Let’s start this discussion by saying pharmaceutically pure nutrients such as vitamin B1, vitamin D3, biotin, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) must meet very precise United States Pharmacopeia (USP) requirements for purity. In order to qualify as a pure nutrient, by definition there may be no other molecular substances present other than waters of hydration, and, occasionally, mineral ash in fractions of parts per billion or parts per million – i.e. essentially pure. As such, they cannot be certified organic.
Starting material for many B-vitamins is coal tar; for vitamin C, corn sugar. Some vitamins are “grown” in the laboratory by bacteria (bacterial fermentation.) In the case of vitamin D3, the starting material is usually lanolin taken from sheep’s’ wool. Although sheep lanolin is a common source, it is possible to use pig skin, cow skin, or other animal parts as a source of cholesterol. Our source is lanolin. No animals are destroyed to obtain our vitamin D3.
So it is legitimate to wonder whether commercial, USP grade vitamin D3 is animal, vegetable, mineral or synthetic. In brief, the process of synthesizing D3 from lanolin isolates and separates cholesterol. That cholesterol then is put through a conversion and irradiation process to be converted to D3 just as exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun produces D3 in human skin. In human skin, cholesterol is converted by enzymes to the sterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol. When the skin is exposed to sunlight, 7-dehydrocholesterol is converted into vitamin D3. (Vitamin D3 can be stored in the tissue for a long time, and called forth for use as needed.)
Lanolin is the odiferous, pale-yellow, natural oil found on sheep's wool. It can be separated from wool by boiling the wool and/or squeezing it through a pair of rollers. As a waste product in wool processing, it's also known as wool oil, wool wax, wool fat, or wool grease. It is a natural water repellant to waterproof the sheep. Lanolin also has anti-fungal and antibacterial properties that protect the sheep's skin from infection. Derived from the animal's oil glands, lanolin is a mixture of wool fat and 25-30% water. It is about 20% cholesterol.
Lanolin serves as the starting material for commercial vitamin D3, yet a manufacturer of vitamin D3 material does not begin the process with raw lanolin. He uses USP grade lanolin, a material that has already been “cleaned up” to high levels of purity. It is a lanolin alcohol material that is 32.5% Cholesterol and 44.2% Isocholesterol. The cholesterol is chemically converted to 7-dehydro-cholesterol, and then 7-dehydro-cholesterol is irradiated with ultraviolet light to form Vitamin D3. It should be noted that once chemically pure, crystalline 7-dehydrocholesterol has been obtained, it is impossible to find undesirable chemical residues, and it is impossible to determine the original source. I have yet to uncover the precise chemistry of that process, but I have found reference to sodium hydroxide use in the early stages.
This is a classic illustration of a synthetic process, wherein one molecular structure is converted to another. USP vitamins, such as vitamin D3, B1 and others, are considered synthetic no matter what the starting material may have been, for the finished, pure material bears a distinctly different molecular identity. The application by man of chemical science to manipulate the molecular structure of one substance, converting it into another, is a clear definition of synthesis. Therefore, vitamin D3 is synthetic (and highly bioavailable).
The finished vitamin D3 material is extremely concentrated. It must be blended with and dispersed among any of a variety of carriers. Once diluted in this manner, it can be safely added to nutritional products to deliver even, consistent dosages with each serving.
At Vibrant Health, we disperse D3 into organic alfalfa grass powder and sunflower oil before blending it into Green Vibrance. In our D3 tablets, we disperse the vitamin into a base of certified organic maltodextrin, certified organic rice bran and certified organic gum Arabic in order to produce a clean, organic tablet.
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