It has recently been discovered that mushrooms that have been exposed to sunlight produce D2.

For this reason, we have formulated this new vegetarian/vegan product with mushroom sourced D2.

Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in the United States. Vitamin D, Calciferol, is a fat-soluble vitamin. It is found in food, but also can be made in your body after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. Vitamin D exists in several forms, each with a different activity. Some forms are relatively inactive in the body and have limited ability to function as a vitamin. The liver and kidneys help convert vitamin D to its active hormone form.

The major function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of Calcium and Phosphorus. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of Calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones. It promotes bone mineralization in conjunction with a number of other vitamins, minerals, and hormones.

Without vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, soft, or misshapen. Vitamin D prevents rickets in children and Osteomalacia in adults, Which are skeletal diseases that result in defects that weaken bones.

Optimizing Your Vitamin D Levels

The ideal way to get vitamin D is by exposing your skin to appropriate sunlight. For most people there simply isn’t enough sun exposure for nearly half of the year. Additionally, many of us spend the majority of our time indoors at work or at home while the sun is out. Sun exposure (without sunscreen) of about 10 to 15 minutes a day, with at least 40 percent of your skin exposed, is a general guide of how much you need, although people with dark skin will need to stay out significantly longer.

One common challenge with vitamin D is that is it produced almost exclusively by animals and therefore supplements have historically been made using animal byproducts. With the new scientific breakthroughs in capturing vitamin D2 from mushrooms, we are now able to offer a Hi-D product that is suitable even for vegans. Some vegan D products have been on the market for years, but these have typically been synthetic and made from ingredients we would not choose to put in our products.

Our D2 is sourced from Agaricus bisporus mushrooms. This species of mushroom is the well-known button/ baby bella/portabella, all the same species just harvested at different growth stages.