vitamin d food sources

1. Foods with Vitamin D

In the 1930s, a vitamin D deficiency disease called rickets was a major public health problem in the United States so a milk fortification program was implemented nearly eliminating this disorder.4,9 Currently, about 98% of the milk supply in the US is fortified with 400 International Units (IU) of vitamin D per quart.

Although milk is fortified with vitamin D, dairy products made from milk, such as cheese and ice creams, are generally not fortified with vitamin D.

There are only a few foods that are good sources of vitamin D,4 so vitamin D supplements are often recommended unless you are exposed to sunlight on your skin regularly. Suggested dietary sources of vitamin D are listed below.

Table 1: Selected food sources of vitamin D10-12

International Units(IU)
per serving
Percent DV
Pure Cod liver oil, 1 Tablespoon (Note: most refined cod liver oils today have the vitamin D removed! Check your label to be certain.)
Salmon, cooked, 3½ ounces
Mackerel, cooked, 3½ ounces
Tuna fish, canned in oil, 3 ounces
Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 1¾ ounces
Milk, nonfat, reduced fat, and whole, vitamin D fortified, 1 cup
Margarine, fortified, 1 Tablespoon
Pudding, prepared from mix and made with vitamin D fortified milk, ½ cup
Ready-to-eat cereals fortified with 10% of the DV for vitamin D, ¾ cup to 1 cup servings (servings vary according to the brand)
Egg, 1 whole (vitamin D is found in egg yolk)
Liver, beef, cooked, 3½ ounces
Cheese, Swiss, 1 ounce

2. Sun Exposure as a Vitamin D Source

Exposing yourself to sunlight is the most important source of vitamin D because sunlight is far more likely to provide you with your vitamin D requirement than food is.13 UV rays from the sun trigger vitamin D production in your skin.13-14 Lights from your home are not strong enough to produce vitamin D. Season, geographic latitude, time of day, cloud cover, smog, and sunscreen affect UV ray exposure and vitamin D synthesis.14 For example, sunlight exposure from November through February in Boston is insufficient to produce significant vitamin D synthesis in the skin.

Obviously any point of north of Boston is worse. Complete cloud cover halves the energy of UV rays, and shade reduces it by 60%. Industrial pollution also filters sun exposure and may contribute to the development of rickets if you have insufficient dietary intake of vitamin D.15

Sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 8 or greater will block UV rays that produce vitamin D. An initial exposure to sunlight of 10 to15 minutes allows you adequate time for Vitamin D synthesis and should be followed by application of a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 to protect the skin. Ten to fifteen minutes of sun exposure at least two times per week to the face, arms, hands, or back without sunscreen is usually sufficient to provide adequate vitamin D.14 If you have limited sun exposure it is very important that you include good sources of vitamin D in your diet or supplement with AlgaeCal® Plus.

What is the Recommended Intake for Vitamin D?

The RDA, developed by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences,4 recommends the average daily intake that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of healthy individuals in each age and gender group. An Adequate Intake (AI) is set when there is insufficient scientific data available to establish a RDA.

The Institute of Medicine determined there was insufficient scientific information to establish a RDA for vitamin D. Instead, the recommended intake is listed as an Adequate Intake (AI), which represents the daily vitamin D intake that should maintain bone health and normal calcium metabolism in healthy people. Vitamin D AI for infants, children, and adults, are listed below in International Units.4

Daily Adequate Intake of Vitamin D

Age Children Men Women Pregnancy Lactation
Birth to 13 years 200 IU
14 to 18 years 200 IU 200 IU 200 IU 200 IU 200 IU
19 to 50 years 200 IU 200 IU 200 IU 200 IU 200 IU
51 to 70 years 400 IU 400 IU
71 + years 600 IU 600 IU

According to the Institute of Medicine, food consumption data suggests intakes of vitamin D for both younger and older women are below current recommendations.4 The data suggests more than 50% of younger and older women are not consuming recommended amounts of vitamin D. Their data also shows African American women are particularly prone to consuming low amounts of vitamin D in their diet.

What is the Best Form of Vitamin D Supplement?

Houghton, in a 2006 article appearing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition18 points out that vitamin D2, the synthetic variety used for fortification of milk and foods, is inferior to the natural form, vitamin D3 for several reasons. He suggests D2 “should not be regarded as a nutrient suitable for supplementation or fortification.”

Authors Goldberg, and Cantorna, show it is very important to take adequate calcium and magnesium along with vitamin D3 supplementation as the three balance each other.

More Vitamin D May Be Better!

Recent science is showing that levels above the Adequate Intake may provide better health. For example, professor Robert Heaney has reported in April 2006 in the Journal of Nutrition his study showing an additional 2600 IU/day of oral vitamin D3 should be given to older women.15

Vieth reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition a recommendation of 4000 IU per day for adults.16 He also showed that levels of 10,000 IU per day were normal from body exposure to the sun and the only published vitamin D toxicity was at levels exceeding 40,000 IU/day.

