Cooking With and Finding Foods High in Vitamin D

Naturally Occurring Sources of This Fat Soluble Vitamin Include Fish

Dec 12, 2008 Renee Shelton

Vitamin D is often added as a dietary supplement to foods but is also naturally occurring in fish, egg yolks and beef liver.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and found in animal products. It promotes calcium absorption and helps maintain strong bones. Adequate Vitamin D intakes prevent the disease rickets in children and osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults. Rickets, usually caused by a deep Vitamin D deficiency, causes the softening and weakening of bones in children. It is apparent by legs being bowed and spine curvatures. Osteomalacia is rickets in adult form and results in misshapen bones. Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones which causes them to be fragile.

While many processed foods are fortified with Vitamin D, it is hard to find it in foods naturally. Here is a list of foods that have it naturally and some of the best ways to cook and prepare them, and some of the processed foods available that are fortified with Vitamin D.

Fish and Fish Oils

Fish and fish liver oils (especially cod liver oil) are great sources of Vitamin D and can be taken as a supplement. Fish varieties with high amounts of Vitamin D per serving include salmon, mackerel, herring, eel, tuna (canned in oil) and sardines.

Salmon is an excellent flavored fish that can be cooked and served in many ways. Healthy ways to cook salmon are baking, poaching and grilling. Mackerel is a fatty fish that can be found fresh or canned. The mackerel fish family (including Spanish mackerel and Atlantic mackerel) is great cooked with tomato-based sauces or grilled.

When purchasing canned tuna and sardines, look for varieties that are packed in oil. Drain well before serving or using in recipes. Herring is often found preserved but can also be sourced out frozen in select markets. Preserved herring can be found cured, salted and pickled. Fresh eels are often baked or stewed.

Milk, Dairy and Egg Products

Generally all milk is fortified with Vitamin D, including skim, low fat (1% and 2%) and whole milk varieties. Some margarines and butter spreads are fortified with Vitamin D; look at the labels for nutritional information to see if it has been fortified. Most commercial yogurts are fortified, but vary by brand. Eggs have Vitamin D naturally when consumed with the yolks as the egg yolk is the part of the egg containing Vitamin D.

Breakfast Cereals

Since Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin it doesn’t break down in cooking and can be easily added to foods in processing. Most breakfast dry cereals come fortified with Vitamin D. The average amount of Vitamin D is 10% of the daily recommended amount per serving without milk, and 25% with milk, depending on what the total caloric intake needs are.

Bibliography/Sources:

"Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet." National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. 11 December 2008. Site accessed 12 December 2008.

"Rickets." MayoClinic.com. 14 October 2008. Site accessed 11 December 2008.

The copyright of the article Cooking With and Finding Foods High in Vitamin D in Healthy Cooking is owned by Renee Shelton. Permission to republish Cooking With and Finding Foods High in Vitamin D in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Breakfast cereals are fortified with Vitamin D.