Best Form Of Vitamin D For PCOS

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine abnormality that affects a woman’s hormones. The imbalance of hormones causes a long list of unfavorable symptoms that makes living with PCOS difficult. Weight gain, hair loss, irregular menstrual cycles, fertility issues, fatigue, and more are all negative side effects that come with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Thankfully, there are many ways to naturally heal your PCOS. I was able to reverse my own PCOS by changing my diet, lifestyle, exercise-habits, and mindset. Now, my symptoms are well-managed and I can help other Cysters like you overcome their PCOS diagnosis!

Supplements are one of the best ways you can support your PCOS lifestyle changes to make a real impact on your health and wellbeing. Since vitamin D deficiency is common in Cysters like us, I suggest you get a blood test to see if supplementing your vitamin D intake is a good idea. Your doctor may recommend the amount that is suitable depending on your levels. There are multiple types of vitamin D, so I’m dedicating my post today to discussing the differences and sharing some of my top vitamin D supplement brands!

Best Form Of Vitamin D For PCOS

There are two forms of vitamin D. There is vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. (Vitamin D2 is commonly known just as “vitamin D”.) Vitamin D2 is cheaper to produce, so it’s more widely available. It comes from plant sources like wild mushrooms. Vitamin D3, on the other hand, is derived from animals. It comes from fish oil, liver, and eggs. You can also get vitamin D3 from the sun.

Both forms of vitamin D are great for the body. When consumed, vitamin D2 and D3 are converted to calciferol, which is where all the benefits of vitamin D come from. Though both produce calciferol, vitamin D3 creates almost double the calciferol that vitamin D2 does. That means more health benefits for your body.

So, what form of vitamin D is best? Vitamin D3 is more effective and therefore a better choice for a woman with PCOS who is likely experiencing low levels of vitamin D. Below, I have some great vitamin D3 supplements to choose from! They vary in concentration, so consult with your doctor on the amount of vitamin D that’s right for you before choosing a supplement.

By the way, it’s important to consult your doctor and get lab work done to understand how much vitamin D you actually need. Why? Because vitamin D is not a water-soluble vitamin. This means that if you have too much, you won’t just pee it out like some other vitamins. Vitamin D stores in your body and you want to closely monitor your intake to make sure that you’re taking the right amount for your body.

Vitamin D and Female Hormones

Research has found that vitamin D isn’t just a vitamin. In the body, it actually functions more like a hormone regulator. The brain, ovaries, uterus, and adrenal glands all have vitamin D receptors. This means that vitamin D directly plays a role in how your body makes, releases, and uses hormones—specifically estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, vitamin D3 supplementation significantly improved hormone balance and menstrual regularity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The women received 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 once weekly for 12 weeks to increase their serum vitamin D levels.

The result? Cysters in the intervention group showed higher sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels, which is the hormone responsible for binding to androgen and lowering testosterone levels in the female body. This had a domino effect, helping to balance progesterone and estrogen too!

Vitamin D plays a meaningful role in female hormone health by helping the body regulate estrogen, progesterone, and androgens more effectively. When vitamin D levels are adequate, hormone signaling tends to be clearer, cycles more consistent, and imbalances easier for the body to correct. For women with PCOS especially, supporting healthy vitamin D levels can be a simple but powerful part of a larger hormone-balancing approach.

Vitamin D Deficiency and PCOS

As I stated earlier, Cysters are way more likely to experience a vitamin D deficiency than women without PCOS. Studies show that up to 85% of women with PCOS don’t have high enough serum vitamin D levels. This is significantly more than the general population.

This is why it’s so important to have a good supplement routine with PCOS. Research examining the impact of vitamin D-deficient women with PCOS shows that these low vitamin D levels are a big deal. In fact, they’re at least partly to blame for the chronic hormone imbalances, insulin resistance, and menstrual irregularity so many of us go through.

Luckily, just one natural supplement boosting those vitamin D levels can help so much! Here are some of the potential benefits of taking vitamin D:

Vitamin D3 Benefits For PCOS

Vitamin D3-K2 Benefits for Women with PCOS

When you start shopping for supplements, you’ll find vitamin D3 often paired with K2. Vitamin K2 is obviously a type of vitamin K that helps direct the absorption of calcium and activate the bone-building protein in vitamin D3. Basically, it’s a good supportive addition to vitamin D3 or calcium supplementation.

