Do you know what nutrient Koreans need most? It’s Vitamin D. I’ve talked a lot about domestic products so far, but many of you also asked for imported product recommendations, so let me give you a quick overview.

Let’s take a look at some imported options together for essential supplements for Koreans.

Pharmacist's Supplements Story. Hello, I'm Pharmacist Ko from Pharmacist's Supplements Story.

Let’s kick things off cheerfully! Fighting! There are a lot of Vitamin D products in Korea that are cost-effective, so I assumed no one would have much interest in imported products and didn't get to discuss them really.

So today I'll be talking about what imported Vitamin D products you should take.

We'll first go over things to consider, dosage, and potential side effects. And then we'll get to the product recommendations.

If you’re in a hurry, you can skip to 3:14 and get right to the products. Why should we take Vitamin D?

It’s essential for bone health. It boosts immunity and helps alleviate allergy symptoms. It helps you cope with stress and improves sleep quality.

It also improves insulin resistance, lowering inflammation levels. It can help prevent diabetes—and even has cancer-preventing properties. I'm not just saying it's good for anything. Vitamin D has actually been researched extensively and is a well-proven nutrient.

Plus, over 90% of Koreans are Vitamin D deficient, so it's definitely beneficial to take it.

If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend starting. I’ll quickly go over the recommended Vitamin D dosage.

For adults who have never taken Vitamin D before, you should take 4000 IU for about six months, and then take 1000-2000 IU daily as a maintenance dose.

For those who have consistently taken 2000-4000 IU of Vitamin D for a long time, you can just maintain a dose of 1000-2000 IU.

Vitamin D doesn't really come with many precautions, but for those who have kidney stones or urinary stones, you're gonna have to be careful with Vitamin D supplements.

Now, let's jump right into the main topic. The first thing to consider when choosing a Vitamin D supplement is the dosage per serving.

Secondly, check if it’s in capsule, tablet, liquid, or powder form. So, form is the second criterion.

And thirdly, whether it's Vitamin D2 or D3. D2 is usually plant-derived Vitamin D, called ergocalciferol, but it has to be metabolized into D3 in the body.

So, generally, it'd be better to avoid it.

Because even with plant-derived vitamin D, there are more D3 products in active form than D2. So, you can just skip Vitamin D2 and choose Vitamin D3.

Liposomal vitamins are trending these days, but there’s little benefit to liposomal Vitamin D. Since Vitamin D levels rise just from taking high doses, and given the costs, there's really no need to go for liposomal—just something to keep in mind.

Also, when you take Vitamin D, it's very important to pair it with Vitamin K.

As I mentioned before, Vitamin D draws calcium from the intestines into the bloodstream while Vitamin K2 helps direct that calcium into the bones.

That's why you should take Vitamin D3 together with K2. So ideally, you should choose a product with both Vitamin D3 and K2.

Based on this, let’s go through some product options. For Vitamin D, the dosage is often low with only a few micrograms.

And many imported products don’t quite meet our needs, so I’ve selected products with effective dosages certified by Consumer Lab.

Note that these are regular Vitamin D3 products. I selected softgels and tablets, the types you can swallow. The first product of my choice that passed Consumer Lab testing is Nature Made Vitamin D3, 1000 IU.

This 1000 IU dosage is a good maintenance level for everyone from children to adults.

The second product is Now Foods Vitamin D3, at 2000 IU. 2000 IU would be a good active maintenance dose for adults.

Either of these two can serve as your maintenance dose option. Now, this one's not Consumer Lab-certified, but it passed iHerb’s ingredient testing.

The CGN Vitamin D3 5000 IU. This one’s a fantastic deal if you’re looking for a high dose.

It’s very affordable and has a good dosage. For first-time Vitamin D users, this is a good choice. For those who need natural, non-synthetic Vitamin D3 supplements, or a vegan option, I recommend Garden of Life’s Raw Vitamin D3, certified by Consumer Lab.

With 5000 IU per capsule, you can take one every two days for maintenance, and for those who need an initial boost, take one per day.

Some of you might prefer it in gummy form.

Great for kids, or adults who don’t like swallowing pills. It’s also convenient if you want a snack alternative. This one passed Consumer Lab testing, and with good quality control, it’s even registered as a top-recommended product: The Nordic Naturals Vitamin D3 Gummy.

Each gummy contains 1000 IU of Vitamin D.

So these are your options. Next, I also selected a few liquid options. Among the liquid options that passed Consumer Lab, There’s Source Naturals Vitamin D3 with 2000 IU per nine drops, but liquid options aren’t as advantageous compared to domestic products, so I’m not sure this is necessary.

Vitamin D liquid is also very affordable domestically. So, just keep that in mind.

That's it for basic Vitamin D products. Now for the second part, we'll explore products that are more trendy these days.

Recently, Vitamin K2 MK-7 was approved in Korea, so it’s now listed and available as a health supplement.

But in other countries, Vitamin D3 with K2 has been available for a while, but imported D3 and K2 combinations aren’t very cost-effective.

Just keep that in mind. Vitamin K2 raw material is quite expensive, that's why. Now, let me give you my selections for D3 and K2 combinations that have passed Consumer Lab testing.

First, in softgel or tablet form, there’s InnovixLabs Vitamin D3 K2.

