Top 15 Foods Rich in Vitamin D [Best High vitamin D Foods & Sources]

I just put out some videos on vitamin D and I'm blown away by how many views they got all over the world. People are watching vitamin D. It's such a hot topic, but one of the things that people commented are, why don't you talk more about the foods? And you're right. That's what we're doing in this video. The crazy thing is vitamin D deficiency is 78% around the world. There is a phenomenal study that was just done that looked at 308 studies around the world. They actually checked blood levels. And they found that 78% of people around the world are deficient. The more North you get, the higher the deficiency level. And we're going over the top 15 foods from worst to best foods and most practical foods to eat. And we're starting now. There's two ways to get your vitamin D. I go over the video, the big lie and the big secret of using sunlight to get your vitamin D. A large portion of the world is not able to get vitamin D properly from the sun. And I go over the reasons why in that video in depth. We talked about skin cancer rates, different strategies to get your vitamin D. Check that out below because there's a lot of misconceptions. There's a lot of lies about sunlight. Vitamin D has historically been made by getting sunlight. So exposed skin converts non enzymatically 7 high hydrocholesterol to pre vitamin D3. This is a good way to get it. But now we're wearing clothes as we live up North. It might not even be possible to get this sunlight. This is a magical and unique chemistry reaction in our blood, in our bodies, but we can always take advantage of this. Here we're going over food. There's two types. There's vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. The best way to get it is naturally through your foods. There are supplements available and I linked them down below. I go over some videos, how to use the supplements or the reality is if you can do it naturally, if you can eat foods, that is the way to go. I did a deep dive from least important to most important foods for your vitamin D. But first I want to go over the benefits of vitamin D and I'm going to count those down. Number 10 improved mood and mental health. Vitamin D helps with depression, helps with everything. I know once I started supplementing and taking it, I feel a lot better during the winter. Number nine supports weight management. Vitamin D plays a critical role in weight loss according to some studies. Number eight, it helps with wound healings, cuts, blisters, skin conditions. If you're in a sunny area, there's no doubt your skin is a little bit healthier than in the winter when it's scaly, crusty, and dry. Number seven, reduced risk of certain cancers. There's a lot of studies, especially like colorectal cancer, for example, but vitamin D can play a critical role. Number six, diabetes management. There's a lot of studies that show how vitamin D is important in regulating insulin level and aiding in the management of diabetes. Number five, heart health. There's an association between vitamin D levels and heart and vascular health. Number four, reduce risk of the flu. There is a great study that basically within 250 miles of the equator, north and south, there's no flu season. This is something that not really mentioned much in the media, but there's a lot of great studies that show vitamin D is critical for immune function and some would even suggest that it can help reduce the likelihood of influenza. Number three, bone health and calcium absorption. Vitamin D critical towards absorbing calcium, utilizing calcium, managing parathyroid hormone. Two things control your bone buildup, your parathyroid gland, which releases parathyroid hormone that makes the bones take up more calcium and parathyroid hormone also creates vitamin D. So you have to have sufficient vitamin D both work on the intestines to take up and keep more calcium. If you have more calcium, more parathyroid hormone, more vitamin D cells called osteoblasts, you can see I'm working here. They lay down more bone, they build more bone. If you don't have that balance, then cells called osteoclasts eat up the bone, chew it up and you develop osteoporosis over time. We go over our video on all the vitamins, vitamin K2, magnesium, vitamin D, omega three fatty acids and bone health and osteoporosis. Check that out if you have time. Number two, reduce risk of autoimmune diseases. This is crazy, but vitamin D levels are associated with certain autoimmune diseases and the more north you go, the higher some of these autoimmune diseases are present. That just blew my mind. Check out those studies in our sunlight video. In the north, the tricky part is from about November to about March, the sun is south. So you're not getting a lot of rays, especially in North America, in Europe, in Russia, Northern China. And this is why I mentioned a lot of these illnesses like autoimmune illnesses, osteoporosis, the vitamin D deficiency symptoms, they're seen in a lot greater quantities in these areas above 35 degrees north and below 35 degrees south. But below 35 degrees south, there's not a whole lot of population in the world. It is actually possible to use a sun lamp. Now there's a lot of brands out there and I looked this up. The studies aren't very conclusive. That means nobody really paid to do the studies, how much you need for how long, but they recommend, you know, five minutes, three to four times a week. That's all you need to convert your skin to your level, to your kidneys and get your vitamin D. That basically means your seven dihydrocholesterol level can be converted by five minutes with this lamp to pre vitamin D three to get your normal levels. Now there's no real studies verifying this. So tell me what you think they are about 600 or more dollars. So they're not the cheapest thing in the world. And number one, immune support, potentially the most critical effect of vitamin D is that it supports the immune system, helping the body fight infections and diseases. Very well studied, very well proven. I won't get into that in this video. We're going over the foods here in this list. I go from least practical and least effective to most practical and most effective. Number 15, margarine, fortified margarine. So in America and in Europe, they fortify a lot of these foods up to 15 international units per tablespoon. But how practical is it? I don't recommend anybody go eat more margarine. There's a lot of videos now how butter is actually better than margarine. In America, they've banned trans fats, but I won't get into that. That's why it's number 15. Number 14, fortified plant-based milk. So if you're vegan, your almond milk, your soy milk, there's 144 international units per cup in soy milk and almond milk. It's a great choice. For vegans, it's very practical, but it's number 14 on the list. 13, fortified cereal. So if you have kids, I know I have four kids. It's hard to get them to eat, but one cup of fortified cereal now has about 100 international units. They're getting vitamin D into a lot of these foods. So for a kid, it's practical, but you're getting a lot of sugar. You're getting a lot of filler, a lot of processed garbage in there. It's probably not the best choice. Number 12, beef liver. 