Truth is we’ve been delaying this article for a while until we had enough information & facts to allow us to enlighten our readers.
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Government advice is that everyone should consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement during the autumn and winter.
1. Salmon
Whether the salmon is wild or farmed can make a big difference. Some studies have found even higher levels in wild salmon — up to 1,300 IU per serving However, farmed salmon contains only 25% of that amount. Still, one serving of farmed salmon provides about 250 IU of vitamin D, or 32% of the DV Summary Wild salmon contains about 988 IU of vitamin D per serving, while farmed salmon contains 250 IU, on average.
Why You Need Vitamin D3
Tamin D is a substance needed for health but only in tiny amounts. Unlike other vitamins, it doesn’t occur naturally in food but can be made in the body. Most people know that humans use sunlight to make vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin.”.
But modern humans don’t get much sunlight, so we end up at the vitamin counter, often confused about what to buy. At the supplement counter, you can choose from D3 or D2. D3 comes from animal sources, although it can be made from lichen.
If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you’ll want to read labels closely. You can also get vitamin D from food. In the United States, many foods such as soy, almond, and oat milk are fortified with vitamin D. Few foods in their natural state contain vitamin.
#1: Fish (Salmon)
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A deficiency of Vitamin D can lead to rickets, a weakened immune system, increased cancer risk, poor hair growth and osteomalacia. (1)
The current U.S. Daily Value (%DV) for vitamin D is 20μg (micrograms) and the toxicity threshold is thought to be 250 to 1000 μg/day. (1)
Sometimes vitamin D values are given in IU (International Units).
When this is the case remember that 1μg=40IU for Vitamin D. (1)
Vitamin D is fat soluble, which means you need to eat fat to absorb it. Foods high in vitamin D include fish, mushrooms exposed to sunlight, fortified milk, fortified milk substitutes, fortified tofu, fortified yogurt, fortified breakfast cereals, fortified orange juice, pork chops, and eggs. Vitamin D is also made by the body when skin is exposed sunlight and is therefore called the sunshine vitamin.
This accounts for approximately 90% of our total vitamin D, with only 10% coming from food. Depending on where you live, 20 minutes of sun exposure a day is enough to meet your vitamin D requirements. Below is a list of the top 10 foods highest in vitamin D by common serving size, for more see the nutrient ranking of 200 foods high in vitamin.