Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is the superior biomarker for assessing Vitamin D status compared to calcitriol, as it reflects both sun exposure and dietary intake and correlates better with physiological outcomes like calcium absorption.
When getting your Vitamin D checked, ensure your doctor orders '25-hydroxyvitamin D' (25(OH)D), not 'calcitriol' or '1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D'. The latter is not a reliable indicator of your body's Vitamin D stores and can be misleading.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
There is general agreement that the serum 25(OH)D level is the best indicator to define vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, hypovitaminosis, sufficiency, and toxicity... cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that serum 25(OH)D levels are a better indicator for intestinal Ca absorption efficiency than serum calcitriol levels.
Why this rating
The paper cites 'general agreement' and multiple studies supporting 25(OH)D as the standard.
Source
Vitamin D in preventive medicine: are we ignoring the evidence?
Armin Zittermann · British Journal Of Nutrition · 2003
DOI 10.1079/bjn2003837
narrative_reviewCited 887×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L) contributes to the pathogenesis of chronic diseases including osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis, and supplementation can improve clinical outcomes in these conditions.Good
- Vitamin D insufficiency is prevalent in European populations, particularly in winter and among the elderly, with levels often falling below the threshold for optimal bone and muscle health.Good
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