The first acronym stands for milligrams, and the second for micrograms. But unlike MG or MCG, it is not a physical unit of measurement, referring to a particular mass or volume that you might literally see or feel. This system was devised due to some vitamins coming in multiple forms, each of which has a different potency or level of biological activity. Vitamin D, for example, comes in two forms in supplements: D2 also known as ergocalciferol and D3 cholecalciferol. It might not therefore make much sense to use a physical weight measurement, such as MG or MCG, for a vitamin D supplement, given that the same quantity of D2 and D3 would produce different biological effects.
These are certainly details that are well worth knowing when you are seeking to make the right decisions for the health of you and your family. Sadly, the vitamin and supplement industry can sometimes have a bad rep for charging customers a lot of money for not a lot of product. If you're supplementing, it means you're expecting to feel or notice an impact on your health.
The reality is that this will only happen if you are supplementing at the right dose level. Results: At baseline, mean age was This trial was registered at clinicaltrials. All rights reserved. Currently, different recommendations exist. The Institute of Medicine has placed the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, for vitamin D at international units IU per day for young adults and IU per day for adults older than However, 1, to 2, IU per day of vitamin D from a supplement is generally safe, should help people achieve an adequate blood level of vitamin D, and may have additional health benefits.
While there are no guidelines for checking your vitamin D blood level, it may be prudent in people with osteoporosis or certain other health conditions. Discuss with your health care provider if it may be beneficial to check your vitamin D level. If you have ongoing health concerns or a chronic health condition, talk to your health care provider before you begin taking any dietary supplement, including vitamin D.
He or she can help you decide if supplements are appropriate for your situation. But don't forget: Different forms of the same vitamin won't have identical conversion factors. If you're dealing with vitamin A as beta-carotene, the conversion factor is 1.
Once you do the math, this gives you:. Vitamin D is another fat-soluble vitamin that is almost always expressed in IU, although some manufacturers list both IU and mcg on their supplement labels. So, if you have pills that give you 2, IU of vitamin D, divide by the conversion rate to find the equivalent in mcg:.
If you want to convert the other way, simply multiply by the conversion factor instead of dividing. For example, if you have 25 mcg of vitamin D as cholecalciferol and want to know how many IU that's equivalent to, you'd multiply:. Like vitamin A, vitamin E may be sold in multiple forms, and the conversion factor depends on which form you've encountered. The conversion factor for vitamin E as dl-Alpha-tocopherol is 0.
So if you have 20 IU of vitamin E and want to know how many mg that is in each form, you'd divide by the appropriate conversion factor:. Read more: Risks of Taking I. Janet Renee has over a decade of experience as a registered dietitian.
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