Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I'd done some research into FCLO a while back, and I remember reading from several sources that its Vitamin D content was "standardized" around 1000 IU/tsp., or 200 IU/mL. However, I'm looking at Green Pasture's "Test Data" page (LINK), and they report levels of D that average out to around 1000 IU/mL, or 5000 IU/tsp. Their Vitamin A levels are on track with the standardized figures I'd seen before, coming out to about 10,000 IU/tsp. But that's a huge difference in D levels - am I reading this data wrong somehow?

If I'm not, that's great; that means I've been getting a ton more Vitamin D than I thought. But why would there be such a huge discrepancy between their test data and the 1000 IU/tsp. figure? I realize FCLO is a food not a controlled supplement, but those numbers are too different to chalk up to batch differences.

(math: 1 tsp. = 5 mL)

edited Jan 21 2012 at 3:55

asked Jan 21 2012 at 3:27

Dan
1,705●3●16

	As daz says, the standardized folks can tell you because their processing strips the natural vitamins, so they add known quantities of synthetic back in. – Beth-WeightMaven Jan 21 2012 at 17:25
	Dan, if you do contact Green Pasture for any info....post the info here so we all know....share the knowledge.... – daz Jan 21 2012 at 22:21

daz · Answer 1 · 2012-01-21 22:23:10Z UTC

My quick calcs for the last 8 test samples for Vitamin D are;
- D2 approx 1200 IU/ml (averaged of 8 test samples)
- D3 59 IU/ml (averaged over 6 test samples that reported D3, 2 samples did not report D3)
or
- D3 44 IU/ml (averaged of 8 test samples)

I recommend that you put any queries you have about their product/s to them directly, that way you know you will be getting the real story (you would hope).
Use the Contact form on their web site, they will get back to you, they got back to me.

I actually asked them the following just over a week ago;
My question: "If possible, could you explain why the majority of the Vitamin D in your FCLO is D2"

Green Pasture response (in email dated 12th Jan 2012):

D2 is just one of 957 different structures of the vitamin D hormone, and as I stated previously, Palmitate is just one of 160 different forms of vitamin A. Economically, it would not be feasible for us to test for each one, for each product and for each batch even if we knew what we were looking for. Additionally, laboratories have varying opinions on the different forms that should be measured. And to date, we have not found any continuity or consistency from lab to lab. Palmitate and D2, as you have seen on our test result page, are used as baseline readings for these hormones. In nature you would never find these metabolites isolated and we believe our products have a broad spectrum of these nutrients and more.

Other manufacturers that are able to state the precise amount of these metabolites are using synthetic vitamins to do so. They know which metabolite they have added, so they in turn know which one to test for.

I think they slightly misinterpreted my question, i was trying to find out why D2 was in there at all, as i always thought that most D2 comes from plant sources and D3 comes from animal sources. So i was a bit confused that it can be found in cod liver oil as well.

ps. I did not bother to follow up with another email to clarify

Am I reading this FCLO test data wrong? (Cod Liver Oil & Vitamin D)

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