Vitamin D is a unique vitamin and its availability in the body largely depends on its synthesis in the skin when exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D can be synthesized in the body in adequate amounts by simple exposure to bright sunlight even for 5 min per day. Early morning sun is the best sources of getting your daily vitamin D dose.
But with the fast changing lifestyle and increasing pollution people are shying away from the sun. This is leading to many health problems. Infact lack of Vitamin D is also linked to metabolic syndrome which can lead to obesity, hypertension, diabetes and other heart conditions. Besides people deficient in this sunshine vitamin tend to have a high calorie diet that lacks essential nutrients and they have limited sun exposures which restrict their vitamin D synthesis.
Help you get enough Vitamin D in your diet here are some animal & plant sources of the nutrient that should be included in your diet everyday.
1. Fish - Fish is one of the best sources of vitamin D. Let’s see its type and the amount it contain-:
- Salmon- Salmon has by far the most vitamin D of any food. Salmon has more than 1,400 iu of Vitamin D — more than twice as much as most people need in a day.
- Tuna- A serving of tuna has a healthy dose of vitamin D .Bluefin (raw, 3 ounces) has the most at 193 IU, with yellow fin (raw, 3 ounces) at only 59 IU. However, the same amount of light tuna canned in water contains 154 IU vitamin D.
2. Egg yolk
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. One egg contains about 200 milligrams of cholesterol, and the American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 300 milligrams a day for heart health.
3. Mushrooms
Mushrooms naturally produce vitamin D following exposure to sunlight.Exposing mushrooms to as little as five minutes of UV light can produce a significant quantity of vitamin D, demonstrating that this process could provide a significant, unique plant source of vitamin D for vegetarians and individuals who do not drink milk, all mushrooms contain vitamin D close to 400 IU of vitamin D per serving .
4. Soy milk
Regular soy milk, not fortified with additional vitamins, still contains 119 IU of vitamin D per one-cup serving. Soy milk fortified with calcium and vitamins A and D contains 100 IU of vitamin D.
5. Fortified cereals
When you don’t want to cook egg or salmon, you can look for the fortified cereals in the grocery shop. Fortified cereals contain adequate amount of vitamin D. Avoid cereals that contain added sugar.
But too much of everything is bad. The daily recommendation by ICMR for vitamin D is 400IU.Too much vitamin D can cause an abnormally high blood calcium level, which could result in nausea, constipation, confusion, abnormal heart rhythm, and even kidney stones. So, one should consume vitamin d in adequate and limited amount. Also along with vitamin d rich food sources include good amount of calcium in your diet . In order to meet the daily requirements, calcium rich foods like spinach, milk and milk products should be added in your diet.