3.5 ounces have 50 international units. For my carnivore fans out there, most meats are just loaded with nutrients. So your B vitamins, especially your B12, your vitamin D, there is a lot of nutrition in beef. So I'm a huge fan of supplementing beef in your diet. It's very nutrient rich, potentially not the cheapest thing to eat with the high inflation economy now. Number 11, fortified orange juices. I'm normally not a big fan of juices because a lot of my patients are diabetics. It's very high in sugar, but there is 100 international units in fortified orange juice. You get some vitamin C. There's some benefits, but reality is you might as well just take a supplement and skip the sugar in that case because it is synthetic in this fortified food. Number 10, egg yolks. For me, this personally makes it a lot higher. There's a lot of bad press about egg yolks and eggs, but I have a great video, all the lies, all the secrets about eggs. If you eat eggs in your diet, I'm not going to ruin it for you. Watch that video, but so much nutrition, so much vitamin D in your eggs, especially if you get farm raised eggs, there's a lot more omega-3, a lot more vitamin D in your eggs. I would personally move eggs up a lot higher on this list, but right now it landed on number 10, but if I were to redo it, I'd put eggs higher. Number nine, cheese. The content varies, but a cheese slice is going to have like 24 to 50 international units, not the most widely consumed, but a lot of people eat cheese out there. They love it. You're getting a little bit of vitamin D in your cheese. Number eight, fortified yogurt. Vitamin D in yogurt is about 80 to 100 international units. I love feeding my kids yogurt, especially high fat Greek yogurts. For my younger kids, I fill them up, I have pouches, they love eating it. They get their protein, they get a lot of vitamins in it. For kids, very important for me. It's probably one of my go-tos. I love eating Greek yogurt as well. Ton of protein, ton of nutrition in the right brands. Number seven, mushroom. UV exposed mushrooms are a great source of vitamin D. A 3.5 ounce serving can have 150 international units to 450 international units, depending on the exposure. This is practical for vegans, vegetarians. You got to check and make sure they're UV exposed. How you would do that depends on the store. Number six, canned tuna. Vitamin D content is 250 international units per 3.5 ounces. So eating a little bit of tuna can give you a ton of vitamin D. It's very easily available. Canned tuna is pretty cheap. It stores for a long time. The one thing I would say is going crazy with fish, potentially if they're farmed, you might have some mercury exposure. I have a video about fish toxicity down below. Check that out. That might help you out. Number five, mackerel. Mackerel is great. 650 international units per 3.5 ounces. Getting a little bit of mackerel gives you a ton of vitamin D, ton of nutrition, ton of omega-3 fatty acids in there. Not the easiest to get, but a huge amount of vitamin D, especially in the winter if you work this into your diet. Number four, canned sardines. The Ninja Turtles love this. That's why the Ninja Turtles are so buff, so strong. 275 international units per 3.5 ounces. Easy to store, easy to consume, not the most expensive at the store. Very easily available. If you need vitamin D and you don't want to take supplements, that's a great route to go. Number three, herrings and sardines. The vitamin D content is insane in herrings and sardines. 1,600 international units per 3.5 ounces. That's a ton. Eating just a little bit can give you a decent amount during the day. Highly nutritious food, but less common in some diets, but should be available, even canned portions. Now we're getting into the good stuff. Salmon. Salmon is not the cheapest in the world, but wild caught salmon, 1,000 international units per 3.5 ounces, depending on the variety. The more wild it is, the more international units. This is widely available. It's not the cheapest in the world, but getting a little bit of salmon, great for your omega three fatty acids, great for your vitamin D. And number one, cod liver oil. This is essentially a supplement. It's so action packed, but one tablespoon of cod liver oil is almost 1,500 international units. Extremely practical if you're supplementing with a natural food, cod liver oil. This is a less commonly used regular food item, but if you want to naturally build vitamin D into your diet, more cod liver oil in there. I go over videos about what the problem is with sunlight, especially in cold regions in the winter time. It's almost impossible to get enough vitamin D. Almost 80% deficiency around the world. Getting the right foods can help. So for example, the Inuits in Canada, they eat so much cold water fish and they get decent vitamin D levels. That's how they've adapted because they don't get that sunlight. Did I miss any food? I personally love to eat a lot of eggs. I love to eat fish. The recommended dosage, the argument is that it's way lower than you think. I personally take about 5,000 to 10,000 international units a day. I take it with vitamin K2. I take some omega-3 fatty acids. I take some magnesium as well. I go over all that in my guides down below, including what are the best supplements, how you should go about it. But these things, they don't have to be expensive. I know in today's economy, inflation is high, but these things don't have to be comparatively expensive. And I know for me, if I miss work, if I get sick, that's a disaster. It easily pays for all the supplements. Keeping my family healthy, this is a priority. For me personally, since I've started taking vitamin D, I feel like I never get sick at all. There's like years at a time where I don't get the flu even once, whereas before when I first started at the hospital, I was getting sick like every week. I felt like a disaster, but now hardly ever happens to me. Again, that's just one study, but check out those videos below about our sunlight, about our best supplements and start getting healthier.