15 Recipes to Boost Your Vitamin D (2024)

FAQs

What dishes are high in vitamin D? ›

The best food sources of vitamin D are oily fish, including salmon, mackerel, and sardines. Other sources include egg yolks, red meat, and liver. Vitamin D is added to some foods too, including breakfast cereals, plant milks and fat spreads. Check information on-pack to see if this applies to the products you buy.

You can increase your vitamin D levels by getting sun exposure or eating foods rich in vitamin D, including fatty fish, egg yolks, and vitamin D-fortified milk and grains. In some cases of deficiency, a doctor may recommend vitamin D supplements.

Not knowing what your vitamin D level is and how rapidly you metabolize it, a reasonable amount is 1,000 to 2,000 IU per day.” Don't rely on food alone. You'd have to drink 20 cups of vitamin D-fortified milk to get 2,000 IU per day. “To get enough vitamin D from food is really difficult,” Binkley says.

Mushrooms are the number one vegetable source for vitamin D. In fact, discounting fortified plant foods (like soy milk), mushrooms are really the only way to get your vitamin D from plants.

Regular sun exposure is the most natural way to get enough vitamin D. To maintain healthy blood levels, aim to get 10–30 minutes of midday sunlight, several times per week. People with darker skin may need a little more than this. Your exposure time should depend on how sensitive your skin is to sunlight.

Spending around 10 to 30 minutes in the sun between 10 AM and 3 PM, at least twice a week, is generally sufficient for most individuals to produce enough Vitamin D. The exact time needed depends on factors such as skin type, latitude, altitude, and season. Skin Exposure: Expose a large area of skin to the sun.

Because vitamin D is fat soluble, its absorption depends on the gut's ability to absorb dietary fat [4]. Fat malabsorption is associated with medical conditions that include some forms of liver disease, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis [1,63].

Three ounces of cooked rainbow trout have 645 IUs of vitamin D, per the NIH; the same amount of cooked salmon has 570 IUs. Sardines, tuna fish, and cod liver oil also have vitamin D. According to a February 2021 study published in Environment International, Atlantic mackerel and herring were great sources of vitamin D.

In another study in 50 older adults, consuming vitamin D alongside a high fat meal increased vitamin D blood levels by 32% after 12 hours compared to a fat-free meal ( 8 ). Avocados, nuts, seeds, full fat dairy products, and eggs are nutritious sources of fat that help boost your vitamin D absorption.

“Adding an over-the-counter vitamin D supplement can make improvements in just three to four months. Vitamin D with a strength of 1000-2000 international units daily is the recommended dose for most adults,” Dr. Ropte says. Most multivitamins contain vitamin D, so extra supplementation isn't always necessary.

How do you feel when your vitamin D is extremely low? ›

Most people with vitamin D deficiency are asymptomatic. However, if you're exhausted, your bones hurt, you have muscle weakness or mood changes, that's an indication that something may be abnormal with your body. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency may include: Fatigue.

In addition, taking a supplement that contains too much vitamin D can be toxic in rare cases. It can lead to hypercalcemia, a condition in which too much calcium builds up in the blood, potentially forming deposits in the arteries or soft tissues. It may also predispose people to painful kidney stones.

How long it takes you to recover depends on how severe your deficiency is. However, it generally takes about 6-8 weeks of supplementation for your vitamin D levels to go back into the normal range.

Beyond the delicious flavors, salads offer a wealth of vitamins that are essential for our overall well-being. Four important vitamins – A, D, E, and K – provide unique health benefits and are easily found in common salad ingredients.

You will mostly find Vitamin D in dairy products like milk, eggs, fish and yogurt. If you realised, these foods form an essential part of one's morning nutrition - a great way to kick off the day with a healthy dose of Vitamin D.

Eggs are a convenient way to get vitamin D. They're popular in many breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert recipes. Since the vitamin D in an egg comes from its yolk, it's important to use the whole egg—not just the whites. One yolk will give you about 40 IUs, but don't try to get your daily vitamin D just from eggs.

Kobayashi et al. (27) found no vitamin D in chicken breast but slight amounts in chicken liver and turkey and a high amount (325 μg/kg) in domestic duck.