Vitamin DVitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that gets stored mainly in the liver. Once it is converted in the liver, it goes to work so your body can absorb calcium effectively. As you may already be aware of, it is an essential vitamin that helps with our bone development and protects against muscle weakness. Foods such as, fish, egg yolks, butter, and milk are rich in this vitamin. Cod liver oil is a common source, as well. I remember when my Mom used to give me my tablespoon of Cod liver oil. Yuck! It was anawful experience! It might also be interesting to know that your skin can naturally produce Vitamin D when you get exposed to sunlight. You can manufacture as much as 400 IU of this vitamin, also known as “calciferol” even with only 20 minutes of sun exposure over a small portion of your body. But remember, you only need a small amount of sun exposure to obtain the potential benefit. It is all about moderation, since too much exposure to sunlight is bad for you, too. In that case, supplementation may not be necessary. But, not too fast...it also depends on your age. As we get older, our ability to manufacture Vitamin D declines and increasing sun exposure is not going to do the trick. By the time you reach the age 70, the production of this vitamin in your body is only 30% of what it was when you were 25. The Recommended Dietary Allowance for this vitamin is therefore, higher for older people. Women under 50 only need 200 IU (international units) daily. For those who are 50 to 70, 400 IU is the recommended amount, while those over 70 need at least 600 IU. Now there can be toxicity problems relating to taking too much of Vitamin D, which can occur when doses of higher than 1,000 to 1,500 IC are taken daily over a long period of time, for instance, longer than one month. So, please consult with your physician to know what your body requires.
Selected Food Sources
*DV = Daily Value. DVs are reference numbers developed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers determine if a food contains a lot or a little of a specific nutrient. The DV for this vitamin is 400 IU (10 µg) for adults. Most food labels do not list the content for this vitamin unless a food has been fortified with this nutrient. The percent DV (%DV) listed on the table above tells you the percent of the DV provided in one serving. A food providing 5% of the DV or less is a low source while a food that provides 10-19% of the DV is a good source and a food that provides 20% or more of the DV is high in that nutrient. It is important to remember that foods that provide lower percentages of the DV also contribute to a healthful diet.
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