[1]
Most of us know the best way to get Vitamin D is through exposure to the sun.
Adding Vitamin D to my diet has been a top concern lately. I live in the cold North East where below zero temperatures have made it challenging to head outside this winter. Even when I do spend time outside (I’m an avid skier [2]) I’m covered head to toe so there’s no chance of daylight hitting my skin. I used to be forced to head outside a few times a day when our dog was with us [3]. Now I find myself in my office or at the gym [4], running from my car to a warm building.
Even when I’m more likely to spend time outside in the sun I’m still covered from head to toe in sunscreen [5]. So the likelihood of the sun hitting my skin at any time of the year is slim.
What is a Vitamin D Deficiency?
It is estimated that 30 to 100% of Americans [6], depending upon their age and community living environments, are deficient in Vitamin D. And more than half of all American children are vitamin deficient.
How to Add Vitamin D to Your Diet
Vitamin D is essential for bone health, cold prevention, fighting depression and more. If sunlight isn’t in your future there are a few other ways to add this critical nutrient.
Salmon
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Salmon is my favorite sources of this nutrient. One serving of salmon contains more than the suggested daily value. Make sure to use wild caught salmon.
Eggs
[8]
The Vitamin D in an egg comes from its yolk so it’s important to eat the entire egg to get a portion of your daily dose. Use organic eggs [9] when you can.
Mushrooms
[10]
Specific types of mushrooms are grown in ultraviolet light and will produce this vitamin. Sun-grown brands are the only mushrooms with this nutrient, with shiitake mushrooms being one variety with a high level of Vitamin D.
Cod Liver Oil
[11]
This one doesn’t sound appetizing, but one tablespoon of cod liver oil contains 1,300 IU’s which is about twice the recommended daily allowance.
Canned Tuna
[12]
I’m not a fan of anything canned because of the BPA [13] concern. Also tuna can contain mercury [14]. But three ounces of light tuna in water has 154 IUs of Vitamin D, which is about 1/3 of the daily recommended dose.
Cheese
[15]
Although not high in this vitamin, cheese does contain some. On ounce of swiss cheese contains 12 IUs, which is about 4 % of the daily value.
Sardines
[16]
This fish is another great natural source of Vitamin D [17].
Fortified Foods. As you can see, there aren’t many foods that naturally contain Vitamin D. There are plenty of foods on the shelves of your market that have been fortified including milk, orange juice, cereals etc… Please know that Vitamin D doesn’t naturally occur in these foods, and has been added during processing.
In my opinion it’s best to get your Vitamin D from natural sources and small amounts of sun.
How do you get your Vitamin D?
photo credits: MendezEnrique [18] via photopin [19] cc [20] , ulterior epicure [21] via photopin [19] cc [22] , pietroizzo [23] via photopin [19] cc [20], Maggi_94 [24] via photopin [19] cc [20], justmakeit [25] via photopin [19] cc [26], kennymatic [27] via photopin [19] cc [28], thenoodleator [29] via photopin [19] cc [22], synes [30] via photopin [19] cc [20]