Vit D levels meat eaters V veggies V vegans

This is a study in the UK, but similar temperate climate zones (& where vitamin D is supplemented like it is in both meat & dairy over here) may well have similar results. Basically meat eaters have most, veggies have second & vegans third. This can be said to be at some level down to the fact we don't get 'supplemented' by the stuff added to food. You'll note it was nearer to equal during the summer, but drops for vegans during the winter. The meat eaters & veggies have supplements during the winter just by eating the food as well as the natural production of vit D within animals. I suggest supplementation as a rule, for an adult having 1-2,000 IUs of D2 isn't going to be too much for anyone. Having 5,000 IU's daily is quite common in some circles & their active levels don't approach dangerous levels. You can vary the intake having less in summer/autumn & more in winter/spring if cash is tight, but 1-2,000 IUs is a reasonable goal with no chance of overdose & every chance of having better quality teeth & bones & a better immune system!
Anyway, here's the abstract:

Quote :

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20854716?dopt=Abstract

Public Health Nutr. 2011 Feb;14(2):340-6. Epub 2010 Sep 21.
Plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans: results from the EPIC-Oxford study.

Crowe FL, Steur M, Allen NE, Appleby PN, Travis RC, Key TJ.

Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Richard Doll Building, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK. francesca.crowe@ceu.ox.ac.uk
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Vegetarians and vegans exclude certain food sources of vitamin D from their diet, but it is not clear to what extent this affects plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). The objective was to investigate differences in vitamin D intake and plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D among meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis.

SETTING: United Kingdom.

SUBJECTS: Plasma 25(OH)D concentrations were measured in 2107 white men and women (1388 meat eaters, 210 fish eaters, 420 vegetarians and eighty-nine vegans) aged 20-76 years from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Oxford cohort.

RESULTS: Plasma 25(OH)D concentrations reflected the degree of animal product exclusion and, hence, dietary intake of vitamin D; meat eaters had the highest mean intake of vitamin D (3·1 (95 % CI 3·0, 3·2) μg/d) and mean plasma 25(OH)D concentrations (77·0 (95 % CI 75·4, 78·8 ) nmol/l) and vegans the lowest (0·7 (95 % CI 0·6, 0·8 ) μg/d and 55·8 (95 % CI 51·0, 61·0) nmol/l, respectively). The magnitude of difference in 25(OH)D concentrations between meat eaters and vegans was smaller (20 %) among those participants who had a blood sample collected during the summer months (July-September) compared with the winter months (38 %; January-March). The prevalence of low plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D (<25 nmol/l) during the winter and spring ranged from <1 % to 8 % across the diet groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Plasma 25(OH)D concentrations were lower in vegetarians and vegans than in meat and fish eaters; diet is an important determinant of plasma 25(OH)D in this British population.