Vitamin D

Vitamin D, specifically cholecalciferol (D3), is a steroid hormone that plays a crucial role in maintaining biological complexity and preventing various diseases, including neuropsychiatric diseases, metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, aging, and cancer 1. This bioenergetic perspective on disease provides a unifying pathophysiological and genetic mechanism for these conditions, as hypothesized by Wallace, D.C. in his work on bioenergetic origins of complexity and disease 1.

The importance of vitamin D in maintaining biological complexity is further emphasized by its role in regulating energy flow and mitochondrial respiration. Ray Peat notes that vitamin D3 is the normal form of vitamin D produced in the skin upon exposure to sunlight, and it works chemically the same as the one produced naturally 2. In contrast, vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is metabolized differently and lacks the protective effects of vitamin D3 6.

Georgi Dinkov has written extensively on the benefits of vitamin D, including its ability to reverse insulin resistance, restore proper steroid synthesis, and prevent metabolic changes associated with aging 2. Vitamin D has also been shown to have anti-catabolic and anabolic effects, protecting the liver from cortisol injury and promoting overall health 8.

However, some groups have attempted to discredit vitamin D by promoting the idea that it is toxic at physiological doses, citing cases of vitamin D-induced hypercalcemia 5. However, these cases are extremely rare and do not reflect the benefits of vitamin D supplementation at therapeutic doses.

Danny Roddy notes that the focus on calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D) as the active form of vitamin D is misplaced, as it is actually stimulated by parathyroid hormone (PTH) and may have negative effects 3. In contrast, vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is the preferred form of vitamin D supplementation due to its natural production in the skin and its beneficial effects on health.