Winter is coming, which means it’s time to stock up on our vitamin D. But people who use supplements to get sufficient amounts of this essential nutrient will want to make sure they’re getting the right kind.

In research published last year in the journal Nutrition Reviews, scientists at the University of Surrey in the UK examined the literature on vitamin D supplementation. They found evidence that vitamin D2 supplements can decrease people’s levels of vitamin D3, the kind that our bodies naturally make with the help of sunlight. Though D2 supplements can still be helpful, the researchers argue that people should generally stick to D3 supplements instead if they need to raise their vitamin D intake.

“This study suggests that subject to personal considerations, vitamin D3 supplements may be more beneficial for most individuals over vitamin D2,” said lead author Emily Brown, a PhD research fellow at the University of Surrey’s Nutrition, Exercise, Chronobiology & Sleep Discipline program, in a university statement shared via ScienceDaily.

Among other things, vitamin D is important for maintaining our bone health and immunity, and it helps our bodies more efficiently absorb other nutrients like calcium and phosphorus. We can get vitamin D from certain foods or by making it ourselves when our skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation, a.k.a. sunlight. The latter is harder to do during the darker months of the year, however, so many people turn to supplements to bridge this gap.

There are two major forms of vitamin D that people can consume via supplements.

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