Vitamin D - The Sunshine Vitamin

By: Dr. Sarah Vincent, ND

Vitamin D is essential to your body’s functioning and overall health. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin so it requires fat in order for it to be efficiently absorbed by your body.  Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium from food and supplements which helps build bone density. 

What does vitamin D do? 

It helps your body absorb calcium to help build strong bones and teeth, it strengthens your immune system (and may inhibit the development of autoimmunity), it strengthens your muscles, helps with cell differentiation (prevents abnormal cell growth) and helps to carry messages in your brain and may help with mood and cognitive function!

Which foods have significant amounts of vitamin D?

Have some fish for dinner! Fish such as snapper, whitefish, mackerel, salmon, trout, halibut, sardines, herring, and tuna are highest in vitamin D. Fortified beverages such as cow, soy, almond and coconut milks also have significant amounts. Mushrooms are not typically a good source of vitamin D, but some companies are now growing their mushrooms under UV light to promote vitamin D production. Dole’s Portobello mushrooms are grown this way and will give you roughly 400IU of vitamin D per cup of diced mushrooms.

Get outside!

If you spend a lot of time outside in the summer, you’re likely getting a healthy dose. Solar UVB (ultraviolet-B rays: wave length 290-315nm), stimulate the production of vitamin D in your epidermis. Most people can get their full requirements of vitamin D, just from being out in the sun two to three times a week for 30 minutes! 

So how do you get the vitamin D that you need? According to Dr. Holick, as little as 5-10 minutes in the sun, three times a week, at peak times (between 11am and 2pm), during the months of March to late October, should be enough for the average light-skinned individual to get their required dose and provide storage for vitamin D shortage during the winter, with minimal risk of skin damage. (3) Note that light exposure through a window doesn't work.

---

Read More