Bioavailability and Biological Effects of Vitamin D2 Contained in Mushroom

The purpose of this study is to compare the safety and efficacy of two different amounts of vitamin D2 (600 or 4000 International Units/day) provided by mushrooms added to one of the daily meals versus same doses of vitamin D3 provided as oral supplements sold in any drugstore in reaching adequate or optimal blood levels of 25(OH)D in people with Vitamin D deficiency and pre-diabetes (high blood sugar without full blown diabetes) or the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is the name of a group of risk factors that raise the risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke as described by the US department of Health and Human Services. This study will also attempt to demonstrate and compare the effect of the intervention with above two doses of vitamin D on blood levels of tests that show inflammation.