If you’re reading this article, you likely have some knowledge of why vitamin D is important. You need vitamin D to prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes – the list never ends. But you may not realise just how strongly a vitamin D supplement can impact your life.
Firstly, vitamin D is needed to manufacture serotonin, the happiness hormone in humans. Do you ever notice yourself feeling much happier during the summer, but more miserable during the winter? Varying vitamin D levels in response to the sunlight could be why.
Secondly, vitamin D is absolutely vital for clear skin. Vitamin D is needed to prevent chronic inflammation, the disease which leads to pimples being born in the first place, but it can also prevent oily skin by controlling insulin levels. Vitamin D is even miraculous for your skin tone and glow; the reason is not understood.
The most important fact? Deficiency is an epidemic right now, running at 50% in some areas of the United States, giving you a huge opportunity to improve your mood or clear your skin.
But none of this is possible without identifying the best vitamin D product. There’s many cheap, ineffective, and additive filled supplements out there, particularly in your local grocery store.
That’s why today, we will discuss the 10 greatest vitamin D brands money can buy. Firstly, remember never to overdose. The official overdose limit is believed to be 10,000IU a day, and taking more than 5000IU daily is unnecessary anyway, even during winter. If you notice any side effects, cease supplementation.
Let’s get started:
One – Natural Factors
Unlike hard tablets, which are commonly hard to swallow, too high in additives, and harder to digest, Natural Factors comes in 240 softgels, while the D3 itself encapsulated in flaxseed oil. Why is this an advantage? Because unlike vitamin C, vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. It requires a fat like butter or coconut oil to be absorbed properly in humans.
One study found that combining a vitamin D supplement with fat increased its absorption by 32%. With Natural Factors, you don’t have to slot the supplement into a fatty meal; the oil is prepackaged for maximum effectiveness, and better yet, flaxseed oil is a decent source of plant-based omega 3s, for a tiny acne-clearing bonus.
Importantly, Natural Factors contains vitamin D3, the most biologically active form. The dosage per capsule is also a strong 5000IU, perfect for long, dark winter months. During summer, you could take one capsule every two days, for a lower dosage to reinforce your sun exposure. Natural Factors contains 240 capsules, so that strategy would give you well over 8 months supply.
The additives list is also superior: flaxseed oil, glycerin, gelatin and water, all of which are safe. The vitamin D3 itself is explicitly listed as cholecalciferol on the label. Natural Factors is manufactured in Canada, and every Natural Factors supplement is verified for purity and potency by a third party laboratory.
Natural Factors is a perfect pure and focussed vitamin D3 supplement.
Amazon link: Natural Factors Vitamin D3.
Two – Garden Of Life
The only additives are the safe vegetable cellulose and organic rice, with soy and magnesium stearate completely absent. There’s two dosages available, either a 2000IU per capsule or a 5000IU, both with identical ingredients. The former bottle contains 120 capsules, and the latter 60.
Garden Of Life is a supplement which I’ve previously used, and I noticed all of the glowing skin, high energy levels, and happy moods which vitamin D should deliver.
But where Garden Of Life also stands out is in its bonus fruit and vegetable blend. Each capsule contains a 110-150mg blend of asparagus, ginger, beets, spinach, and over 15 more healthy foods, delivering a huge variety of concentrated nutritional goodness.
Even better, Garden Of Life contains a 60mg enzyme and probiotic blend, including digestive enzymes like phytase and papaine (a protein-digesting enzyme from papaya), and beneficial bacteria species like lactobacillus plantarum and lactobacillus bulgaricus. Most modern human beings have highly depleted gut flora, thanks to sterile food and antibiotic consumption. Rich and diverse gut flora can 1) improve your mood by pumping out serotonin, 2) decrease acne by lowering inflammation, 3) enhance nutrient absorption, and 4) achieve much more.
Each Garden Of Life capsule has a probiotic strength of 500 million CFU. The only potential downside is that if you’re prone to food sensitivities, you might react to one of the many fruits and vegetables, but a quick inspection of the ingredients label will reveal the truth.
Garden Of Life is a top vitamin D3 supplement, with numerous other healthy benefits.
Amazon link: Garden Of Life Vitamin D3 2000IU.
Three – Pure Encapsulations
Pure Encapsulations isn’t packaged in fat, but is extremely pure, with hypoallergenic plant fiber (cellulose) and the vegetarian capsule (cellulose, water) as its only additives and no magnesium stearate or soy to be found. The dosage is a strong 5000IU per capsule, with a 1000IU option if you wish to take a lower dosage, while the product is manufactured in the USA rather than China. The D3 itself is sourced from Switzerland and the capsule count is 120 for a 4 month supply.
Like every brand here, Pure Encapsulations is in the superior vitamin D3 form. Why is D3 so important? There’s two key supplemental forms of vitamin D: cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), discovered in 1925, and ergocalciferol (vitamin D2), discovered in 1914. Simply put, vitamin D2 is a plant form which is nowhere near as effective in humans.
Ergcocalciferol is manufactured by fungi and algea in response to sunlight, with supplements being created in a lab where scientists shine artificial light on fungi, but D3 is the human form, which animals make in response to sunlight. The same dosage of vitamin D2 was only 44% as effective after 16 days in one study, so you always need to buy vitamin D3, and that’s where Pure Encapsulations succeeds.
Pure Encapsulations is among the most reliable vitamin D supplements you could buy.
Amazon link: Pure Encapsulations Vitamin D3 5000IU.
Four – Viva Naturals
Coconut oil primarily consists of saturated fats, which are also excellent for vitamin D absorption, but coconut oil also contains lauric acid, which has promising anti-inflammatory properties. Coconut oil contains high amounts of medium chain triglycerides, believed to be promising for brain health and energy production. This makes Viva Naturals an interesting alternative to Natural Factors and brands which contain olive oil like Now Foods.