The National Institutes of Health indicates Vitamin D may have benefit for some forms of Cancer, Osteoporosis, Alzheimers, Chron’s Disease and other maladies.17

It seems more studies are warranted on proper vitamin D levels. Given that vitamin D3 is safe at very high levels and may provide extraordinary benefits with no known risk, we recommend individuals get reasonable sun exposure, eat foods rich in vitamin D, and supplement with AlgaeCal Plus.

Important Food Sources of Vitamin D

vitamin d is actually essential want of your body and deficiency helps to make the bone tissues fragile along with ceases the rise throughout young ones. It’s a reality of mater who vitamin d will not be located in various of any foods. It is asserted that there will be a disparity most desirable and provide as well as demand from customers of vitamin d by using nutrition. Since it’s known in which leading supply of vitamin d is undoubtedly natural light although as a consequence of huge constructions it’s a serious issue to generate enough volume of vitamin d.

This is why it’s actually is important for people to access Nutrition sources of vitamin d so that your deficiency of vitamin d could be undertaken without worrying about the apply of medics made up of vitamin d.

Here might possibly be the designs of foods sources that contain vitamin d in fragments.

The first the first is egg cell that is definitely a natural piece of your on a daily basis widely used eatables. Exactly the Yolks of chicken eggs possess vitamin d in that person. Ovum hold vitamin d in effective form if they are boiled. Gound beef plus liver are known Dinner sources of vitamin d together with the individuals that bring gound beef with their diet exclusively it has hard working liver offer vitamin d.

In exactly the same fish oil is too a major food base of Vitamin d. With other sorts of expression these people own in are usually a very good diet to overcome deficiency of vitamin d. Within a and various boat foods seem to be Meals sources of vitamin d. Fish oil is made available around sort of medicinal drugs that is chosen comfortably.

Mushrooms will be a nice Meal source of vitamin d.Fresh mushrooms can be full of vitamin d along with resulting from explanation they are simply believed to be balanced diet factor. Very little a symptom in ingesting weeds then there’s various sorts of organic mushrooms which you’ll find very much venomous and might lead to fatality within a little while after food the idea. With the good reason basically bundled models of seafood accessible in promote needs to be incorporated into some of our meal to increase vitamin d.

Milk along with its types are really considerably good Foodstuff sources of vitamin d. That is the reason get is undoubtedly primary diet for the young young children. In addition to escalating kids are cautioned to use marg . in addition to milk products within their day by day diet. Organic and also other types of dairy are very important resource of vitamin d. Rather than such bakery products like brownies, breads along with pastries are also superior sources of vitamin d.

Learn more to do with dinner sources of vitamin d, please go to that practical online site of Jean Desjardins: vitamin d deficiency symptoms

vitamin D Newsletter Might 2007 | vitamin D and Autism

vitamin D and Autism

Autism is now epidemic From the industrialized world. A Current British Research indicated the prevalence is One in Each and every 88 children; Not just is autism epidemic, it is catastrophic. If you ever are Included with autism, You realize the etiology is unknown. Though symptomatic treatments exist, universally effective treatments are lacking. Right up until we Uncover the cause, effective treatments will evade us. Any Principle of autism's Trigger Should account for all its unexplained Details This Sort of as:

Why has it Greater so Significantly While in the Final Twenty years? How could it Improve if it Is Primarily a genetic disease? Why can A single identical twin be severely Impacted And also the other not? Why are boys so A Great deal more Probable To obtain it than girls? Why is it Additional Typical in blacks? Why do autistic Youngsters have Bigger heads? Why can't they excrete heavy metals? Why is autism Much less Typical closer For the equator? Why do symptoms 1st Look Across the age of weaning? Why do Specific drugs, For instance valproic acid, Enhance the risk? Why are seizures so Typical in autism? Why do autistic Kids have frequent infections? Why do mothers who consume seafood Throughout their Being pregnant Possess a Decreased Chance of Possessing an autistic child? Why do A Few of autistic Young children Appear to miraculously get better? Why do multivitamins Appear to help? Why does fish Essential oil help? We do not know the Solutions to these questions; we do not know The way to Avoid autism, Neither The Very best way to Deal with it.

Now Just one Concept Solutions all these questions. Furthermore, this new Principle implies Effortless prevention and raises, No Much less than the possibility, of effective treatment—if treatment is instituted in young, autistic Youngsters Prior to the Human brain Harm is permanent.

Furthermore, if this new Concept is correct, it Suggests autism, At the least the Current increase, is iatrogenic—that is, Brought on by the Healthcare profession!

To Study A Great deal more Concerning the vitamin D Principle of Autism, see our site's new Area Autism and vitamin D.

John Jacob Cannell MD Executive Director

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