Get More Vitamin D!
By Sara Butler
Your body is quite amazing. When exposed to sunlight, it produces its own Vitamin D. But when you live in a place where the sun may not shine so bright a few months out of the year, it's important to find other sources of Vitamin D to help keep you healthy. Here are a few foods you may want to incorporate into your diet to make sure you're getting enough of this vital vitamin.
What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. That means that your body will absorb it best when paired with fats. Vitamin D is also crucial to your body's absorption of calcium, which is why you often see dairy products with added Vitamin D.
Vitamin D helps to maintain your body's natural balance of phosphate and calcium as well as boost bone health. It can have an impact on your mood, too, which is why it's important to get the recommended 600 International Units (IUs) per day.
Good Sources of Dietary Vitamin D
If you're looking to boost your Vitamin D through diet, then these foods are excellent places to start:
- Mushrooms - Mushrooms exposed to UV light, such as portabellas, are great sources of Vitamin D. A whole portabella can have as much as 375 IUs of Vitamin D as well as potassium, selenium, and Vitamin B. Chanterelle mushrooms are another great source, with one cup providing 100 IUs of Vitamin D.
- Salmon - Fish oil is an excellent source of Vitamin D, which makes fatty fish such as salmon an ideal source. Three ounces of salmon provides you with 370 IUs of Vitamin D. Sockeye salmon provides a whopping 800 IUs in a three-ounce serving.
- Halibut - Just for the halibut, you get about 200 IUs of Vitamin D in three ounces of this fish. It's also a great source of protein, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and Vitamin B, as well as omega-3 fatty acids.
- Canned tuna - Just to prove that you don't have to get fancy to provide your body with all it needs, canned tuna has 40 IUs in one three-ounce serving. It also is full of potassium, zinc, selenium, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
- Fortified milk and milk alternatives - Milk doesn't naturally contain a lot of Vitamin D, so it's often added to provide about 125 IUs in one cup. If you opt for almond milk, make sure to look for the fortified type that has calcium and Vitamin D.
Make sure you get your daily dose of Vitamin D to stay healthy!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Monroe, La.