Vitamin D3 supplements are safe for treating vitamin D deficiency; comparison to rat poison is misleading

Key takeaway

Vitamin D is important for building and maintaining strong bones, as well as regulating calcium and phosphate ion levels in the body. People can obtain vitamin D from food and sun exposure. However, vitamin D supplements may be recommended for people who have difficulty meeting their needs through natural sources. Two groups at high risk of vitamin D deficiency are breastfed infants, as human milk doesn’t contain enough vitamin D, as well as the elderly, because the body’s ability to store and make vitamin D diminishes with age.

Reviewed content

Verdict:

Inaccurate

Claim:

“Vitamin D3 is radiated sheep’s wool mixed with chloroform”, “Vitamin D3 IS RAT POISON !!”, “D levels are low because of lack of light and high vitamin A diets.”

Verdict detail

Factually inaccurate: Lanolin, a waxy material extracted from sheep wool, is used to make some vitamin D3 supplements. However, neither sheep wool itself nor chloroform are ingredients in vitamin D3 supplements. Vitamin D deficiency can arise as a result of multiple factors, not just a lack of sunlight.
Misleading: Some rodenticides use vitamin D3 to kill rodents, but this effect comes from the large quantity of vitamin D3 used, not because artificial vitamin D3 is intrinsically harmful. Vitamin D3 supplements help treat vitamin D deficiency, which can lead to complications like rickets and osteoporosis.

See our method of evaluation

Full Claim

“Vitamin D3 IS RAT POISON !! Vitamin D3 is radiated sheep’s wool mixed with chloroform”, “D levels are low because of lack of light and high vitamin A diets. THATS IT”

A Facebook reel posted in May 2024 referred to vitamin D3 supplements as “rat poison”, calling them “radiated sheep’s wool mixed with chloroform”. It also asserted that vitamin D levels are only low due to lack of sunlight and “high vitamin A diets” and that only vitamin D3 from the sun is safe. The reel was viewed more than 403,000 times at the time of writing.

These claims were made by Evan Torrens, who goes by the name Thor Torrens on Facebook and Instagram. Torrens, a health coach who has more than 18,000 followers on Instagram, offers web consultations at 820 USD a session, which include advice on bloodwork and hair mineral tests, among other things. His LinkedIn page showed he holds an associate’s degree in business from Rockland Community College, but listed no relevant qualifications in medicine or health.

Torrens’ claims about vitamin D3 supplements are inaccurate and misleading. We explain below.

Vitamin D3 supplements aren’t “radiated sheep’s wool mixed with chloroform”

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays a role in calcium absorption, making it essential for building and maintaining strong bones. It also regulates the amount of calcium and phosphate ions in the blood, which affects muscle contraction, and helps the immune system work properly.

Vitamin D comes in two main forms: vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. The first is predominantly found in plants and fungi, the second in animals and humans. The human body is able to absorb and use both forms. Vitamin D can be obtained through food, with fatty fish like tuna and salmon being rich sources of vitamin D.

Our body can also produce vitamin D upon exposure to sunlight. UV rays from the sun start vitamin D production by converting a compound called 7-dehydrocholesterol, present in the skin, to pre-D3, which is transformed to vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is then transported to the liver and other tissues, undergoing further metabolism to yield calcitriol, which is the biologically active form of vitamin D.

Torrens’ description of vitamin D3 supplements as “radiated sheep’s wool and chloroform” is inaccurate. The process of artificially synthesizing vitamin D3 parallels the process that occurs in the human body upon exposure to sunlight. Specifically, it involves UV irradiation of 7-dehydrocholesterol derived from lanolin—a waxy substance extracted from sheep wool. Lanolin is also used in creams to treat skin irritation due to breastfeeding. Neither sheep wool nor chloroform are ingredients in artificial vitamin D3.

Torrens’ labeling of vitamin D3 supplements as “rat poison”, implying that people are similarly being poisoned by these supplements, is misleading.

It’s true that vitamin D3 is an ingredient in some rodenticides, but it’s important to keep in mind that it is the dose that makes the poison. These rodenticides are poisonous due to the large amount of vitamin D3 present. This produces a vitamin D3 overdose in rodents, leading to a lethal increase in calcium and phosphate levels in the body.

