Vegetables High in Vitamin D

If you are wondering what vegetables are high in vitamin D, you will be a bit disappointed to find out that there are very few. In fact, shiitake mushrooms (dry) are perhaps the only veggie source of vitamin D. 100 g of shiitake mushrooms contain nearly 1660 International Units. This amount is satisfactory, but you can’t really eat these mushrooms every single day.

Vitamin D is contained in other foods, but all of these foods are animal-derived. If you are a vegetarian, and you are looking for some other source of vitamin D (non-animal), you will have to use either vitamin D supplements or fortified foods. Breakfast cereals are usually fortified with vitamin D (and several other vitamins); margarine is also fortified with vitamin D3. As you can see, even vegetarians can get enough vitamin D from certain foods. However, keep in mind that none of these food items will be good enough to fulfill your daily requirements.

If you wanted to get your daily dose of vitamin D from foods, you would have to eat enormous amounts of animal liver, egg yolk, dairy products and fish. This would be very bad for your overall health. These foods are considered healthy, but only if you consume them moderately. Some doctors say that you should not eat meat every day. This may be very true, especially if you suffer from problems like hypertension, high cholesterol levels in blood and diabetes. Even if you are perfectly healthy, you should still watch your diet. Eggs are healthy, but you should not eat them every day. Milk is OK to consume on a daily basis, but you won’t get enough vitamin D from milk, no matter how much milk you drink daily.

How to Get Vitamin D

The best way to get vitamin D is to consume some of the foods we mentioned, but that won’t be enough. You need to expose your skin to sunrays several times a week. If you are white-skinned, you will need fifteen or twenty minutes in the sun. If your skin is darker, you will need to spend at least half an hour in the sun, several times a week. Darker skin has more melanin that acts as a sun block. That is why dark skin needs more time to synthesize vitamin D.

It is not always possible to get vitamin D from sunlight. During the winter months, this can be a problem. Many people lack vitamin D during the winter season, but very few of them are aware of that fact. It is recommended that you visit your doctor before winter and check your vitamin D levels. If your vitamin D happens to be low, you will get vitamin D supplements in time, and you will prevent deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiencyoccurs when vitamin D levels in blood get too low. This condition can have serious consequences, and it has to be treated as soon as possible.

Vitamin D supplements remain the best source of vitamin D. Even if you live in a country with hot climate, you may still lack vitamin D, without even knowing about it. Vitamin D3 supplements can be used to prevent or treat vitamin D deficiency. However, you should not take these supplements without consulting your doctor. Vitamin D toxicity is very rare, but it can happen if you use vitamin D supplements on your own. On the other hand, if your vitamin D levels are too low, 400 International Units (that’s the recommended dose), won’t be enough. In other words, you need to check your vitamin D levels before you start using supplements.