthesis in plants to that which occurs in vertebrates.

    More here.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  24. #74
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    From http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12370708/from/RL.1/

    Light-zapped mushrooms filled with vitamin D
    Updated: 11:10 a.m. ET April 18, 2006
    WASHINGTON - Mushrooms may soon emerge from the dark as an unlikely but significant source of vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin that helps keep bones strong and fights disease.

    New research, while preliminary, suggests that brief exposure to ultraviolet light can zap even the blandest and whitest farmed mushrooms with a giant serving of the vitamin. The Food and Drug Administration proposed the study, which is being funded by industry.

    Exposing growing or just-picked mushrooms to UV light would be cheap and easy to do if it could mean turning the agricultural product into a unique plant source of vitamin D, scientists and growers said. That would be a boon especially for people who don't eat fish or milk, which is today the major fortified source of the important vitamin.

    Sunshine is a significant source of vitamin D, since natural UV rays trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin. Mushrooms also synthesize vitamin D, albeit in a different form, through UV exposure. Growers typically raise the mushrooms indoors in the dark, switching on fluorescent lights only at harvest time. That means they now contain negligible amounts of vitamin D.
    I'd prefer natural UV exposure.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  25. #75
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    I suppose even if they were exposed to natural light the poor old mushrooms might have the same problem as us humans in northern climes - i.e. not enough sun in the winter months?

  26. #76
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Sure - so the major question is if vitamin D created in plants by converting ergosterol to D2 will survive drying/storage...
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  27. #77
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    According to this information, "Although fairly high in fat, avocado is a good source of vitamin D", but I haven't found any more specific information about this... anyone else?

    According to this site, half a cup of raw mushrooms contains 36.6 IU vitamin D.

    If this information - from Denmark - is right, "One hundred and twenty one men (74&#37 and 152 women (92%), had intakes lower than the recommended 5 μg/day. (These were not vegans).
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  28. #78

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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    I have not ever seen a reliable source indicating that avocado's are a good source of vitamin D. For instance, check out the vitamin D content of a cup of avocado's according to this (generally reliable) website:

    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...ofile&dbid=100

    Mushrooms, on the other hand, can be a good source.

    Best,
    Josh

  29. #79
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    Exclamation Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    I'm holding a bottle of "Wild Harvest" (store brand) Vegetarian Multi in my hand. It has vitamin D3 in it. I bought it thinking it was OK because it also says in the fine print: stearic acid (vegetable source) , calcium stearate (vegetable source) , and after a long list of other allergens I don't care about CONTAINS NO: egg, or milk products. So anything that's both "vegetarian" and egg and milk free should be vegan. No? Honey has very little vitamin content so I know they aren't going to use that. It never even occurred to me that it could contain an animal product that is not a food: WOOL

    Reading this thread I now assume the D3 is from wool. Oh well, they fooled me.

    Maybe the wool was shaved from already-dead-from-natural-causes "wild" sheep. That would be vegan, right?

  30. #80
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    That has happened to me too with multivitamins!
    Peace, love, and happiness.

  31. #81
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    It's recently been discovered that cod liver oil isn't as efficient when it comes to boosting vitamin D as previously thought, and that sunlight clearly was the best vitamin D source, according to some Norwegian research that was referred to on TV recently. They also mentioned that people who spend time under 'false' sunlight (to get a tan in the winter) also will have increased vit. D levels, and that people with skin cancer are more likely to get well if the area in question has been exposed to sunlight.

    I guess that (like with a lot of other things) it's as much about "how much" as it as about "what".
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  32. #82
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    According to this new study, vitamin D deficiency is more common than thought:

    A study of middle aged British adults showed that the majority, 60%, have hypovitaminosis D [less than optimal levels of vitamin D], and 90% have less than optimal levels during winter and spring.

    Previously hypovitaminosis D has been considered to be a public health problem that affects mainly ethnic minority groups living in Britain, but the current study shows that the problem is very real also among the Caucasian population.

    Participants living in Scotland were twice as likely to have low vitamin D concentrations compared to others.

    Obese participants were twice as likely to have hypovitaminosis D compared to others.

    According to this article, vitamin D deficiency is associated with high incidence cancer mortality:

    According to many surveys Vitamin D deficiency rises as a global health problem in many countries and its consequences affect men and women worldwide. If human body has not sufficient Vitamin D, it cannot absorb calcium, thus the most common consequence induced by a lack of Vitamin D is osteoporosis. Normal levels of Vitamin D have been found to prevent malignant tumours of prostate, colon, breasts and ovaries, while low levels of Vitamin D have been linked with high incidence of cancers of the digestive system in male population.

