Vitamin D is considered one of the vital ingredients for living a healthy life. It helps in building stronger bones and muscles. It is also known to fight against common cold and flu.
New research has shown evidence of Vitamin D curing depression and other chronic diseases. It also assists in preventing osteoporosis – a condition where your bones get fragile.
Interestingly, for people who are looking to lose weight (in a healthy way) can stick to a Vitamin D diet. Such a diet helps in losing weight in no time and also helps in increasing your metabolism.
So in short, you need to add Vitamin D to your life and you need to do it right away. You must be wondering how to get your hands on Vitamin D. Is it available in the form of pills or supplements? Or can it be found in some fruit or vegetable?
Join Agogo Newsletter
And get Updates for Better Health.
Don’t worry; we have compiled a list of the ways in which you can get Vitamin D.
Exposure to Sunlight
There cannot be any other easier way of acquiring Vitamin D than exposing yourself to sunlight. It is one of the most simple and common methods used by people around the world.
In just a short period of time after exposing yourself to sunlight, your body starts to make Vitamin D. The amount of Vitamin D sunrays produce depends on how long you expose yourself, how much sunlight you are getting and your skin tone.
Winters are the best time of the year when you can sunbathe in a comfortable manner. If you live on Equator then you can get sunlight throughout the year.
People having darker skin tone need to expose themselves to sunlight for a longer period of time. Basically what happens is that the melanin content in darker skin tones is higher which blocks most of the UVB from penetrating through the skin which in turn produces much less Vitamin D.
If you think that you are getting sunlight by just sitting by your window inside your home and that your skin will start producing Vitamin D, then you my friend are mistaken.
You need to go outside to get the right amount of sunlight. But you also have to make sure that you protect your skin and prevent it from getting burnt.
Seafood
Seafood is known to be rich in Vitamin D. A variety of fish including mackerel, tuna, catfish and salmon are recommended by dieticians.
Mainly fatty fish is what you need to add to your diet. There is a certain amount of International Unit (IU) of Vitamin D that is recommended by experts.
For individuals below age of 70, 600 IU of Vitamin D is recommended. A small portion of salmon provides around 450 IU of Vitamin D. This means that around 80-90% of your Vitamin D needs can be fulfilled by adding just a 3 ounce of salmon to your meals.
Same goes for mackerel, a 3 ounce serving of mackerel gives almost 90% of Vitamin D that is recommended for your body.
Additionally, fatty fish is a great source of omega 3 fatty acid which is great for your heart. It prevents many heart diseases.
It is best to go for freshly caught fish. But if you live in areas where this type of fish isn’t widely available then you might want to go for canned fish. Tuna and sardines are two popular fish which can provide a good amount of Vitamin D to your body.
Dairy Products
Milk and other dairy products like cheese, eggs, yogurt and margarine are another great source of Vitamin D. You can make these items a part of your daily breakfast.
Although normal milk and yogurt has some amount of Vitamin D in it, it is always best to go for fortified milk and fortified yogurt. Fortified milk is enriched with Vitamin D in order to promote calcium absorption. Similarly fortified cheese serves the same purpose, although the IU in cheese is much smaller.
Egg yolks are another amazing and easy way of getting Vitamin D. Remember to not stick to egg whites only as we have seen many people do. It is the egg yolks that give you 40 IU of Vitamin D, not the egg whites.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms especially the shiitake mushrooms (that are cultivated in Asia) are known to provide a high amount of Vitamin D to your body.
You can take naturally dried shiitake mushrooms in order to get the most Vitamin D out of them. As winter is here, you might want to try a shiitake mushroom soup.
You need to keep in mind that not all mushrooms are edible and some might even be dangerous for your health. So before purchasing a certain kind of mushroom you need to make sure that it is the one that your body need.
Cereals
Who does not love cereals? They not only taste good, they are easy to make and are healthy as well. Interestingly fortified cereals are loaded up with Vitamin D so that a serving of these ready-to-eat cereals gives you around 40 IUs of Vitamin D.
Vitamin D Supplements
Finally, if all else fails, Vitamin D supplements are here for you. They protect you from getting Vitamin D deficiencies. These include multivitamins and a variety of oils.
Most famous supplement is cod liver oil – oil obtained from liver of cod fish. A teaspoon of cod liver oil can give you around 400 IUs of Vitamin D. It also has omega-3 fatty acids.
Other types of supplements include D2 and D3 supplements which assist in raising Vitamin D content in your blood.
It is important that you visit a doctor before trying any of these supplements. Their excessive use might also cause problems for your body. So make sure to get your prescription beforehand.
Now that you know all the 6 ways of getting Vitamin D you need to plan your meals and your daily routine accordingly. Try maintaining a healthy lifestyle in order to stay healthy, active and strong.
