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Vitamin D is extremely important for your health, and I don’t just mean bone health. Humans need vitamin D for immune function, cell growth and repair, and many other things. We get vitamin D from sunlight and from food, so let’s take a look at the foods that contain the most vitamin D.
It is not necessary to get all of your vitamin D from food
Before I discuss food sources, I want to address the issue of where vitamin D comes from in the first place. The primary sources are sunlight And Food (and supplements), so if you get plenty of sunlight, you don’t have to worry about meeting your needs through food, and vice versa.
How much sun do you need to get enough vitamin D? It depends on your latitude on Earth and how dark or light your skin tone is. For a standard, think about this this study Which compared sun exposure in Miami and Boston. In Miami in the summer, it only takes a few minutes for a person with a medium skin tone (the type that browns easily but is still prone to sunburn) to get vitamin D for the day. In Boston, in the winter, it would take the same person two hours to get the same amount of vitamin D.
Health professionals generally agree that if you’re not sure if you’re getting enough vitamin D from food and the sun, just take a supplement. This would be safer than trying to meet all your needs through sunlight, since vitamin-converting sunlight is the same rays that can contribute to skin cancer.
Getting more vitamin D through food is also an option, so let’s dive into it.
How much vitamin D do you need in food each day?
There is not much agreement on how much vitamin D we need, but the National Institutes of Health in the United States have decided so 600 IU (international units) is nearly enough for everyone ages 1 to 70. If you’re over 70, you should get 800 IU.
The Daily Value on nutrition labels is based on a target of 800 IU (the recommendation for seniors) so most of us can only get 75% of the Daily Value, rather than ensuring we reach 100%.
Those International units It exists because there are different forms of vitamin D found in food, and some have a stronger effect on the body than others. In general, 600 IU is equivalent to 15 micrograms of vitamin D, but using an IU means you don’t have to keep track of what type of vitamin is in the food.
Oh, and the 600 or 800 IU recommendations assume you’re getting minimal sun exposure—they’re for people who live in Boston, not sunbathers in Miami.
Easy ways to add vitamin D to your diet
Eat more fatty fish
Fish carry tons of vitamin D in their fat, so fatty fish like trout and salmon tend to be great sources of the vitamin.
If I may indulge in a little spiel: Cod liver oil is always at the top of lists of vitamin D sources, as if people were buying cod liver oil and taking spoonfuls of it like in an old cartoon. (Maybe people do. If that’s you, you can stop reading now.) I’ll continue with my list as if cod liver oil didn’t exist. However, if you really want to get vitamin D this way, by all means, Buy some on Amazon.
If you prefer to enjoy the fish you eat, here’s how much vitamin D is in different types of fish. All of these lists are from the USDA, and refer to the levels found in a 3-ounce serving of cooked fish.
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Trout (rainbow, farmed): 645 IU
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Salmon (sockeye): 570 IU
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Tuna (light and canned): 229 IU (or 460 IU for a small can)
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Tilapia: 128 international units
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Fishsticks: Unfortunately, only 1 IU
Other animal products that are good sources of vitamin D
Many wild animals also produce enough vitamin D to be considered a good source of vitamin D.
Milk is known to be a good source of vitamin D (the carton often says “vitamin D milk”). Some vitamin D is naturally found in milk fat, so skim milk doesn’t usually contain much vitamin D, but whole milk does, and is often fortified to raise these levels even further.
Eat more fortified foods
A food is “fortified” with vitamins if those vitamins are added to the food. Many people don’t drink milk, so many similar drinks are sold with added vitamin D.
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Fortified plant milk: Check the label, but it is often similar to whole milk. Here a Silk brand soy milk With 120 IU per cup.
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Fortified orange juice: Check the label, but here Simply orange With 200 IU per cup.
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Fortified cereals:check the label, but even sugary cereals like Cinnamon Toast Crunch Contains 240 IU per serving.
You found the idea. Plant foods don’t naturally contain a lot of vitamin D, but many common items like these are fortified. Between food, sunshine, and the “I don’t want to think about it” approach of just taking vitamin D supplements, it shouldn’t be too hard to meet your needs.
#easiest #ways #vitamin #diet