What is cholecalciferol another name for?
1 Answer
Cholecalciferol is also known under the name of vitamin D3.
Explanation:
Babies are born with vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) in the body -- instead of D2 (ergocalciferol) -- and the D3 is also obtained from the mother's milk.
Later, cholecalciferol can naturally be manufactured by the human body, as long as the skin is exposed for a short while to sunlight.
It has been determined through studies that a segment of the population living in the regions closer to the Earth poles could become deficient of D3 in the winter, due to diminished sunlight.
Vitamin D3 is a sterol important to the body biochemistry for preventing a host of chronic diseases. It is also required (together with enough magnesium chloride and vitamin K2) for the proper deposition of calcium inside bones and teeth.
A deficiency of cholecalciferol produces rickets -- and this disease is manifesting sometimes at a subclinical level. Proper supplementation should be determined through vitamin tests, although foods like fish and egg yolks could help contribute to the maintainance of D3 level.
A 2017 study discovered that "vitamin D-3 was twice as effective at raising vitamin D levels in the body as vitamin D-2":
"Vitamin D Guidelines May Be Changed Following New Study". Medical News Today, 6 July 2017, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318266.php
