I never supplemented Vitamin D so far but I started doing it this autumn and I will keep it up during winter. But not because I’m a vegan. Vitamin D deficiency is not a vegan problem but more a general problem for people that live in regions with little daylight during winter.

We get about 80-90% of our needed Vitamin D from the sun. The skin can produce it itself when exposed to the sun. I myself go outside regularly but during the darker seasons it’s not really possible for me to get enough sunlight during the week anyway as I’m working and can only go outside in the morning or evening when it’s dark. So if you do not get enough sunlight, too, I believe it’s safer to take a supplement. Many people forget that not only Calcium is essential for your bone health. A deficiency in Vitamin D can increase your risk for osteoporosis as Vitamin D and Calcium together are needed for a strong bone structure.

It’s not really possible to get enough Vitamin D from food alone however there are some foods that can support getting an appropriate Vitamin D intake. These are foods like plant milk, cereals and margarine with added Vitamin D. It seems to be a fact though that the vegetal Vitamin D2 can not be absorbed by the body as good as the animal Vitamin D3.