Most women with PCOS probably don’t need vitamin K2, but it may be something to consider if you’re in perimenopause or menopause. At this point, declining estrogen levels can impact bone health, leading more women to take action to protect their aging bodies. It can also be useful for women taking vitamin D3 long-term, to ensure it remains effective.

Here’s what the addition of vitamin K2 can do for your vitamin D3 supplement:

Prevents Calcium Buildup in Arteries

Increased calcium absorption is a beneficial effect of vitamin D3, but without proper regulation, that calcium can accumulate in soft tissues like arteries. Vitamin K2 activates matrix Gla protein, which helps keep calcium out of blood vessel walls and directs it toward bones instead. This is especially important for women with PCOS who supplement vitamin D long-term or have elevated cardiovascular risk.

Promotes Steady Blood Sugar Levels

Vitamin K2 plays a role in glucose metabolism by activating osteocalcin, which helps improve insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion. For women with PCOS, this can support more stable blood sugar levels and reduce insulin spikes—an important factor in managing energy, cravings, inflammation, and hormone balance.

Aids Liver Hormone Clearance

The liver is responsible for clearing excess hormones, including androgens and estrogen metabolites. Vitamin K2 supports liver enzyme function and overall metabolic efficiency, helping the body process and eliminate hormones more effectively. This can be especially helpful for women with PCOS who struggle with sluggish hormone clearance or estrogen-androgen imbalance.

Does D3 and K2 Help You Lose Weight?

Not directly. Vitamin D3 can definitely help with insulin resistance and other metabolic markers that contribute to weight gain, but adding vitamin K2 doesn’t offer significant improvement to those effects. For more beneficial supplements, read this post on the best PCOS supplements for weight loss.

Is Raw Vitamin D3 Better?

“Raw” vitamin D3 isn’t automatically better than regular vitamin D3. It’s mostly a marketing term. What matters most is that the supplement provides vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), the form your body uses most effectively, and that it’s taken in a way that supports absorption. Factors like proper dosing, using an oil-based formula, and pairing vitamin D3 with supportive nutrients such as vitamin K2 or magnesium have a much bigger impact on results than whether the product is labeled raw.

10 Best Vitamin D Supplements for PCOS

Ovafit PCOS Multivitamin

For women with PCOS, the best way to get vitamin D3 is through Ovafit’s PCOS Multiviatmin. It’s one of the only supplements specifically designed for women with PCOS! That means the nutrients and doses actually reflect what our bodies need—not a generic, one-size-fits-all formula. Ovafit is also third-party tested, so you know the ingredients are clean, accurate, and safe. That matters with PCOS, where consistency and quality can make a real difference in how your body responds to supplementation.

Another reason Ovafit is such a strong option is that vitamin D3 works best when it’s taken alongside other supportive nutrients. It especially needs magnesium, which helps activate vitamin D so your body can properly use it. Ovafit includes these complementary vitamins and minerals, making absorption and effectiveness much better than taking vitamin D3 alone.

Finally, from a practical and financial standpoint, a PCOS-focused multivitamin is far more cost-effective than buying a bunch of individual supplements separately. You don’t need to juggle a dozen bottles that only include one nutrient each. Ovafit provides a majority of the key vitamins and minerals needed to support hormone balance, metabolic health, and overall PCOS healing all in one simple daily supplement.

Pure Encapsulations: Vitamin D3

Pure Encapsulations is one of my favorite vitamin brands. It fits inside your PCOS healing diet, since it’s gluten- and dairy-free. This supplement also has no artificial sweeteners, coatings, artificial colors, GMOs, or soy. It has everything you need and nothing you don’t. And, it’s vegetarian!

You can get Pure Encapsulations in a bottle of 60, 120, or 250 capsules. Since you only need to take one capsule a day, you can get enough capsules for over half a year with one purchase. Plus, these supplements are very reasonably priced.

