NaturesPlus Chewable Vitamin D3 1000 IU (25 mcg) Maui Berry Burst Flavor Review

This chewable gives 1000 units of vitamin D3 a day, the dose used in studies. In people with type 2 diabetes, two large pooled analyses found vitamin D modestly lowered fasting blood sugar, the long-term blood sugar marker and insulin resistance, most clearly in people low in vitamin D ^[1][2]. A review of adults at risk of diabetes found similar drops ^[3]. In adults with prediabetes, three trials found 15% less new diabetes over about three years ^[4]. In pregnant women, vitamin D lowered the risk of pregnancy diabetes by about 36% ^[5]. However, large long trials in older or high-risk adults did not significantly prevent diabetes ^[6][7][8], and one pooled analysis in prediabetes found no change in fasting blood sugar ^[9]. The calcium here is 80 milligrams, well below the 500 milligrams studied with vitamin D for lower insulin and insulin resistance ^[10][11], so it likely adds little. The 350 milligram absorption complex is a blend whose makeup is not broken down, so its amounts cannot be matched to studies. Animal and cell studies are never counted.

Most of the panel recommends or uses vitamin D, and the rest speak about it neutrally, with no one saying they stopped. They take it because food and sun rarely supply enough, especially in fall and winter, and they link it to brain and mood, immune function, muscle, bone health and healing. Several take 5000 IU of D3 in the morning, one pairs D3 with K2, and others say to take it with dietary fat for better absorption or with an early breakfast. A few aim for blood levels well above the normal range, one panelist notes it only makes sense to supplement if you are low, and one says most people stay deficient because they do not take enough. Calcium is a smaller ingredient in this product, and one panelist warns against calcium supplements, citing a higher heart attack risk.