Since the Middle Ages has been used cod liver oil as a remedy for rickets, but only until the First World War must be the cause of the disease and provided the scientific basis for its cure. There are two predominant forms of vitamin D:
Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2) derived from plants and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) produced exclusively in the body of a bird
In all birds studied, vitamin D3 is 30 to 40 times more potent than vitamin D2.
Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D3 can be synthesized in the body skin level. Studies showed that chickens could synthesize enough vitamin to prevent rickets and maximize growth when young chicks were exposed to direct sunlight (not filtered through glass) during a time of 11 to 45 minutes each day. (more…)