    Vitamin D is close related to natural sun exposure. It is generated by human skin when the sunlight touches it and no supplement can replace the effect of sun exposure. As rays of natural sunlight cannot go through glass, nobody can produce vitamin D when sitting in the car or home.

    Studies revealed with no doubt that people living in countries situated far from equator (US, Canada, Great Britain) experience the Vitamin D deficiency because they need a longer sun exposure. Statistics show that about 40% of the United States population is vitamin D deficient and indicate that in Great Britain the majority of adult population are in the same condition.

    People with dark skin pigmentation are prone to Vitamin D deficiency as they need about 20 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people in order to produce the same amount of vitamin. This fact explains why among black men prostate cancer is epidemic.
    In other words, we shouldn't be sitting here by our computers - we should be out in the sun!
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  33. #83

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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Going out in the sun where I live would not increase anyone' vitamin D levels at the moment as in Northern Europe and the UK the sun's ray's are not long enough yet to make vitamin D. I have read April's sunlight will do it, but I'm not sure of the details.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  34. #84
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    As rays of natural sunlight cannot go through glass, nobody can produce vitamin D when sitting in the car or home.
    Quote Korn View Post
    In other words, we shouldn't be sitting here by our computers - we should be out in the sun!
    Or at least sit by an open sunny window!! (And open our car window or roof!)

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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Quote herbwormwood View Post
    Going out in the sun where I live would not increase anyone' vitamin D levels at the moment as in Northern Europe and the UK the sun's ray's are not long enough yet to make vitamin D. I have read April's sunlight will do it, but I'm not sure of the details.
    Here's what The Vegan Society writes:


    The effective light wavelength - ultra-violet B (UVB, 290-315 nanometers in wavelength) - is not present in winter sunlight between October and March in countries above latitude 52 degrees north, which includes most of Britain. Winter time supplies of vitamin D depend on the previous summers exposure creating adequate stores in the liver, or on dietary sources.
    I think most health advice is based (and often has to be) on a general simplifications. If we get enough vitamin D from the sun on April 1st, this doesn't mean that we won't get any vitamin D from the sun March 31st. Advice like this is also meant to be valid for 'most people', and 'most people' are probably not out in the sun enough hours pr. day, especially not in the hours where the ultra-violet light is at it's strongest to get enough vitamin D from the sun. So while most people may not get practically no vitamin D from the sun between October and March in countries above 52 degrees North, I find it likely that spending time outdoors even in the part of the year where most of us do not get enough vitamin D from the sun is beneficial...

    http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutriti...pp_e.html#ref7
    Worldwide, sunlight is the principal source of vitamin D for all humans, including infants. Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin after exposure to ultraviolet B radiation. Latitude, time of day, season of the year, increased use of sunscreen, amount of skin exposed, pigmentation of the skin and air pollution have a dramatic effect on the quantity of vitamin D produced in the skin. The geographic latitude of Canada (from 43°N in Toronto to higher than 60°N in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon Territory) means inadequate ultraviolet exposure to stimulate formation of vitamin D in the skin for a large portion of the year. For example, at 52°N in Edmonton, no synthesis of vitamin D occurs in the skin between October and March.

    http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-ntr100803.php
    NIH told regular and moderate exposure to sunlight is the key to preventing chronic disease

    BETHESDA, MD (Oct. 9, 2003) – The researcher who discovered the active form of Vitamin D, Dr. Michael F. Holick, a Professor of Medicine, Dermatology, Physiology and Biophysics at the Boston University School of Medicine, told the National Institutes of Health's symposium on "Vitamin D and Health in the 21st Century" that the nation faces "severe Vitamin D deficiency" which, if not properly addressed, will have profound far reaching health consequences such as hundreds of thousands of new cases of breast cancer, colon cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and multiple sclerosis.
    Dr. Holick said, "We have a severe unrecognized epidemic of Vitamin D deficient patients on our hands. The public health issues at stake go far beyond bone health and involve chronic disease such as breast and colon cancer and high blood pressure. There is a mountain of well conducted, validated science that demonstrates that the production of the activated form of Vitamin D is one of the most effective ways the body controls abnormal cell growth. Regular and moderate exposure to sunlight is the best way to help the body manufacture the Vitamin D it needs. The idea that we should protect ourselves from the sun all the time is misguided and unhealthy.

