Ingredient · Ingredient
Ergocalciferol
Also known as: vitamin D2
GoodExposure route: Ingested
Vitamin D2, an essential nutrient added to foods to help prevent deficiency.
Ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) is a form of vitamin D used to fortify foods and drinks or as a supplement. It's beneficial at normal intake levels and only risky in large, sustained overdoses far beyond what fortified food provides.
Why it matters
Ergocalciferol is vitamin D2, a nutrient your body needs to absorb calcium, keep bones strong, and support immune and muscle function. Food makers add small amounts to drinks, dairy alternatives, and cereals because many people don't get enough vitamin D from sunlight or diet alone. In the body it gets converted to the active hormone form of vitamin D. Everyone needs some vitamin D; this ingredient is simply a way to add it to food.