Read Annihilate Your Acne – get the diet that could transform your skin!
Elsewhere, Viva Naturals is of prestigious quality, with the only additives other than coconut oil being bovine gelatin, glycerin and water to form the softgel capsules. The capsule are average sized and easy to swallow, while Viva Naturals contains 360 capsules for a particularly affordable price.
Viva Naturals explicitly rejects all soy ingredients, citing consumer fears. Interestingly, they also state that the capsules may vary from a golden to white colour, because of coconut oil’s natural nutritional variation. Last but not least, this brand contains vitamin D3 rather than D2, while the dosage per capsule is 5000IU.
Viva Naturals is a slightly different type of vitamin D supplement, and another expertly formulated one.
Amazon link: Viva Naturals Vitamin D3.
Five – Vita Miracle
This brand takes advantage of every recent discovery related to the ultimate vitamin D. It’s in the correct vitamin D3 form, with cholecalciferol explicitly mentioned on the label. The only additives are the safe glycerin, gelatin and purified water. The dosage is 5000IU per capsule.
Vita Miracle (formerly Island’s Miracle) is also manufactured in the USA, in a GMP certified facility, with the spectre of China far away. The vitamin D is encapsulated in flaxseed oil, and that’s excellent news, because there are many manufacturers who opt for a cheaper oil like soybean instead.
The problem? Soybean oil is possibly the most unhealthy cooking oil, being extracted from soybeans using toxic chemical solvents like hexane, and swimming with free radicals because of the intense heat used in the factory. By its very nature, soybean oil is extremely high in omega 6, a polyunsaturated fat which has pro-inflammatory effects when eaten in excess. The flaxseed oil in Vita Miracle, meanwhile, is much richer in omega 3s than omega 6s.
Then there’s the olive oil of Now Foods below, which primarily consists of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat which protects the heart and lowers inflammation. Olive oil is naturally rich in vitamin E and polyphenolic antioxidants like oleocanthal, while cold-pressing methods guarantee its freedom from free radicals. As for Vita Miracle, its final advantage is a near 1 year supply of 360 capsules.
Vita Miracle meets every requirement for a dedicated vitamin D3 supplement.
Amazon link: Vita Miracle Vitamin D3.
Six – Now Foods
The vitamin D3 is encapsulated in extra virgin olive oil for optimal absorption and a helping of vitamin E, as well as olive oil’s heart healthy oleic acid. The dosage is 5000IU per capsule and the capsule count is 120.
Now Foods is one of the most reputable supplement brands around, which is very important with vitamin D, as a recent investigation discovered that one brand contained just 9% of the vitamin D it claimed to. The vitamin D3 here originates from lanolin in sheep’s wool.
The additives list reads extra olive oil, glycerin, bovine gelatin and purified water. Now Foods is certified under the Good Manufactuing Practises (GMP) code, and thoroughly inspects their own products. It’s an American-made brand, guaranteeing that the water isn’t some random Chinese tap water, which would be polluted with industrial heavy metals. Now Foods is also a particularly affordable product, without sacrificing any quality. Trust is the biggest advantage of Now Foods.
If vitamin D is what you need, Now Foods could be revolutionary for your skin.
Amazon link: Now Supplements Vitamin D3.
Seven – Sports Research
The vitamin D is in D3 form, being extracted from lanolin, while the full additives list is coconut MCT oil, gelatin, vegetable glycerin, and water. The capsules are average sized, being soft and easy to swallow, but Sports Research notes that they may appear cloudy due to coconut oil’s natural properties.
Sports Research is a well-trusted brand, with the vitamin D3 having over 2000 positive ratings, and it’s made in the USA too, rather than the bleak, industrial wastelands of China. Sports Research is a vitamin D3 which meets every requirement. Another widely recommended source of vitamin D3 is fortified foods, but the foods themselves, like bread and cereal, are usually poor for acne. The only downside with Sports Research is that the coconut oil isn’t confirmed to be organic, making Viva Naturals superior, but it remains expertly formulated.
If it’s the middle of winter and your skin is lacking in glow and healthiness, Sports Research may well restore it.
Amazon link: Sports Research Vitamin D3.
Conclusion
Our mission is complete. You now have the choice of a well-absorbed vitamin D supplement like Natural Factors, with some added benefits from the flaxseed oil, or a fully-fledged super supplement in the form of Garden Of Life.
Alternatively, you can use Viva Naturals, if you’re fascinated with coconut oil’s benefits. Continuing our earlier criticism of soybean oil, a recent 2011 study found that polyunsaturated fats, the form which soybean oil primarily consists of, actually reduced vitamin D3 absorption. Oleic acid, meanwhile, the form which comprises 70% of olive oil, increased absorption, in a 2 year experiment.
What about food sources of vitamin D? The top natural sources are eggs, dairy, salmon, and mushrooms, but the content is usually far too weak. Two free range eggs, for example, contain just 27IU, compared with 5000IU as the dosage in Pure Encapsulations.
The vitamin D market is actually doing extremely well. A few years ago it was a wasteland of vitamin D2 and soybean oil, but now, new products with olive oil are springing up constantly.
Nowadays, the biggest problem is weaker than advertised products, but awareness of the requirements for a perfect vitamin D is spreading and we’re reaping the rewards. If you’re a money-hungry businessman reading this article, here’s some advice: do the same for vitamin E! The market for vitamin E truly is a wasteland right now.
NEXT: discover the root causes of acne and banish your pimples forever
Thanks for reading!
How would we know for sure that the skin clearing benefits are from vitamin d and not from nitric oxide and antibacterial effect of sunlight’s UV rays for example? Because one study has found that vitamin d supplements don’t have any measurable effect compared to direct sunlight exposure.