New research has found significant differences between the two types of vitamin D, with vitamin D2 having a questionable impact on human health. However, the study found that vitamin D3 could balance people’s immune systems and help strengthen defences against viral infections such as Covid-19.
In a collaborative study by the Universities of Surrey and Brighton, researchers investigated the impact of vitamin D supplements — D2 and D3 — taken daily over a 12-week period on the activity of genes in people’s blood.
Contrary to widely held views, the research team discovered that both types of vitamin D did not have the same effect. They found evidence that vitamin D3 had a modifying effect on the immune system that could fortify the body against viral and bacterial diseases.
Professor Colin Smith, lead-author of the study from the University of Surrey, who began this work while at the…
