Micronutrients & recovery
Supplementation with vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) significantly reduces all-cause mortality in older adults, whereas vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) shows no benefit and may increase risk at lower doses.
If you are looking to support longevity through supplementation, choose Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) over D2. This meta-analysis of older adults found that D3 significantly reduced the risk of death, while D2 did not. Ensure you are taking D3, as the form matters for this specific outcome.
In randomised controlled trials, relative risks for all cause mortality were 0.89 (0.80 to 0.99) for vitamin D3 supplementation and 1.04 (0.97 to 1.11) for vitamin D2 supplementation.
Why this rating
Meta-analysis of 22 RCTs with 30,716 participants provides high statistical power, though heterogeneity exists.
Source
Vitamin D and risk of cause specific death: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational cohort and randomised intervention studies
Rajiv Chowdhury et al. · BMJ · 2014
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