Vitamins and minerals are essential for your health!

In order to make sure you’re getting enough, you have to know where they come from!

One of the most important parts of a balanced diet is having the right amount of various vitamins and minerals. These are key tools for our bodies to do everything they need to do and keep us feeling happy and healthy. They do so much including repairing and building bones and muscles, boosting immune health, and more! 

One of these important vitamins is Vitamin D, responsible for regulating the amount of phosphate and calcium in the body, is found in a number of foods and other sources! That means it’s super easy to get plenty of Vitamin D into your system so that you can have strong teeth, bones, and muscles and take life head-on! Most people know that milk is high in Vitamin D, but where else can it be found? Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of 6 great sources of Vitamin D for you! 

Before breaking down this list of sources, let’s talk about the importance of getting enough Vitamin D in your diet. Unfortunately, most people in the United States suffer from Vitamin D deficiency. Between 2005 and 2006, The National Health and Nutrition Survey estimated an overall 42% of American citizens lacked sufficient levels of Vitamin D though that number has likely skyrocketed in the years following. Medical research indicates that Vitamin D deficiency may be linked to a number of chronic illnesses including certain cancers and cardiovascular diseases. Making sure you’re getting enough of important nutrients is vital to lifelong health and wellness, so use this list of Vitamin D sources to improve your diet and overall health! 

Image by Alexandr Dzyuba 

Mushrooms

Mushrooms contain a specific type of Vitamin D, known as “D2,” which is determined based on concentration and exposure to Ultraviolet light. Mushrooms grown under the right conditions produce high levels of Vitamin D! They have to be grown in exposure to sunlight, though, otherwise they will not contain a significant level of Vitamin D. That means you may need to be more selective about where you buy your mushrooms from, but it can never hurt to buy better quality produce! 

Image by Taylor Grote

Tuna

Tuna can be a wonderful source of Vitamin D, especially canned tuna! Not only is it accessible and easy to store, but it also contains up to 34% of the daily recommended value of Vitamin D in a single can! For a more nutritious diet, opt for a can of light tuna over white tuna and enjoy your easy and tasty source of Vitamin D! 

Image by Louis Hansel

Spinach

Spinach is a great source of a ton of healthy vitamins and minerals, which is why a lot of people think of spinach as a ‘superfood.’ One of those benefits found in spinach is a high level of Vitamin D! In only a cup of cooked spinach, you can find up to 25% of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin D! That means you can get almost half of your daily amount in a simple tuna and spinach salad, how tasty!  

Image by Toni Sánchez 

Sunlight

If you didn’t know before, you do now! The sun is your best source of Vitamin D, but can also be the most dangerous if you’re not careful. Too much harmful exposure to the sun and its UV rays can lead to premature skin aging, burns, and even skin cancer! But, when it comes to getting enough Vitamin D, you actually need that UV exposure. When the UV hits your skin, it interacts with cholesterol in skin cells producing Vitamin D. So how do you achieve that without harmful exposure? Best advice is to spend some time in the sun around midday. That is because midday is the time when the sun is at its height and you will have more exposure to UV rays, meaning you won’t have to spend as much time under the sun compared to other times throughout the day. On average, 13-30 minutes of sun exposure (without sunscreen, since it blocks the UV rays you need) is enough to get a significant amount of Vitamin D in your body. The time depends on your particular skin and how it interacts with the sun. Lighter-skinned people are much more susceptible to the negative side-effects of sun exposure compared to people with darker complexions, therefore need to be careful about how much time they are spending under the sun.  

Image by Georgia Durrant

Egg Yolks

Egg yolks are a great source of Vitamin D! Start your day with a pair of eggs with your morning breakfast and you’ll be getting nearly 18% of your daily value of Vitamin D! Egg yolks also provide other essential nutrients like a lot of healthy fats, iron, and more! 

Image by Caroline Attwood

Fatty Fish

Oily and fatty fish are another great source of Vitamin D, but contain a different classification than some of the other sources provided. Fish and other animals contain “D3,” rather than the D2 in produce and vegetation like mushrooms. D3 occurs naturally in human and animal bodies, meaning it is much more easily absorbed compared to D2, but they are both beneficial to overall health. Fish such as salmon, swordfish, and tuna are great ways to incorporate more Vitamin D into your diet, not to mention delicious! 

There are so many ways to make sure you’re giving your body the tools it needs to succeed. Take charge of your health and be more mindful of the things you put into your body for a happy and healthy life! 

We hope you enjoy this article for The 6 Best Sources of Vitamin D. If you tried incorporating these things into your regular routine, make sure to let us know! For more recipes, follow us on social media and make sure to check out our weekly blog posts where we share our new favorite recipes and must-know facts about food and living a healthy lifestyle! Check out the other meal options Mealfit provides such as our Weekly Specials, Individual Meals, and other Meals by the Pound.