    "Moreover, the 1997 daily recommended allowances for Vitamin D are totally inadequate to protect public health. New science supports a significant revision of the recommendation. Adults should be getting 1000 International Units (IU) of Vitamin D a day, not the 200-600 (IU) that was recommended in 1997. Rewriting the recommended daily requirements as soon as possible should be a top priority.

    "Taking diet supplements or drinking foods that have been fortified with Vitamin D is too often inadequate since a patient would have to drink the equivalent of 10 days of fortified milk or orange juice every day. Only regular and moderate exposure to sunlight fulfills the body's needs. We ought not to be like the groundhog that is afraid to cast a shadow on a sunny day.

    We need a national public health information and education campaign that encourages people to get the exposure to sunlight they need and then put on lots of sunscreen. It is not a question of a few minutes here and there. It is a question of determining how much ultraviolet light you need to maintain the right Vitamin D level in your blood and finding a way to get it.
    http://www.simply-natural.biz/Sun-Dried-Donko.php
    Sun-Dried Shiitake Mushrooms are far superior due to the facn that they are the highest grade of all shiitake and are also sun-dried giving them 20% more vitamin D than other donko.
    http://jds.fass.org/cgi/reprint/81/9/2493.pdf
    Hay and other sun-dried forages contain appreciable quantities of vitamin D

    Notes on Nutritional Properties of Culinary-Medicinal Mushrooms
    Increasingly, mushrooms are being investigated for their role as nutritional foods. However, few studies have been published on their nutritional profiles. The author grew and submitted 20 species for thorough nutritional profiling. In addition, the effect of sunlight on the production of vitamin D of indoor-grown mushroom while drying was explored with Lentinus eddoes (Berk.) Singer (shiitake mushroom), Ganoderma lucidum (W. Curt.:Fr.) Lloyd (reishi), and Grifola frondosa (Dicks.:Fr.) S.F. Gray (maitake). Six to eight hours of sunlight exposure stimulated the production of vitamin D from low levels of 134, 66, and 469 IU, respectively, to 46,000, 2760, and 31,900 IU vitamin D, respectively. The most vitamin D was produced in Lentinus edodes, whose spore-producing lamellae were exposed to the sun. Dried mushrooms also elicited vitamin D production subsequent to sunlight exposure. Vitamin D is proven as essential for immune function and has now been identified as a major mitigating factor in many diseases, so the sunlight-activated biosynthesis of vitamin D from ergosterols within mushrooms has substantial implications for the mushroom industry in the context of worldwide health.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  36. #86
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Here are some other links about vitamin D - all of them undocumented.
    http://www.nature2care.com/visitor/s...icle.php?aid=7 lists sprouted seeds as a natural source for vitamin D.

    According to http://www.happyjuicer.com/wheatgras...beans-nuts.asp "Sprouts contain both vitamins, minerals, proteins and fibre, as an example Alfafa sprouts contain iron, magnesium, all 8 of the essential amino-acids, chlorophyll, vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin C, vitamin D, fibre and more…."

    http://www.pcda.com/sprouting.html writes that "Sunflower is considered like a wholesome aliment that provides vitamin D, and contains abundantly chlorophyll and the whole range of amino acids. "

    The writers at http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/fr...sunflower.html seem to agree, and writes that...

    "Research has found the essential fatty acids (EFA), in sunflower seeds, provide a beneficial action in cleaning arteries, reducing LDL cholesterol levels and preventing heart disease. Sunflower seeds have a medicinal use for: arthritis, rheumatism, headaches, blurred vision, high blood pressure, fluid retention, fevers, bladder and kidney inflammation, bleeding gums, bronchitis, nervous stress, coughs, colds, asthma, duodenal ulcers and cancer. A liniment from the sunflower head is applied externally for relief from arthritic and rheumatic pain. As sunflower sprouts have a warming, thermal nature, we can use them during the winter months to great advantage, and also for lubricating the intestines and treating constipation, fatigue, and to strengthen the spleen and pancreas.

    The seeds have a very high content of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and vitamin D, the vitamin, which is often called the key to unlock the door, allowing calcium to leave the intestine and enter the blood stream."

    http://www.greatvistachemicals.com/v...itamin-d2.html writes that "provitamin d2 is found in plants and yeast" but they don't mention anything about which plants...

