List of Foods with Vitamin D

You may have heard that most people don’t get enough vitamin D, so you’re looking for a list of foods with vitamin D. This article will outline why vitamin D is necessary, and provide you with a list of foods that can help you get your recommended daily allowance of this important nutrient.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that isn’t naturally present in very many foods. It is essential for a number of processes in your body, as well as for the prevention of rickets. Vitamin D, along with calcium and magnesium, is essential for healthy bone formation. It is also essential for the absorption of calcium and phosphorous. Other roles in the body include boosting immune function and cell regulation.

While a list of foods with vitamin D can tell you how to get your vitamin D dietetically, the best source of vitamin D is from the sun. The widespread use of sunscreen has caused humans to block vitamin D absorption from the sun, and therefore dietary intake and often supplementation are necessary in order to absorb appropriate amounts of vitamin D into your body.

Do you need a list of foods with vitamin D? If you are exhibiting any of the following symptoms, you just might.

• Profuse sweating
• Irritability
• Bone malformations including knock knees or bowed legs
• Bone pain
• Muscle weakness

If you are exhibiting any of the above symptoms, your doctor can do a simple serum blood test to check for vitamin D deficiency. Inadequate vitamin D can lead to a number of health problems besides rickets, including increased risk of coronary disease and certain cancers.

Below is a list of foods with vitamin D. In some cases the vitamin D is naturally occurring – such as in fish – and in others, the foods have been fortified with vitamin D. The list is in order from the highest levels of vitamin D to the lowest.

• Fish and cod liver oil – This is the food/supplement with the highest concentration of vitamin D available. If the thought of taking cod liver oil makes you gag, consider trying Carlson’s Lemon-flavored cod liver oil, which has a mild lemon flavor with no fish taste, or Barleans Omega Swirl, which has slightly less vitamin D, but tastes like lemon pie.
• Herring
• Catfish
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Oysters
• Sockeye salmon (with bone)
• Canned pink salmon (with bone)
• Canned steelhead trout
• Halibut
• Vitasoy Tofu
• Pickled herring
• Canned sardines (with bones)
• Mackerel
• Silk plan soymilk
• Steelhead
• Vitamin D fortified soy milk
• Shrimp
• Orange juice fortified with vitamin D
• Milk fortified with vitamin D
• Oil packed tuna fish
• Quaker Nutrition for Women oatmeal with vitamin D
• Caviar
• White mushrooms
• Soy yogurt
• Cod
• Fortified breakfast cereals
• Flounder
• Sole
• Kippered salmon
• Sardine oil
• Pudding prepared with vitamin D fortified milk
• Egg yolk
• Whole eggs
• Beef kidneys
• Fast food milk shakes
• Head cheese
• Pork
• Beef salami
• Ice cream
• Goat milk
• Egg McMuffin
• Beef and/or pork frankfurters
• Cheese
• Butter (real butter – not margarine)
• Egg bread
• Clams
• Turkey hot dogs
• Bratwurst
• Pepperoni
• Mashed potatoes

The US recommended daily allowance for vitamin D is 400 iu of vitamin D3 daily. At this amount, the health benefits are:

• Protection against certain cancers
• Protection against skin conditions like psoriasis
• Immune function enhancement
• Increased calcium absorption
• Protection against tuberculosis

Because vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, supplementation beyond the USRDA is not recommended. Fat soluble vitamins remain in your body and can build up toxicity. It is best to try and get adequate vitamin D from a combination of sun exposure and a diet rich in foods with vitamin D in them. If you are getting adequate sun and dietary vitamin D, check with your doctor before self-prescribing supplementation.

Some populations are more at risk for vitamin D deficiency than others, including:

• People living in rainy/cloudy climates
• People with dark skin
• Vegetarians
• People who use sunscreen
• People with dairy allergies

Because vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, it can build up in your body and become toxic. Here are some signs of vitamin D toxicity/overdose:

• Constipation
• Irritability
• Nausea
• Increased levels of blood calcium
• Weakness
• Kidney stones
• Unexplained weight loss

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