Getting your winter dose of vitamin D

Most of us know the sun is the best source of vitamin D, in fact just 13 minutes of midday sun exposure during summer three times a week is enough to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D for most adults. So what do we do when it’s a little too cold to be standing outside and daylight seems to disappear within a blink of an eye? We put together a blog post of alternative sources of the sunshine vitamin!

Fatty fish

Various types of fatty fish provide a good source of Vitamin D. For example, 100g of wild-caught salmon can provide 988 IU of vitamin D, which is 124% of the recommended daily intake. Other good fish sources include herring, sardines and canned tuna, or cod liver oil if you are not a fan of the taste of fish.

Mushrooms

Excluding fortified foods, mushrooms are the only decent plant-based source of vitamin D. Mushrooms can synthesise vitamin D in the same way humans do when exposed to UV light, however mushrooms produce vitamin D2 whereas humans produce vitamin D3. Wild mushrooms can contain up to 2300 IU per 100g – nearly three times the recommended daily amount.

Fortified foods

As there aren’t many good plant-based sources of vitamin D, many foods are fortified with the nutrient; including some cow’s milk, soy milk, orange juice and cereals.

Supplements

One of the easiest ways to ensure you are getting the right amount of vitamin D is to take a supplement. Supplements are easy to measure and convenient to take, like our vitamin D3, D2, K2 or Vitamin D3 & K2.