What is Cholecalciferol?
[pronounced: KO- lee-kal-sif-rol OR kō-lə-(ˌ)kal-ˈsi-fə-ˌrȯl]
This polysyllabic ingredient may look intimidating, but its true nature is quite basic. Cholecalciferol is a type of vitamin D that is commonly referred to as vitamin D3. Like other vitamins named with letters, vitamin D is a group of compounds. Cholecalciferol is added to infant formula to provide vitamin D.
What Does Cholecalciferol Do?
If vitamin D3 could play a starring role, it would be as Fairy Godmother. Technically it does not have magical powers, but it does help out everywhere! Our bones would be brittle and misshapen without its help. In the intestine, it helps promote calcium absorption. In the blood, it helps maintain the correct amounts of calcium and phosphorus so that bones can stay strong. Vitamin D also helps with cell growth, the immune system, muscle movement, and sending messages along nerves.
Why Use Letters for Some Vitamins?
If most vitamins are not a single compound, but a group of compounds, then why do we use letters in their names at all? This naming system goes back to the birth of nutrition science and the work of Kazimierz (Casmir) Funk, a polish biochemist who formulated the idea of vitamins. Vitamin B was the first vitamin named because people who ate foods with this vitamin were less likely to get a disease called “beriberi.” Eventually, the forms of vitamin B were numbered, but we also know them by their chemical names: thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), and so on.
Regulation and Safety
The US FDA requires between 40 and 100 IU vitamin D per 100 calories prepared formula. The European Commission requires between 1 and 2.5 micrograms (mcg) vitamin D per 100 calories formula, which is equivalent to 40 and 100 IU vitamin D respectively.
You may have noticed that the United States regulations measure vitamin D in IUs but the European Commission is using micrograms. Vitamin categories A, D, E, and folate have historically been measured in International Units (IU) because the potency of the different forms of the vitamins differs. The United States is shifting away from using IUs on labels and is adopting newer standards to make labels more specific to the micronutrient.
Dietary Considerations
Vitamin D3 is made from either lanolin (from sheep’s wool) or less commonly from lichens. Vitamin D is essential for growing infants and no 100% vegan formula is available in the US market. Kosher designation for infant formulas is complex and influenced by many factors, including the percent of the ingredient in the final product.