    Seagreens are, according to http://www.byregion.net/articles-hea...ea_Greens.html "a good source of natural vitamin D, too, essential for calcium absorption, bone health and muscle function."

    http://www.wachters.com/newsarticle....f78607d08d7c5d
    Why Sea Vegetation is for you….

    1. These minerals are naturally chelated by Nature’s Laboratory
    2. Contains the only natural vegetable source of Vitamin D in large amounts
    3. Contains chlorophyll which is the life blood of all plants and plays an important role in transforming light energy into energy.
    4. Contains natural enzymes, cell growth regulators, plant hormones and cell stimulant factors which give energy to human cells.
    5. Contains sodium alginate which removes radioactive strontium 90 from the body
    6. The Blend is a combination of many species of sea vegetation from many different families of plants. The various species are selected for their color, nutritional content and absorbability allowing for the highest nutritional benefit.
    7. Harvested at peak ripeness and maturity for their nutritional content
    8. Harvested by hand and sun dried to preserve the natural enzymes and the life essence contained within the plant cells
    9. The sea plants gather light energy from the sun’s rays, convert it into electrical energy and store it as chemical energy for use of mankind.
    10. Man’s blood is ideally adapted to sea vegetation
    11. Contains 61 naturally chelated minerals and trace minerals and more than 20 vitamins
    12. All vitamins and minerals from our blend are in a naturally absorbable colloidal form
    http://www.tipsofallsorts.com/vitamins.html claims that dark green vegetables is a natural source of vitamin D.
    Like most other people, I'm not very convinced if someone claims that ********* can be found in ********* if there's no research or documentation backing up their claims... so, if you know of any research on D2 in sprouted seeds, dark green vegetables, sea greens, sunflower seeds or plants in general, please let us know!
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  37. #87
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Daily Duration of Vitamin D Synthesis in Human Skin with Relation to Latitude, Total Ozone, Altitude, Ground Cover, Aerosols and Cloud Thickness
    Vitamin D production in human skin occurs only when incident UV radiation exceeds a certain threshold. From simulations of UV irradiances worldwide and throughout the year, we have studied the dependency of the extent and duration of cutaneous vitamin D production in terms of latitude, time, total ozone, clouds, aerosols, surface reflectivity and altitude. For clear atmospheric conditions, no cutaneous vitamin D production occurs at 51 degrees latitude and higher during some periods of the year. At 70 degrees latitude, vitamin D synthesis can be absent for 5 months. Clouds, aerosols and thick ozone events reduce the duration of vitamin D synthesis considerably, and can suppress vitamin D synthesis completely even at the equator. A web page allowing the computation of the duration of cutaneous vitamin D production worldwide throughout the year, for various atmospheric and surface conditions, is available on the Internet at http://zardoz.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/VitD.html and http://zardoz.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/VitD-ez.html. The computational methodology is outlined here.

    http://health.msn.com/centers/cancer...ntid=100156774
    Although vitamin D is firmly enshrined as one of the four fat-soluble vitamins, it is not technically a vitamin. True, it’s essential for health, and only minuscule amounts are required. But it breaks the other rules for vitamins because it’s produced in the human body, it’s absent from all natural foods except fish and egg yolks, and even when it’s obtained from foods, it must be transformed by the body before it can do any good.

    As our habits change, most of us cannot rely on our bodies to produce vitamin D the old-fashioned way. Instead, we increasingly depend on artificially fortified foods and pills to provide this vital nutrient. Coming full circle in the modern world, this substance may actually come to fit the technical definition of a vitamin.

    What is vitamin D?

    Vitamin D is not one chemical but many. The natural type is produced in the skin from a universally present form of cholesterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol. Sunlight is the key: Its ultraviolet B (UVB) energy converts the precursor to vitamin D3. In contrast, most dietary supplements are manufactured by exposing a plant sterol to ultraviolet energy, thus producing vitamin D2. Because their function is almost identical, D2 and D3 are lumped together under the name vitamin D — but neither will function until the body works its magic (see figure).
    http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocente...mins/vitaminD/
    Sunlight

