15 Recipes to Boost Your Vitamin D (2024)

FAQs

What foods can I eat to increase my vitamin D level? ›

The best food sources of vitamin D are oily fish, including salmon, mackerel, and sardines. Other sources include egg yolks, red meat, and liver.

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.

The best sources are the flesh of fatty fish and fish liver oils. Smaller amounts are found in egg yolks, cheese, and beef liver. Certain mushrooms contain some vitamin D2; in addition some commercially sold mushrooms contain higher amounts of D2 due to intentionally being exposed to high amounts of ultraviolet light.

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.

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.

“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.

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].

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.

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.

With a serve of two eggs providing 82% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin D, eggs contain one of the highest quantities of vitamin D of any food. Here, Australian Eggs has delved into what exactly vitamin D is, how it benefits our bodies, and where you can find this important nutrient in your daily diet.

Some popular cereals such as Quaker's Oats, Kellogg's Special K and Multi Grain Cheerios are fortified with vitamin D. Enjoy a bowl of cereal with fortified soya milk and a glass of orange juice to get half of your recommended allowance of vitamin D all before lunch time.

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.

“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.