Top Foods for Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a vitamin. It can be found in small amounts in a few foods, including fatty fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines, and tuna. To make vitamin D more available, it is added to dairy products, juices, and cereals that are then said to be “fortified with vitamin D.” But most vitamin D – 80% to 90% of what the body gets – is obtained through exposure to sunlight.

Sometimes vitamin D values are given in micrograms (mcg,μg), when this is the case remember that 1μg=40IU for Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is oil soluble, which means you need to eat fat to absorb it. Natural foods high in vitamin D include fish oils, fatty fish, mushrooms, beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks. Vitamin D is also naturally made by your body when you expose your skin to the sun and is called the sunshine vitamin. In addition, vitamin D is widely added to many foods such as milk and orange juice, and can also simply be consumed as a supplement.

Foods that provide vitamin D include:

• Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon
• Foods fortified with vitamin D, like some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals
• Beef liver
• Cheese
• Egg yolks :1 large: 41 IU (10% DV)
• Mushrooms:1 cup: 2 IU (1% DV)

To get vitamin D from food, fish is a good option. Six ounces of cooked salmon has more than 600 international units (IU).

Some of the biggest vitamin D deficiency symptoms include:

• Weakened immune system
• Seasonal depression
• Autoimmune disease
• Cancer
• Weak bones (osteopenia)
• Skin issues eczema and psoriasis
• Dementia