    Sunlight exposure provides most people with their entire vitamin D requirement. Children and young adults who spend a short time outside two or three times a week will generally synthesize all the vitamin D they need. The elderly have diminished capacity to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight exposure and frequently use sunscreen or protective clothing in order to prevent skin cancer and sun damage. The application of sunscreen with an SPF factor of 8 reduces production of vitamin D by 95%. In latitudes around 40 degrees north or 40 degrees south (Boston is 42 degrees north), there is insufficient UVB radiation available for vitamin D synthesis from November to early March. Ten degrees farther north or south (Edmonton, Canada) this “vitamin D winter” extends from mid October to mid March. According to Dr. Michael Holick, as little as 5-10 minutes of sun exposure on arms and legs or face and arms three times weekly between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm during the spring, summer, and fall at 42 degrees latitude should provide a light-skinned individual with adequate vitamin D and allow for storage of any excess for use during the winter with minimal risk of skin damage (35).
    http://www.sunarc.org/pastpress.htm
    6 – Another problem is the statement “the amount of sunlight a fair-skinned person needs to make a whole month’s supply of vitamin D is about 5-10 minutes three times a week—just on the face.” That is an often-quoted value, but it is not consistent with the facts as I see them. Cancer mortality rates for breast, colon, ovarian, rectal, etc. cancers are about twice as high in the urban northeast than in the rural southwest. Also, the prevalence of multiple sclerosis increases rapidly with latitude in the U.S., Australia, and Europe, which is due to decreasing UVB with increasing latitude. Assuming that casual solar UVB radiation exposure is the largest source of vitamin D in the U.S., then 5-10 minutes a day may be ok in the southwest, but not in the northeast. I think that 15-30 minutes a day of casual UVB exposure to hands and face daily in summer is required for those with fair skin; the time required increases with degree of pigmentation: those with very dark skin may require several hours of exposure per day. The best time of the day is midday, since the UVB to UVA ratio is higher, and one can obtain the requisite amount of UVB in a shorter time. Also, it should be noted that for 4 months of the year it is impossible to generate vitamin D from solar UV in Boston since the UVB levels are very low in the darkest months of the year. I recommend indoor UVB exposure or supplements for those who can’t get enough solar UVB.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  38. #88
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D, the sun and... cacao!

    http://www.biochemj.org/bj/029/2728/0292728.pdf

    VITAMIN D ACTIVITY OF CACAO SHELL

    A tiny excerpt:

    I. THE EFFECT OF THE FERMENTING AND DRYING OF CACAO ON THE VITAMIN D POTENCY OF CACAO SHELL.
    II. THE ORIGIN OF VITAMIN D IN CACAO SHELL.


    THE authors have shown [1934] that one sample of the testa or "shell" of the ordinary dried fermented cacao beans from the Gold Coast had a vitamin D potency of 28 International Units (i.u.) per g. 10 months later another sample of cacao shell was exanlined by them and found also to contain 28 i.u. per g. As this is quite an exceptional potency for a vegetable product, further investigation was made with the object of determining whether the vitamin D was present in the seed or was produced during the preparation for the market.

    [...]


    SUMMARY.
    1. It is improbable that either vitamin D or ergosterol is present in the fresh shell of the cacao bean.
    2. During fermentation, yeast containing ergosterol develops in the pulp on
    the shell.
    3. During drying inthetropical sun the ergosterol is converted into vitamin D.
    4. Hence the order of vitamin D potency of the shell of the cacao bean is:
    (1) artificially dried-absent; (2) not deliberately fermented but slightly fer-
    mented during sun-drying-fairly high, approaching the potency of dairy butter;
    (3) fermented and sun-dried-very high, twenty or thirty times the potency of dairy butter.


