Vitamin D from Organic Mushrooms

All our mushroom extracts are from the leading supplier of organic mushroom extracts: Nammex. They have over 40 years of mushroom growing experience and were one of the first companies to bring organic functional mushroom extracts to North America.

Their ingredients go through rigorous quality control and are tested twice for heavy metals, agricultural chemicals and microbial contamination to ensure they meet all standards for dietary supplements of this nature. All of their extracts are made from certified organic mushrooms (fruiting bodies), organically grown or wildcrafted from deep within mountain regions of China.

Mushrooms used for dietary supplements are seldom grown in North America since they are too expensive. China is the leading supplier of mushrooms worldwide and supplies over 90% of the world’s mushrooms. 

It has a rich history of mushroom use as both food and medicine and is the birthplace of mushroom cultivation, with shiitake being farmed in the early 1200s. China is one of the only places in the world where you can get 100% organic mushroom (fruiting body) extracts that can be sold at an affordable price.

The products are identical. The only difference is how you want to consume them.

2 capsules is equivalent to roughly a 1/2 tsp of the mushroom powders.

In terms of potency and efficacy, both the capsules and powders are equally effective at delivering.

The capsules are great for travel, whereas the powder can be added to recipes or mixed in coffee, tea or bone broth.

It is extremely important to distinguish the difference between mushrooms and mycelium.

Mushrooms are the "fruit" and reproductive stage of these organisms, while the mycelium is the root system or "body" of the fungus.

Mushrooms contain much higher levels of active compounds like beta-glucans, and there is a large body of research on them. They have also been consumed for thousands of years as food, and many health benefits have been shown from just mushroom consumption.

Mycelium is commonly grown on a grain substrate, and this grain cannot be separated from the mycelium, so much of the final product is actually grain with no mushrooms present. This shows up in high amounts of starch and low amounts of active compounds like beta-glucans. 

For these reasons, Real Mushrooms only utilizes mushrooms in all of its products, with verified levels of important active compounds like beta-glucans, and is always guarded against starchy fillers like grain.

Vitamin D plays a role in various biological functions and is an essential nutrient found in some foods and dietary supplements. Our mushroom vitamin D product contains shiitake and agaricus mushrooms, which both showcase various forms of vitamin D2, D3 & D4.

There has been some debate on whether vitamin D3 is more effective than D2. The two forms have traditionally been regarded as equivalent based on their ability to cure rickets (a skeletal disorder that is caused by a lack of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate). Most steps involved in the metabolism and actions of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 are identical. Both forms can raise serum 25(OH)D levels.

Human kidneys may be able to convert Vitamin D2 to the active form of Vitamin D.

Our Vitamin D2 supplement is derived from mushrooms, providing a plant-based alternative for those seeking a non-animal source of this essential nutrient.

It is naturally derived. We use organic Agaricus mushroom (button mushroom), which has been exposed to UV light bringing the vitamin D content up to over 40,000 IU per gram.

Natural ingredients don’t always flow smoothly through processing equipment and capsule manufacturers need to utilize other ingredients in order to fill capsules. It is common practise for encapsulation facilities to require the use of other ingredients.

We have worked closely with our encapsulation partners to make sure that only what is added is absolutely necessary to create the capsules.