Naturally Vegan Vitamin D3 + K2: Why it is Best for Everyone

×
Author photo

The Pure TheraPro Team

The Pure TheraPro Education Team is comprised of researchers from diverse backgrounds including nutrition, functional medicine, fitness, supplement formulation & food science. All articles have been reviewed for content, accuracy, and compliance by a holistic integrative nutritionist certified by an accredited institution.
Published
Last updated for accuracy

Vegan living is on the rise as a preferred, conscientious lifestyle. But, whether you are vegan or not, vegan vitamin D just makes good nutritional sense. Did you know that most Vitamin D3 comes from lanolin?

 

The Nature of Lanolin

Lanolin, also known as wool grease, is the waxy substance that naturally occurs on sheep’s wool. Yes, sheep are so cute. But they wear a collection of manure, dirt, and they may have been sprayed with pesticides to treat for mites (as shown here).

lanolin from sheep wool-non-vegan

Poor sanitation is one of the main causes of disease in sheep. After shearing, the wool is scoured with soap or detergents.

The remaining liquid is centrifuged (spun at a high speed) and refined. The result is lanolin. Sheep are pasture fed during grazing season. Off season they get combinations of:

  • Hay
  • Corn or corn gluten
  • Soybean meal
  • Dry Distillers Grains (DDGS)
  • Soybean hulls
About 3/5 of production cost is feed. To save on feed cost, corn or other grain may be bought when the price is low and stored in silos. If not properly stored, grains can develop mold, which leads to diseased sheep. Food additives include things like:
  • Urea as a source of nitrogen
  • Antibiotics
  • Blood meal for protein
  • Feather meal (denatured feathers) as a nitrogen source

From Top To Bottom

lanolin_process

Lanolin can be found in almost anything that goes on our skin, from eye liner to body lotions, and hemorrhoid treatment to diaper rash cream. So, top to bottom, we might be saturating ourselves with lanolin, and not even know it. Since wool generally does not come from organically raised sheep, GMO’s and endocrine disrupters are making their way into the consumer’s blood stream.

How Much Vitamin D Is Enough?

The answer is not only about how much to take, but also about getting a formulation your body can use. Vitamin D3 helps the body absorb calcium. Vegan D3 is better, but by itself it isn’t all your body needs. To ensure the calcium gets into the bones and teeth, the body also needs Vitamin K2. Without the two essential forms of K2 (MK-4 and MK-7), calcium goes to the heart and blood vessels.

Our Vegan D3 + K2 provides the full spectrum necessary for optimal calcium absorption plus utilization, from environmentally friendly and sustainable sources. 

 

Sources:

UMN Edu. Ext. Getting Started With Sheep 2011. www.extension.umn.edu/food/small-farms/livestock/sheep-goats/getting-started-with-sheep/ Parasitipedia, Sheep Mites. 20016 Dec. 12 parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2541&Itemid=2817 IOL Lanolin, From Fleece to Grease. www.lanolin.com/lanolin-basics/from-fleece-to-grease.html VT Edu. Ext. Pubs and Eds. 2009 May 1; 410/410-853/410-853 pubs.ext.vt.edu/410/410-853/410-853.html MS State Extension, Newsletter, Forage News, 2008 July extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/newsletter/forage-news/2008/7.pdf CSU Lamb Feedlot Nutrition Fact Sheet 2014 Feb; No. 1,613. extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/agriculture/lamb-feedlot-nutrition-1-613 NDSU Extension Serv. Sheep Industry Newsletter, 2015 Spring; No. 77, ag.ndsu.edu/...1/sheep.../copy_of_NDfeedcosts2014 EWG Org. Lanolin: Products Containing the Ingredient, www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/703386/LANOLIN/ NIH, US Dept Health and Human Services, Endocrine Disrupters, 2017 January 5 www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/index.cfm/