    REFERENCES.
    de Balsac (1933). Acad. Agric. France, 19, 862.
    Bills, Massengale and Prickett (1930). J. Biol. Chem. 87, 259.
    Birkinshaw, Callow and Fischmann (1931). Biochem. J. 25, 1977.
    Bourdillon, Bruce and Webster (1932). Biochem. J. 26, 522.
    Brill (1915). Philippine J. Sci. 10 (A), 123.
    Bunting (1928). Dept. Agric. Gold Coast Year Book, 44.
    Ciferri (1931). J. Dep. Agric. Porto Rico, 15, 223.
    Coward (1933). Lancet, ii, 930.
    Eckmann (1928). Dissertation, Kiel.
    Key and Morgan (1932). Biochem. J. 26, 196.
    Knapp (1935), Bull. Imp. Inst. 33, 31.
    and Coward (1934). Analyst, 59, 474.
    and Wadsworth (1924). J. Sci. Chem. Ind. 43, 124 T.
    Kon (1931). Lancet, ii, 579.
    - and Henry (1935). Biochem. J. 29, 2051.
    Labb6, de Balsac and Lerat (1929). Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 189, 864.
    Lecoq (1932). Compt. Rend. Soc. Biol. 111, 293.
    Lilienfeld-Toal (1927). B. Tropenpflanzer, 30, No. 2.
    Manceau and Bige (1931). Compt. Rend. Soc. Biol. 107, 635.
    Preuss, Petersen, Steenbock and Fred (1931). J. Biol. Chem. 90, 369.
    Steenbock, Hart, Hanning and Humphrey (1930). J. Biol. Chem. 88, 197.
    Whymper (1933). Chim. Ind. 30, 507.
    Biochem. 1935 xxix
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  39. #89

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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    I found a great 100% vegan certified multi-vitamin supplement that has 100% of D2 and is also loaded with all the B vitamins and iron. After about 6 months of switching to a Vegan diet I started to get very tired early in the afternoon. At the time I hadn't attributed this to my new way of life, but a friend of mine suggested I might be defecient in B vitamins and iron. Sure enough after a few days of using the Vegan vitamins i was back to normal

    here is the best priced DEVA distributor i have found: http://dvgirl.home.insightbb.com/

  40. #90
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Quote muldr42 View Post
    At the time I hadn't attributed this to my new way of life, but a friend of mine suggested I might be defecient in B vitamins and iron.
    Hi muldr, and welcome! If look here, you'll see that people who go vegan don't have more nutrients to worry about than vegans who start to eat non-vegan food. Based on experience (and this little poll), it looks like most people who go vegan experience less, and not more tiredness...

    Supplements may be needed for both vegans and non-vegans, but in many cases, taking a supplement may mask the real problem (too little sunlight, too little sleep, too much work, too little fresh/raw food) - and since treating symptoms alone may actually mask a problem instead of removing the cause, I'd generally be very careful with using supplements as a result of assuming that health issues are caused by a vegan way of life. There are lots of non-vegans who eat vegan food for health reasons alone, or because they need more energy!
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  41. #91

    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Quote gertvegan View Post
    I called Vega Nutritionals
    I have looked at their product range and they don't seem to sell a separate Vitamin D(2), there is one combination product with calcium with a laughable amount of vitamin D which translates I think to 200 IU.

    Apparently there is a new daily recommended intake for Vitamin D more than 10 times than that, according to
    this study: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/84/1/18
    The authors conclude that 400 IU of Vitamin D is much to low to raise the
    blood serum levels to an overall beneficial level and recommend at least 1000 IU of vitamin D3. For D2 (the vegan type), this translates to at least 2000 IU because D2 has a different absorption rate. I actually went as far as contacting one of the authors of this study to ask how this translates to
    vitamin D2, since there's no exclusive mention of that type of vitamin D. She
    replied that 2000 IU daily is a _conservative_ translation for D2, and that
    levels of up to 10.000 IU per day are safe for people suffering from acute
    Vitamin D deficiency.

    Vitamin D is not only a vegan issue, it's a "Northern" issue and given the new data, the daily recommended intake for vegans is *minimum* 2000 IU vitamin D2, currently the only source for us Europeans and the UK (I'm sure you'll bitch again if I don't mention you separately is veganessentials.com, e. g. the Freeda brand, but that is still just 400 IU per tablet. I've contacted them to ask to possibly list this product http://www.country-life.com/moreinfo...Product_ID=183 and they promised they would get back at me.

    Personally I produce my own vitamin D2, I grow my own mushrooms and after harvest dry them in the sun, which raises their vitamin D content drastically, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12370708/ . My husband doesn't trust this method, which is ok since it's highly experimental, so he relies on year round supplementation given that he's black.

    Given the new data I think the recommendation for vitamin D will have to change pretty soon - for the entire Northern population and I would urge any vegan to make sure your D storage is filled up in summer, if you reject supplements for some reason, consider using a sunbed in months with an "R" at least once or twice. You'd have to ask if the lamps supply UVB light, since UVA doesn't stimulate the skin to synthesize vitamin D.

    Supplements are seen as problematic by some - just as condoms. But this is evolution. The ones who can't adapt to new circumstances are the ones to first drop out so to say.

