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Drisdol is the synthetic form of vitamin D2; the form of vitamin D typically prescribed by doctors.

But this is not the type produced by your body in response to sun or safe tanning bed exposure.

A recent meta-analysis by the Cochrane Database looked at mortality rates for people who supplemented their diets with D2 versus those who did so with D3, the form naturally produced by your body.

The analysis of 50 randomized controlled trials, which included a total of 94,000 participants, showed:

• A six percent relative risk reduction among those who used vitamin D3, but
• A two percent relative risk increase among those who used D2

In an article posted on Live in the Now, Dr. John J. Cannell writes:

“Amazingly, this study somehow slipped under the radar…

You would think a paper that took a look at tens of thousands of subjects and analyzed the efficacy of prescription vitamin D (D2) and over-the-counter vitamin D (D3) would warrant a news story or two.

To my knowledge, these papers are the first to paint such a clear picture about the efficacy between D3 and D2.”

The Two Types of Vitamin D

Supplemental vitamin D comes in two forms:

1. Ergocalciferol (vitamin D2)

2. Cholecalciferol (vitamin D3)

They have long been regarded as equivalent and interchangeable – especially since a recognized vitamin D expert, Dr. Michael Hollick, recommended it. But that notion was based on studies of rickets prevention in infants conducted several decades ago. Today, we know a lot more about vitamin D, and the featured study offers compelling support for the recommendation to take vitamin D3 if you need to take an oral supplement—which is the same type of D vitamin created in your body when you expose your skin to sunlight.