Three Foods You Can Eat to Naturally Boost Your Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for your health. It helps your body absorb the calcium you get from foods or supplements and is necessary for strong, healthy bones. It’s also a key player in your immune system, where it helps to fight off bacteria and viruses. Low blood levels of vitamin D have been associated with asthma in children, increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, difficulty concentrating or remembering things in older adults, and even cancer.
Vitamin D is known as “the sunshine vitamin” due the fact that about 50% to 90% of this vitamin is absorbed through the skin via sunlight, with the rest coming from diet.
However, because many people in modern society are increasing their use of sunscreen and decreasing the amount of time they spend outside, it’s estimated that about 50% of the population has vitamin D insufficiency.
Fortunately, in addition to getting a moderate amount of sunshine (the recommended amount is 20 minutes daily) there are a few powerhouse foods we can eat to help boost our vitamin D levels. Here are three that pack the biggest punch:
1) Herring
While not as commonly eaten in America, herring is a nutritionally dense fish enjoyed in many parts of the world. Try it raw, smoked, canned, or pickled. One ounce of fresh Atlantic herring contains 115% of your recommended daily intake.
2) Salmon
Easy to come by and versatile in the kitchen (try baking, grilling, or broiling it), salmon is a delicious fish to incorporate regularly. Just 3 ounces of cooked salmon contains 112% of your recommended daily intake.
3) Sardines
Sardines are small, oily fish that contain an impressive array of nutrients beyond vitamin D, including healthy fats, calcium, and a variety of other minerals. Moreover, they are considered a sustainable seafood. Try tossing them into a salad or piling a few onto hearty crackers with a squeeze of lemon. One can of sardines (3.75 ounces) contains 63% of your recommended daily intake.
If you’d prefer to take a whole food supplement for your vitamin D needs, cod liver oil is an excellent source, with just one teaspoon delivering 75% of your recommended daily allowance. You can access my preferred cod liver oil supplements HERE. Choose Favorites from the menu and then the category Cod Liver.
If you’re not a fan of seafood, vitamin D can also be found in lesser quantities in egg yolk and liver.
Nature always knows best. The primary source of vitamin D is the sun, and it is found naturally in some whole foods. Keep in mind, the way the body responds to a man-made supplement of vitamin D from a bottle, is not the same as how it responds to sunshine on exposed skin or in whole foods. Learn more about how supplementing vitamin D can impact you HERE.
In summary, while daily sunshine is still the best way to get the majority of your vitamin D, these foods can be an excellent way to boost your intake of this crucial nutrient.
Healthy Blessings,
Karri, FNTP
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References:
1https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-Consumer/
2https://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/vitamin-d-deficiency#1
3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532266/
4 Nair R, Maseeh A. Vitamin D: The "sunshine" vitamin. J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2012 Apr;3(2):118-26.
5 Naeem Z. Vitamin d deficiency- an ignored epidemic. Int J Health Sci (Qassim). 2010 Jan;4(1):V-VI.
6 https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/4065/2
7 https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
8 https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/4114/2
9 http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fats-and-oils/628/2