People need all kinds of vitamins and nutrients daily from either their diet or supplements to ensure their bodies function properly and strengthen their overall health. One important vitamin that people should make an effort to maintain ideal levels of would definitely be vitamin D. 

While the existence of this fat-soluble vitamin¹ has been known for many years, researchers are still continuing to unravel its different roles in the body, and the potential effects and benefits associated with it.
If there’s one thing that’s clear though, it’s that these benefits highlight the need for vitamin D to have a spot in your health arsenal. 

Fun Fact: There Are Two Types of This Vitamin
You read that right! There are actually TWO kinds of vitamin D: vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol).² The main factors that differentiate these types from each other would be their molecular structure and their sources.³

Vitamin D2 mainly comes from plants and some fortified food,⁴ but it can be synthetically manufactured. On the other hand, vitamin D3 can be derived from animal sources, but is mainly made in human skin.⁵ When your skin is exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) rays from the sun, this causes a compound called 7-dehydrocholesterol to produce vitamin D3.

While both types of vitamin D can be found in supplements, authors of a 2019 study highlight that vitamin D3 may be the better option. Vitamin D3 is said to have a longer half life (length of time it takes for a dose to be metabolized and eliminated from the blood⁶), stronger potency, and possibly a longer shelf life compared to vitamin D2.⁷

What Are the Benefits of Vitamin D3?
Some of the significant — and very promising — benefits that have been linked to vitamin D3 include:

1. Helps improve bone mineral density (BMD) in the neck, spine, and hip: Authors of an October 2022 study noted a connection between higher doses of vitamin D3 supplements and improved BMD of the mentioned areas.⁸
2. Helps reduce risk for fractures: According to authors of a meta-analysis published in July 2022, older adults who took vitamin D3 and calcium supplements at doses of 800 IU and 1,200 mg had a reduced risk for hip fractures and non-vertebral fractures.⁹
3. Helps reduce risk for hypocalcemia after a thyroidectomy: Results of this 2019 study showed that a combination of vitamin D3 and calcium supplementation helped reduce patients’ risk for symptomatic and biochemical hypocalcemia (low calcium levels in the blood¹⁰) after a thyroidectomy.¹¹
4. Helps reduce risk for death caused by cancer: Authors of a 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis noted that vitamin D supplementation helped lower the risk for death linked to cancer.¹²  
5. Helps increase the amount of beneficial bacteria in the gut, while lessening quantities of bad bacteria: Authors of this 2020 study discovered that vitamin D3 supplementation helped increase amounts of Akkermansia muciniphila. This particular probiotic has been linked to a lower risk for cancer, obesity, and atherosclerosis (plaque or fat build-up in your heart’s artery walls¹³) and may assist in improving fasting plasma glucose and plasma triglyceride levels.^14,15
   The authors also noted that there was a “statistically significant decrease in Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio” linked to vitamin D3 supplementation. This means that vitamin D3 may help promote a better balance between good and bad bacteria in your gut. High values of the F/B ratio may set the stage for obesity and metabolic syndrome.¹⁶
6. Helps improve patient outcomes against COVID-19: Authors of this 2023 umbrella review noted that low vitamin D3 levels weren’t just linked to an increased COVID-19 incidence, but also a higher risk for disease severity (to the point of ICU admission) and even mortality or death.
   The study noted that vitamin D3 may have a protective ability against the “cytokine storm” or the “massive and sustained release of pro-inflammatory cytokines” that contributes to COVID-19 symptoms and organ damage. Vitamin D3 may reduce the debilitating effects of these cytokine storms by “inducing anti-inflammatory mediators” in the body. This allows vitamin D3 to combat the inflammation caused by COVID-19.¹⁷

What Else Can Vitamin D Do for You?
Aside from these benefits linked to vitamin D3, it’s important to understand the other roles of vitamin D as a whole and why it has been the subject of many studies. Vitamin D is known to play a role in:^18,19

• Regulating the levels of calcium and phosphorus in the body, two integral minerals involved in healthy bone mineralization²⁰
• Regulating levels of the parathyroid hormone within the body
• Strengthening immunity^21,22 by exerting positive effects on the adaptive immune system and promoting production of antimicrobial peptides, to name a few²³

Vitamin D deficiency is quite common, affecting  approximately 1 billion people worldwide²⁴,and can manifest as symptoms of fatigue, bone pain, muscle weakness or pain, or mood changes in adults.²⁵

Where Can You Get Vitamin D?
Our body actually makes Vitamin D when our skin is exposed to direct sunlight.²⁶ In fact, if you have regular access to sunlight, you may not even need to eat food with vitamin D or take supplements.²⁷

However, as you age, spend less time outdoors, and/or have less access to sunlight, you can consider getting vitamin D, especially vitamin D3, from certain food sources or supplements. Fish, beef liver, eggs, and cheese are some of the food options that contain vitamin D3.²⁸ 

Recommended daily allowances (RDAs) of Vitamin D for people would depend on their age, as indicated in the table below from the Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH):²⁹

Aside from these recommended daily intakes, do remember that there are limits to the amount of vitamin D that you can consume each day. According to the DOH, the tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) for vitamin D among Filipinos stands at 50 mcg for men and women 19 years old and above.

Consider This Vitamin D3 Supplement Today
Convinced about the potential benefits of vitamin D3 for you? Now is the time to ask your doctor about a supplement like Pharex® D-Vit 800 that contains 800 IU of all-important vitamin D3. Together with proper diet and exercise, Pharex® D-Vit 800 can be beneficial for:

• Addressing vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in both children and adults
• Osteoporosis to help increase the absorption of calcium needed for bone health

• Long-term maintenance therapy to prevent recurrence of vitamin D deficiency
• People who want to avoid a vitamin D deficiency
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women

Make sure to consult a doctor who can help you assess your current health condition and recommend the dose of Pharex® D-Vit 800 that’s suitable for you. 
Take Pharex® D-Vit 800 orally with a glass of water, ideally after a meal to improve its absorption. If that’s not possible, you can still take this capsule even on an empty stomach. 
Pharex® D-Vit 800 is available in all leading drugstores nationwide at a suggested retail price (SRP) of Php6.00 per capsule. It is also available in boxes of 30 capsules with an SRP of Php180.00 per box.

If symptoms persist, consult your doctor.