Vegan Vitamin D3

For most people this is about the source rather than a health decision, so our naturopaths focus on the label and on everything else you already take. These are the questions they ask in store.

A good fit if

• You're vegan or vegetarian and want colecalciferol without sheep-derived lanolin
• You avoid animal ingredients for religious or cultural reasons and need the whole product to qualify, not just the active
• You want D3 rather than D2 and don't want to trade one for the other any more
• You're happy to take it with a meal containing some fat, which is how a fat-soluble vitamin is absorbed
• You're buying for a vegan household and need a format that suits more than one age group

Check with us first if

• You take thiazide diuretics (water tablets). Taking them with vitamin D raises the risk of high blood calcium.
• You take digoxin or another cardiac glycoside. Effects may be stronger when vitamin D is taken with calcium.
• You take anticonvulsants, barbiturates, corticosteroids, orlistat or a statin. Each can change vitamin D levels or be changed by them.
• You have coeliac disease, Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, untreated malabsorption or have had weight-loss surgery. How well you absorb a fat-soluble vitamin is unpredictable.
• You have kidney disease or have had kidney stones. Dose and monitoring are a medical decision.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. Set the dose with your midwife or doctor.
• You're buying for a baby or child. The upper limit under 12 months is 25 µg a day, which one adult capsule reaches on its own, and that's exactly why the low-strength drops exist.
• You already take a vegan multivitamin, fortified plant milk, greens powder or calcium formula. Vitamin D is in all of them, and the total is what matters.
• You're sensitive to sulfites. At least one Australian lichen D3 capsule declares sulfites, even though it's free of animal products.
• You're considering a 2,000 IU or 5,000 IU product from an overseas website. Those haven't gone through the Australian listed medicine process and aren't regulated by the TGA for quality.
• You take any prescription medicine. A quick check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths first is the sensible step.

• Lichen D3 capsule, 1,000 IU, vegan shell. Best known for: The mainstream animal-free product, at the strength that exactly matches the Australian legal limit. Absorption: A fat-soluble vitamin, taken with food. Check the shell is a cellulose type rather than gelatine, because a lichen active in a gelatine capsule isn't a vegan product. Typical use: One capsule a day with a meal. The usual choice if you want a like-for-like swap from a conventional D3.
• Lichen D3 oral spray or liquid. Best known for: Avoids the capsule question altogether, and lets you dose without swallowing anything solid. Absorption: Still needs fat, which is why these are made with oils such as rice bran or another vegetable oil. Typical use: One spray or a measured dose a day. Read international units per spray rather than per bottle.
• Algal-sourced D3 drops. Best known for: The second animal-free option, made from algae rather than lichen, and the format that comes in children's strengths. Absorption: Suspended in a carrier such as medium-chain triglycerides, so the fat comes with the dose. Typical use: Low strengths, around 250 IU per drop, which is what makes dosing babies and toddlers possible at all.
• Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) from yeast or UV mushrooms. Best known for: The original vegan option, and still the form in many fortified foods. Absorption: Well absorbed, but it's a different molecule with a different regulatory item and its own comparison against D3. Typical use: Now a choice rather than a necessity for vegans. The D3 versus D2 evidence is on our vitamin D3 page.
• Lanolin-derived D3: the conventional alternative. Best known for: The standard Australian product, stocked in more strengths and formats. Absorption: No difference due to the source has been shown in people. Typical use: The right choice if you don't need to avoid sheep-derived material.

Reference values. Australia's Nutrient Reference Values are set for vitamin D overall and don't depend on the source. There's no separate figure for a vegan source. The Adequate Intake is 5 µg a day for adults up to 50, rising to 10 µg from 51 to 70 and 15 µg from 71.

Typical supplemental range. The vegan range is narrower than the regular one, and that's the practical difference. Australian animal-free products are mostly 1,000 IU (25 µg) capsules and sprays, with algal drops at around 250 IU for babies and children. Not every regular strength or format has a vegan version, so a like-for-like swap isn't always possible.

Upper level. The NHMRC upper limit for vitamin D is 80 µg a day from age one, including in pregnancy and breastfeeding, and 25 µg a day for babies under 12 months. The source doesn't change either figure. The baby figure is worth noting, because one standard adult capsule reaches it.

Worth knowing. For a vegan purchase, the deciding question isn't the active ingredient but everything around it. Check three things: what the vitamin D3 is made from, what the capsule shell is made from, and what the carrier oil is. A product can pass on one and fail on another. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Mushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light: the best-known vegan source, but it supplies D2 rather than D3
• Fortified plant milks, cereals and spreads: small amounts per serve. The ingredient list will say colecalciferol or ergocalciferol, but rarely names the source of the colecalciferol
• Lichen itself: not an Australian food. It is a raw material for extraction, not something to eat for vitamin D
• Sunlight on bare skin: not a food, and the only vitamin D3 route open to a vegan that involves no product at all
• No vegan whole food is a reliable vitamin D3 source: the dietary D3 in the food supply comes from oily fish, egg yolk and liver, which is why this category exists

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• You have high calcium in your blood or urine (hypercalcaemia or hypercalciuria), or a condition that causes them. Don't take it.
• You have vitamin D toxicity (hypervitaminosis D). Don't take it.
• You have kidney stones (nephrolithiasis) or severe kidney impairment. Don't take it unless your doctor directs you to.
• You're allergic to any ingredient in the product. Don't take it.
• The capsule shell is gelatine. A lichen-derived active doesn't make the finished product vegan, so check the shell and the carrier too.
• You avoid sulfites. At least one Australian lichen D3 capsule declares sulfites, even though it's free of animal products.
• You take more than 1,000 IU a day long term. Your blood calcium, urine calcium and kidney function should be monitored.
• Babies under 12 months. Their Upper Level is 25 µg (1,000 IU) a day, the same as one standard adult capsule; low-strength drops exist for this age group.
• You take thiazide diuretics. They increase the risk of high blood calcium.
• You take digoxin or other cardiac glycosides. Their effects may be stronger with vitamin D plus calcium.
• You take anticonvulsants or barbiturates. They may make vitamin D less effective.
• You take corticosteroids. They impair vitamin D metabolism and calcium absorption.
• You take orlistat. It reduces absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
• You take statins. An interaction in both directions has been reported, through shared metabolic pathways.
• You have a condition that affects absorption: coeliac disease, Crohn's, cystic fibrosis, liver disease or bariatric surgery.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. Set your dose with your midwife or doctor.
• You take several products. Vitamin D also turns up in vegan multivitamins, fortified plant milks, greens powders and calcium formulas.
• You're buying from overseas websites. Those products aren't TGA-regulated for quality and safety, and don't have to follow the Australian 25 µg limit.
• You have nausea, vomiting, constipation, thirst, frequent urination, weakness, apathy or confusion. These could be signs of high blood calcium, so get advice.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.