  42. #92
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    Default Vitamin D in Spirulina?

    According to the two sites linked to below, Spirulina contains vitamin D. These sites also claim that Spirulina contains vitamin B12, although this B12, in Spirulina, is in all likelihood a B12 analogue, so the sites do not appear to be entirely credible.

    Has anybody spent the time to actually research Vitamin D content in Spirulina? Does anyone know if Spirulina actually contains this vitamin, and if so how much?


    http://www.helium.com/tm/51292/spirulina

    http://spirulina4nutrition.com/


    I have read that alfalfa sprouts also contain Vitamin D. Is there any truth to this?

  43. #93
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    From http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/f...tm?pf=1#cancer

    Special Form of Vitamin D May Fight Cancer


    A form of vitamin D, discovered in laboratory studies by an ARS researcher, may help fight cancer. ARS and Bone Care International, Inc., Madison, Wis., share a patent on an experimental anti-cancer drug that's based on the compound.

    Known as a metabolite, the vitamin D form is 1,24-dihydroxyvitamin D2. Though scientists had previously known of a vitamin D metabolite called 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D2, ARS was the first to uncover the 1,24 form.

    Found mainly in plants, the parent compound--vitamin D2--is used as a dietary supplement. Both the 1,25 and the 1,24 forms activate vitamin D's ability to build strong bones and help prevent the weakening associated with osteoporosis.

    Earlier work, done elsewhere, pointed to vitamin D's potential anti-cancer activity. But high doses of the vitamin can have toxic effects. The 1,24 metabolite may offer a way to safely provide doses that are nontoxic yet high enough to fight cancer.

    Bone Care International expects to begin clinical trials this year to learn more about the 1,24 metabolite.

    For more information, contact Ronald L. Horst, (515) 663-7312, USDA-ARS National Animal Disease Center, Ames, IA.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  44. #94

    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Wow, interesting news! I've actually been getting annoyed about the rather silly and constant use of "natural" referring to D3 by the "vitamin D council" and other logical fallacies, so it's great that one of the metabolites of D2 gets such good rep. Good find, Korn!

  45. #95
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    There are more a articles out there about the link between lack of vitamin D and cancer, including a new study released this week by The American Society for Nutrition.

    Here are some excerpts:

    The American Society for Nutrition, June 2007:
    Improving calcium and vitamin D nutritional status substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal women. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00352170.
    International Health News, November 1995:
    Conculsion: It is clear that vitamin D deficiency is widespread and can have serious, even fatal consequences. Regular, prudent, unprotected exposure to sunlight is the most effective way of maintaining an adequate vitamin D status(4,9,17). However, during the winter months, elderly people and people who spend most of their time indoors should supplement with vitamin D. Recommendations vary from 400 IU (10 micrograms) to 800 IU per day(2,9,22,24,25,28). An adequate vitamin D supply significantly reduces the risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, osteoporosis, and hip fractures.

    From The Role of Vitamin D in Cancer Prevention, American Public Health Association:

    Vitamin D status differs by latitude and race, with residents of the northeastern United States and individuals with more skin pigmentation being at increased risk of deficiency. A PubMed database search yielded 63 observational studies of vitamin D status in relation to cancer risk, including 30 of colon, 13 of breast, 26 of prostate, and 7 of ovarian cancer, and several that assessed the association of vitamin D receptor genotype with cancer risk.

    The majority of studies found a protective relationship between sufficient vitamin D status and lower risk of cancer. The evidence suggests that efforts to improve vitamin D status, for example by vitamin D supplementation, could reduce cancer incidence and mortality at low cost, with few or no adverse effects.
    Of course - too much direct sunlight is always too much, and one has to be careful with overexposre, but getting enough sunlight seems to be extremely important for good health and what most people may miss.

    More links here.


    (None of the studies above were vegan-specific - the recommendations are general recommendations for people on any diet).

  46. #96
    nervine
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    Default Re: Vitamin D in Spirulina?

    who cares, just spend 15 mins in the sun every day

  47. #97
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun


  48. #98

    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    I never really understood how exposure to sunlight helps with vitamin D.
    anyone care to explain?
    The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool.

  49. #99
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun

    Our skin is capable of producing vitamin D, but if we aren't exposed to ultraviolet light, the process won't happen...

  50. #100
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    Default Re: Vegans, vitamin D and the sun


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