Always take prescription medications as instructed by your clinician or pharmacist and do not exceed the recommended daily dosage for the daily supplements as this can have serious health risks. Vitamin D is usually taken with a meal as this helps the body process it more efficiently. You should always swallow tablets and capsules whole with water.

Each dosage has its own instructions, but your prescribing clinician may suggest treatments that differ from these. The supplement doses are taken daily, but to get the most out of them, try not to miss any as vitamin D levels build up over time.

3,200 IU products are usually taken once a day for a total of 12 weeks. For 5,000 IU products, this is shortened to eight weeks, and for 10,000 IU just four weeks. The larger doses of 20,000 onwards are usually taken once or twice a week for around six to seven weeks, but this can be extended if needed with monitoring from your clinician.

The first thing to understand about the different forms of SunVit D3 pills and liquids is that they’re all as effective as each other. There may be many reasons why one person might prefer one form over the other, such as dietary restrictions or having problems swallowing a tablet or capsule.

As previously mentioned they’re best taken with a meal and tablets and capsules should be swallowed whole. The oral solution can be taken directly or added to food or drinks.

You should never exceed the recommended dosage or prescription instructions. Taking more than the recommended supplement doses over a prolonged period of time can lead to serious health problems and as there is no benefit to doing this, should be avoided. Treatment dosages, due to their high strength, can lead to serious issues immediately.

If you’ve taken too much, seek immediate medical attention.

The good news is that side effects for vitamin D supplements and treatments, including the most powerful doses, are listed as unlikely. Medically, this means they occur in less than one in 100 patients. The two most common include hypercalciuria, which is high levels of calcium in the urine, and hypercalcaemia, high levels of calcium in the blood.

Symptoms of hypercalciuria include frequent urination, pain when urinating, kidney stones and UTIs (urinary tract infection).

Hypercalcaemia is a serious condition that will need medical attention, so it’s important that if you notice any of the following symptoms, seek it immediately: nausea, vomiting, dizziness, extreme tiredness, extreme thirst, loss of appetite, constipation and apathy.

There are two different forms of vitamin D, vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. So how do they differ? In terms of supplements and treatments, vitamin D3 is preferable as it’s processed more efficiently in the body. Vitamin D2 also provides benefits, but most supplements utilise D3.

Vitamin D2 and D3 also come from different food sources. Natural vitamin D2 comes from vegetables, such as mushrooms that have been exposed to sunlight, and D3 from animal products, such as dairy, oily fish and red meat.

Supplements and treatments of vitamin D3 are not naturally occurring. Instead they contain colecalciferol, a synthetic form of vitamin D3. This isn’t to say that they’re always vegan, so be sure to ask your clinician if you have any dietary requirements, including lactose and gluten intolerances, and whether or not it’s halal or kosher.

SunVit D3 has products that are all of these things, but you’ll need to get the specific vegan products if you want to avoid all animal based substances. If in doubt, ask your prescribing clinician.

The best way to get vitamin D is for free. The sun provides all you need and the body can process it better than any other form. As already mentioned, one of the problems is that the sun isn’t strong, or even visible for much of the year when you live in a climate like the UK’s. Another problem is that exposing your skin to the sun can be damaging when at its strongest (particularly for people with fairer skin). Always be sure not to burn or overexpose your skin as this greatly heightens the risk of skin cancer.