1/25/14

How to Get Vitamin D3 from the Foods You Eat Everyday

Author: Lyuben Georgiev

Your best source of vitamin D3 is the sun.  Sunshine could trigger the production of 10,000 units of D3 in your body.  All you have to do is to expose your skin to sunlight for 20 minutes at midday.  The ultraviolet rays can be absorbed by your skin and will be converted to D vitamin.

But what if you live in a country that receives less sunlight? What if your work demands that you stay indoors?  Well, you can obtain vitamin D3 from your diet but few food groups contain sufficient amounts of this vitamin.  So you have to carefully plan your diet in order to avoid a deficiency of D3 vitamin.

Why Your Body Needs Vitamin D3

Like most vitamins, D3 is an essential micronutrient needed for total wellness.  It is responsible for the proper absorption of calcium.  Without it, you might suffer from certain disorders that specifically affect the bones.

Vitamin D3 is a very unique micronutrient.  It also acts as a hormone that could play a sweeping role in the proper regulation of several body processes.  The cell membrane has a D vitamin receptor which makes it a very useful substance for many body functions.  It could promote and regulate the healthy development of the immune system and could also regulate the metabolism of an individual.

Indeed, your body needs vitamin D3 for overall wellness.  The good thing is that your body has the ability to store this vitamin for future use.  So the excess D3 vitamin produced by sunlight and the nutrient you get from food can be stored by your body for later use.

Developing a Diet that Is Rich in Vitamin D3

Unlike other vitamins, D3 is not readily available in most foods.  You have to work double time to know which foods contain rich amounts of this vitamin.  The best that you can do is to get a food nutrition guide that lists the available nutrients of different types of foods.  You may also consult with a nutritionist or a dietitian who can help you develop a diet that is rich in vitamin D.

For starters, you should include plenty of fish and certain sea foods in your diet.  More specifically, fatty fish are excellent sources of D3 vitamin.  For example, a half fillet or 155 grams of sockeye salmon cooked in dry heat contains as much as 1448 IU of vitamin D3.  Atlantic sardines and the Pacific rockfish are also good sources of D3 (interesting to know is that the Danish term is Vitamin D3 kilder).

Apart from fatty fishes, you should also include shrimps and sea shells in your diet.  It would be best too if you can get sufficient amount of fish oil, specifically cod liver oil.  Other sources of D3 vitamin include milk, egg yolk, beef liver, pork spareribs, cheese, and fortified cereals.

Vitamin D3 is a stable vitamin and will not easily disintegrate when cooked.  The general rule is not to overcook your foods in order to get the maximum amount of their vitamin content.  Vitamin D3 will not disintegrate easily even if you store your foods for a long time.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/how-to-get-vitamin-d3-from-the-foods-you-eat-everyday-4042646.html

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Read more about vitamin D3, from this great article.

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