An Overview of Vitamin D – How It Is Used in the Body and Common Food Sources
As children, we were all told that we need calcium in order to have strong bones and grow big and strong. However, calcium is not the only vitamin needed for good bone development; Vitamin D also plays a very important part. No matter how much calcium we take in, without Vitamin D, our bodies won’t be able to absorb it properly.
Before, people would just bask under the heat of the sun for a good dose of Vitamin D; however, because of the extreme changes in our environment, the heat of the sun will more likely do damage to your skin than make your bones healthy. A person’s next recourse then, is to get the Vitamin D he needs from the food he eats.
Our body needs 10 micrograms of Vitamin D per day. Fortunately, there are a lot of Vitamin D rich foods which will give you the recommended nutritional intake even with just tiny servings. For example, 100 grams of cod liver oil can contain more than 200 micrograms of Vitamin D and may go higher than that, depending on the purity of the cod liver oil.
For breakfast, slathering a toast of bread with butter or margarine can put you on the right track, as both of these contain high levels of Vitamin D. Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel and Sardines not only contain around 4-12 micrograms of Vitamin D, but they are also low in cholesterol, making it easier for people on a diet to get their Vitamin D.
Milk can be a very good source of Vitamin D, specially Vitamin D-fortified milk. One cup of Vitamin D-fortified milk is equivalent to 25 percent of the recommended nutritional intake. If you serve your milk together with fortified cereals, you can replenish up to 35 percent of your Vitamin D daily requirements.
