Foods Containing High Amounts Of Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and phosphorus, protects against muscle weakness and regulates your heartbeat. Your skin naturally synthesizes vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun, but your body can only produce sufficient vitamin D from sunlight all year long if you live below 34 degrees latitude.

That leaves anyone living further north than Los Angeles lacking in vitamin D for at least part of the year---sometimes up to six months of it. Unfortunately, not very many foods contribute significantly to the 400 IU recommended daily value of vitamin D, but there are a few you can use to help make up the difference.

Fish

According to a fact sheet published by the ODS, some fish meats---salmon, tuna and mackerel---and fish liver oils rank among the best food sources of vitamin D. Halibut also contains some vitamin D, according to "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC. The ODS lists cod liver oil as the best food source of all, with 1,360 IU of vitamin D per tablespoon.

Dairy Products

Small amounts of vitamin D are naturally present in dairy products like cheese, milk and butter. Manufacturers often add extra vitamin D; see Fortified Products.

Mushrooms

Shiitake and chanterelle mushrooms both contain naturally occurring vitamin D. According to the ODS, some mushrooms grown in controlled conditions underneath ultraviolet light contain higher vitamin D levels; three ounces of ultraviolet-exposed mushrooms can contain up to 400 IU.

Fortified Foods

According to the ODS, most vitamin D in the typical American diet comes from vitamin D-fortified foods. Vitamin D can legally be added to milk, which often contains as much as 100 IU of supplementary vitamin D per cup of milk. Vitamin D may also be added to products made with milk, like yogurt, cereal flours, and orange juices or other drinks with added calcium. Cheese and ice cream are usually not fortified.

Lower Amounts

A food must contain more than 20 percent of the recommended daily value of a vitamin to be considered a high source of that vitamin. But so few foods contain vitamin D naturally that even lower-level sources are worth mentioning. Eggs contain small amounts of vitamin D in the yolk only; ODS lists them as containing 25 IU per egg, just 6 percent of the recommended daily value. A cooked 3.5-oz. beef liver contains 46 IU, or 12 percent of the recommended daily value.