Vitamin D

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fitplease
fitplease Posts: 647 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

I have had a heck of the time getting my Vitamin D levels up for good. My doctor put me on prescription strength Vitamin D, and that helps some. But, he reduced my dose and my levels dropped a little. So, I know that my habits still need a lot of changing.

Has anyone else had this issue, and if so, what foods would you recommend? I would appreciate if you could suggest simple recipes or dish ideas that include foods that are good sources of Vitamin D. Besides the usual fortified milk and cereal. :-)

Thank you.

Replies

  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    My daughter has Lupus and was given prescription strength vitamin D. The sun is a great natural source of vitamin D. A few minutes outside walking or bike riding would help.
  • Prettypiglett
    Prettypiglett Posts: 72 Member
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    I am glad you posted this as I am having the same problem
  • gdengler
    gdengler Posts: 18 Member
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    Here is a pretty good writeup on where to get vitamin D:http://www.algaecal.com/vitamin-d/vitamin-d-sources.html.

    The best source is from 10-15 mins of sun exposure a couple times a week, but there are other sources as well if you need to stay out of the sun.
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
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    http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12354500/Data/SR23/nutrlist/sr23w324.pdf

    :flowerforyou:
  • ibbray04
    ibbray04 Posts: 227 Member
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    I have RA and low Vit D levels, too. I try to get as much sun as possible. I also take supplement, in much higher dosage than it says on the bottle (okayed be my doctor).
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    My daughter has Lupus and was given prescription strength vitamin D. The sun is a great natural source of vitamin D. A few minutes outside walking or bike riding would help.

    Yes this ^^ Your body will produce vitamin D from sunshine on your skin. Though it gets more difficult as it gets colder and you have to cover more skin when outside but as little as 10 min is usually enough. With a defficiency you might need more. Fish, cod liver oil and eggs are food sources.
  • inotnew
    inotnew Posts: 218 Member
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    do those natural sunlight lamps work for this? It may be something to try if it works, have lunch under the "light".
  • sanura
    sanura Posts: 459 Member
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    This is from a website i found

    http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind

    Sources of Vitamin D
    Food
    Very few foods in nature contain vitamin D. The flesh of fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel) and fish liver oils are among the best sources [1,11]. Small amounts of vitamin D are found in beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks. Vitamin D in these foods is primarily in the form of vitamin D3 and its metabolite 25(OH)D3 [12]. Some mushrooms provide vitamin D2 in variable amounts [13,14]. Mushrooms with enhanced levels of vitamin D2 from being exposed to ultraviolet light under controlled conditions are also available.
    Fortified foods provide most of the vitamin D in the American diet [1,14]. For example, almost all of the U.S. milk supply is voluntarily fortified with 100 IU/cup [1]. (In Canada, milk is fortified by law with 35–40 IU/100 mL, as is margarine at ≥530 IU/100 g.) In the 1930s, a milk fortification program was implemented in the United States to combat rickets, then a major public health problem [1]. Other dairy products made from milk, such as cheese and ice cream, are generally not fortified. Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals often contain added vitamin D, as do some brands of orange juice, yogurt, margarine and other food products.
    Both the United States and Canada mandate the fortification of infant formula with vitamin D: 40–100 IU/100 kcal in the United States and 40–80 IU/100 kcal in Canada [1].
    Several food sources of vitamin D are listed in Table 3.
    Table 3: Selected Food Sources of Vitamin D [11] Food IUs per serving* Percent DV**
    Cod liver oil, 1 tablespoon 1,360 340
    Salmon (sockeye), cooked, 3 ounces 447 112
    Mackerel, cooked, 3 ounces 388 97
    Tuna fish, canned in water, drained, 3 ounces 154 39
    Orange juice fortified with vitamin D, 1 cup (check product labels, as amount of added vitamin D varies) 137 34
    Milk, nonfat, reduced fat, and whole, vitamin D-fortified, 1 cup 115–124 29–31
    Yogurt, fortified with 20% of the DV for vitamin D, 6 ounces (more heavily fortified yogurts provide more of the DV) 88 22
    Margarine, fortified, 1 tablespoon 60 15
    Liver, beef, cooked, 3.5 ounces 49 12
    Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 2 sardines 46 12
    Egg, 1 large (vitamin D is found in yolk) 41 10
    Ready-to-eat cereal, fortified with 10% of the DV for vitamin D, 0.75–1 cup (more heavily fortified cereals might provide more of the DV) 40 10
    Cheese, Swiss, 1 ounce 6 2
  • littlemount
    littlemount Posts: 223
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    Truly another interesting topic I have been tested and it has always been low I got vit d shots now I take carlson brand 2000units daily. Interesting fact I get lot of sunshine the darker the skin u need more sun exposure mushrooms , fortified milk and cereal are good.Salmon,egg yolk for other sources. Interesting fact the wild mushroom like shiitake are better. Indoor grown mushrooms had like 110 units of vit d outdoors in sun for 6 hrs gills facing up the vitamin d level went up to 40,000iu/100 gms, gills facing down it went up 10,900 iu.
    No matter what take the supplement it is better.

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