Overdoses in humans can also produce the same effects. But this doesn’t mean vitamin D3 is intrinsically toxic to people. As we explained earlier, vitamin D plays a critical role in maintaining health. Just as too much vitamin D causes health problems, so does too little vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to weakened bones, dental problems, seizures, and spasms.

As with many things, the Goldilocks principle applies: vitamin D3 is beneficial when used in the amount that is “just right”.

Vitamin D deficiency can be caused by multiple factors, not just lack of sunlight

Torrens’ claim that “D levels are low because of lack of light and high vitamin A diets” is inaccurate and unsubstantiated. Firstly, no evidence was presented to support the claim that “high vitamin A diets” cause low vitamin D levels. We reached out to Torrens and will update this review if new information becomes available.

We found one study performed in nine people that observed that the rise in blood calcium levels in response to vitamin D was reduced when vitamin D and vitamin A were ingested together^[1]. This suggested that vitamin A could interfere with the effects of vitamin D. Because vitamin A and vitamin D bind to some of the same proteins involved in gene regulation, the authors hypothesized that this antagonistic effect could be due to the two vitamins competing for the same proteins.

However, the authors also reported using a dose of vitamin A that corresponded to one serving of liver, or the maximum vitamin A intake from food sources, based on a 1992 Swedish nutrition guide. It’s questionable whether this is representative of the diet of most people. Moreover, the study didn’t find that high vitamin A caused vitamin D deficiency.

On the whole, neither vitamin D deficiency nor vitamin A excess are common in the U.S. general population.

The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, reported in 2019 that nearly three-quarters of the U.S. population aged one year old and above had sufficient vitamin D levels^[2]. In 2012, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 2% of the U.S. population was at risk for excess vitamin A.

Secondly, the claim fails to account for the limitations of only getting vitamin D from sunlight, particularly for groups at high risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Notably, one such group is breastfed infants, because human milk doesn’t contain enough vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency in children is a concern as it leads to rickets, a disease that leads to soft bones and skeletal deformation. At the same time, experts recommend keeping infants under six months of age out of direct sunlight, as their skin has less melanin, making them more vulnerable to skin damage from the sun. Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breastfed infants receive vitamin D supplements instead.

Other high-risk groups include the elderly, because the body’s ability to store and make vitamin D diminishes with advancing age, and people with conditions that make it difficult for them to absorb nutrients from food, like Crohn’s disease and celiac disease.

While sunlight helps produce vitamin D in our body, excessive UV radiation also increases our risk of skin cancer. Furthermore, in winter, it takes a prolonged period of time to get enough sunlight to make the vitamin D our body needs. Robert Ashley, a professor of medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, explained how it could take around two hours in the sun at noon to produce sufficient vitamin D in winter.

To combat vitamin D deficiency, it’s important for these groups to consume a balanced diet and spend some time outdoors for sun exposure, if their health and the weather permit. They can also use vitamin D supplements to meet their body’s needs, if necessary. Simply put, the key here is to rely on multiple sources of vitamin D rather than just one.

Conclusion

The claim likening vitamin D3 supplements to rat poison is misleading. While vitamin D3 is used in some rodenticides, its toxicity comes from the large quantity used, not because artificial vitamin D3 is inherently harmful.

The suggestion that people rely only on sunlight for vitamin D fails to account for the limitations of this solution. For example, breastfed infants, who are at a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, are more vulnerable to skin damage from the sun and experts advise that they be kept out of direct sunlight. Also, it may not be practical to rely only on the sun for vitamin D in winter, as this requires a prolonged period of sun exposure.

Generally, experts recommend getting vitamin D from a variety of sources, namely from our diet, from sunlight, and also from vitamin D supplements, if the need arises.

REFERENCES

• 1 – Johansson and Melhus. (2009) Vitamin A Antagonizes Calcium Response to Vitamin D in Man. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
• 2 – Herrick et al. (2019) Vitamin D status in the United States, 2011–2014. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.