This has 5000 IU of Vitamin D3 per capsule with 100 mcg of MK-7 and 500 mcg of MK-4, plus 3000 IU of Vitamin A.

It’s a blend of fat-soluble vitamins. Typically, K2 comes in MK-4 and MK-7 forms, the two main types of Vitamin K2.

MK-7 has a longer half-life, so if you’re choosing only one, go with MK-7.

For more benefits, taking both MK-4 and MK-7 together is best, and this product has both. It’s a well-rounded formula.

Some people might be hesitant about the Vitamin A, but with just 3000 IU, it’s safe for everyone—even pregnant women and smokers.

This is a Consumer Lab-certified product. The second Consumer Lab-certified product is Life Extension’s Vitamin D3 K2 with Iodine.

It has both Vitamin D3, K2, and iodine. Some people might need iodine. For women with pale skin, cold hands and feet, or low energy, you'll feel a warming effect when you take it.

This product has 5000 IU of Vitamin D, 1000 mcg of Vitamin K1, which helps with blood clotting, and 1000 mcg of MK-4 K2, along with 100 mcg of MK-7 and 1000 mcg of iodine.

There are a lot of random ingredients mixed in, so it might feel a bit daunting, to be honest. We don’t really need Vitamin K1.

But for those who want to be thorough with their health and include K1, I mean, it's nice to have it with K2, but I wouldn't really say it's necessary.

Anyway, it was recommended by Consumer Lab for its good dosage. Now, moving on to decent D3-K2 products that are not Consumer Lab-certified.

Interestingly, many imported D3-K2 products seem to have 5000 IU of Vitamin D3. It was hard to pick, but I’ll tell you what I found.

Affordable options that are well-reviewed. One that has passed iHerb’s in-house testing is CGN Vitamin D3 K2.

Each capsule has 5000 IU of Vitamin D with 120 mcg of MK-7 Vitamin K2. Now, for my second recommendation, we have Now Foods, which is a reliable brand.

They have a product called Now Foods Mega D3 K2 with 5000 IU of Vitamin D3 and 180 mcg of MK-7 K2.

This is a good high-dose option for those needing intensive Vitamin D supplementation. For first-time D3 users, the CGN product is a solid choice.

As for the Now Foods one, the usual dosage for Vitamin K2 is 50-200 mcg per day, but this one has 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3, which may seem like too much.

So it’s a good choice for those who need an initial high dose of D3. And if you’re at the maintenance phase after steady use, then you can take one of these Now Foods capsules every two days.

So, that's what you can do, and let me add that it'll be more affordable with ones you take every other day.

For a consistent maintenance dose, my top recommendation is Swanson’s Vitamin D3 K2.

Each capsule has 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 and 75 mcg of MK-7 K2. To be precise, you could either take the Now Foods one every two days or the Swanson’s daily for a similar effect.

Consumer Lab mentioned that Sports Research Vitamin D3 K2 isn’t recommended, and I looked into the reason.

While it should contain 5,000 IU per capsule, they found 7,000 IU in a test. So, it was overdosed with way too much Vitamin D.

Anyway, I recommend choosing a D3-K2 combo, but the Consumer Lab-approved ones are a bit complicated. So, in my view, Now Foods or Swanson's will be your best.

Now, let’s look at some liquid Vitamin D3-K2 options. The first Consumer Lab-certified product we have is Thorne Research’s D3 K2 liquid.

It contains 1,000 IU of Vitamin D per two drops and 200 mcg of Vitamin K2 in MK-4 form.

With just two drops per dose, it lasts quite a long time, enough for 600 servings. Although, it’s a bit disappointing that it's not MK-7.

Another option, though not Consumer Lab-certified, is Carlson Labs’ Vitamin D3 K2. This one contains 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per two drops and 45 mcg of MK-7.

I know there are a lot of options, which can be confusing, so let me make it simple and narrow it down for you.

For basic Vitamin D, first-time users could start with CGN Vitamin D 5000 IU.

It’s quite a lot, so you could take it daily for six months, then every other day after that. This way, you boost your levels initially, then maintain them.

For those who've been taking vitamins and are looking to just maintain their levels, Now Foods Vitamin D3, 2000 IU, will be a good choice.

For children, gummies would be a good option. Liquid is best for babies who have trouble swallowing pills or can’t eat gummies.

Babies age 1 or older. But honestly, I don't think there's much of an advantage to them. There are many domestic products like Dana, which are affordable and well-regulated.

And rather than taking standalone Vitamin D3, it’s best to choose one with added K2. For me, I’d go with Now Foods Mega D3 K2.

I’d take one daily, then switch to one every two days after six months. That’s the strategy I’d recommend.

So, in today’s video, we covered a range of imported Vitamin D3 products. I got so many questions, and Vitamin D3 really is essential, but Korean products are just as affordable, so I thought many would prefer domestic products.

Sorry for the delay. If you have any questions or requests for other content, please leave a comment. If you’re curious about high-quality domestic Vitamin D3 with added K2 and want recommendations, just reach out through the Friendly Pharmacist app.

I won't discuss them here since it could be seen as advertising.

Thanks for watching today's video. If you found today's video helpful, a like and subscribe would be amazing. Thank you. Bye.

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