HUM: Here Comes the Sun

HUM plays on the fact that vitamin D3 comes from the sun with its “Here Comes the Sun” supplement title. This is another quality supplement that’s free of gluten, GMOs, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, and artificial preservatives. It’s also vegan! HUM uses only the best clean ingredients that are triple-tested for purity and quality. However, these softgels do come at a premium price.

Care/Of: The Sunny D3

If you’re bad at keeping up with your vitamin routine, Care/Of is a great resource, because they ship your vitamins to you. They have a vegan and vegetarian vitamin D supplement that’s under $10 for a 30 day supply. It has no unnecessary fillers, it’s gluten-free and non-GMO. If you prefer a subscription model, Care/Of makes getting your vitamin D super easy.

NOW Vitamins D3

NOW produces affordable, clean vitamins of all types. If you need a supplement that’s hypoallergenic, NOW has even fewer allergens than some of the others previously listed. It’s free of corn, dairy, eggs, gluten, GMOs, and soy. It’s also GMP Quality Assured. (It is not vegan or vegetarian.) NOW has a variety of vitamin D3 supplements that vary in potency and type. You can find softgels and chewables!

Dr. Brighten: Vitamin D3/K2

Dr. Brighten has been on our show, Cyster and Her Mister, a few times and she’s a fantastic resource for fertility advice and premium supplements. She’s all about hormone balance for women, so you know her supplements will serve you well! This vitamin D3 supplement is in a liquid form you add to a beverage.

Her vitamin D3 supplement is non-GMO, GMP compliant, and gluten-free. It also includes vitamins K1 and K2, which is smart because vitamin D3 promotes the production of proteins that thrive on vitamin K. So, to avoid a vitamin K deficiency as you up your vitamin D3 game, consider a vitamin K/vitamin D3 combo like this. (Or, consider taking a separate vitamin K supplement.) Overall, this is a great high-quality supplement choice, though it comes at a pretty high price.

Designs for Health: Vitamin D Supreme

Designs for Health Vitamin D Supreme includes vitamin K1 and K2 as well. With a two-in-one formula, you’re bound to pay more, and Designs for Health is one of the priciest supplements on our list. However, it comes in a glass bottle and it has no gluten, dairy, soy, or GMOs. They’re manufactured in the United States at a GMP-registered facility, which is definitely a plus and makes the price well worth it.

Pure Encapsulations: Vitamin D3

This is another vitamin D3 supplement for Pure Encapsulations, but this one is a tasty liquid if taking pills is not your thing. Plus, it’s vegan, unlike the capsule form. Similar to other Pure Encapsulation supplements, it doesn’t contain wheat, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, gluten, artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, coatings, shellacs, GMOS, and unnecessary binders, fillers, and preservatives.

Garden of Life: Raw Vitamin Code D3

If you’re looking for one supplement that has multiple functions, you’ll be happy to hear that this vitamin D3 supplement also includes probiotics and digestive enzymes. (Both are great for PCOS. Read our post about the best probiotics for PCOS here.) Garden of Life uses only organic, whole food products and doesn’t include the stuff you don’t want: gluten, GMOs, synthetic binders, and any artificial sweeteners, colors, or additives are out. It’s all clean!

Thorne Vitamin D3

Thorne vitamins are another affordable supplement brand. The D3 is free from lactose, preservatives, gluten, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, dairy, soy, fish, or shellfish. Their supplements are well-researched and are the only brand to be manufactured in collaborating with the Mayo Clinic. It’s a great product, but it is not vegan or vegetarian. If you follow either lifestyle, choose one of the other supplements on this list.

Designs for Health: Liposomal D Supreme Vitamin D3 Liquid

This is another Designs for Health D3 and K1/K2 supplement, but this is in a liquid form. It’s made of only clean ingredients and it’s still in that tinted glass bottle. We also love that it’s non-GMO, vegetarian, and gluten-free. However, this liquid supplement is not vegan, if that’s something you’re looking for.

Vitamin D3 is the best form of vitamin D.

If you’re a woman dealing with PCOS, you want as much natural support as possible. When combined with the right lifestyle, exercise, and diet changes, supplements like vitamin D3 can help your PCOS reversal journey! (Find more of the best natural supplements for PCOS here.) If you don’t want to go at it alone, join the Cysterhood. We’re a community of women learning to live and thrive with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) together!