Vitamin D plays a prominent role in maintaining your health and living disease free. It is also named the sunshine vitamin because the sun is the foremost source of vitamin D.

Calcium, magnesium, and phosphate are vital nutrients to maintain our musculoskeletal system. Vitamin D regulates these nutrients, coordinating their absorption and maintenance. It is necessary for several organs like the heart, brain, and muscles and plays a pivotal role in immunity.

Vitamin D deficiency is prominent among all ages across the globe, from toddlers to the elderly. Symptoms like weakness, poor bone health, and muscular fatigue are common.

The required level of vitamin D that each person needs varies depending on your age:

• Kids below 12 months require 400 IU
• Kids above 12 months require 600 IU
• Adults, lactating mothers, and pregnant women need 600-800 IU per day

Dietary sources of vitamin D are scarce and chiefly exist in animal-based produce. Although meat eaters also suffer from this nutrient deficiency, the lack of plant-based vitamin D sources puts vegetarians and vegans at a higher risk.

Here are a few ingredients and methods for vegetarians to obtain vitamin D:

1. Sunlight

Several factors play a role in deciding the amount of vitamin D you obtain or produce from the sun. Your age, skin tone, place of residence, geographic location, pollution, habits, and the amount of sunscreen applied are a few among them.

Sun rays initiate the formation of vitamin D in the skin, specifically, ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. A majority of people who expose their skin to the sun receive some portion of vitamin D through this.

The NIH (National Institute Of Health) recommends sunlight exposure of five to thirty minutes around two times a week with minimal sunscreen usage to create enough vitamin D levels. This duration may vary from place to place, according to the climatic condition and location from the equator.

Individuals with a duskier skin tone may require a prolonged period of sun exposure due to the higher amount of melanin present in them. Melanin is a pigment that obstructs the formation of vitamin D. A cloudy or smoggy day can reduce as much as 60% of the effect of UV rays.

Although sun exposure is a prime source of vitamin D, the American Academy Of Dermatology does not recommend too much of it to decrease skin cancer risk.

2. Foods Fortified With Vitamin D

There are very few natural sources of vitamin D. It allowed brands to enhance commonly consumed food items with vitamin D. The amount of vitamin D fortified differs according to the country and place but usually includes items mentioned below:

Yogurt

Ordinary and plant-based yogurts are sold with an added 52 IU of vitamin D per 100 grams.

Milk

A cup of cow milk can contain up to 120 IU of vitamin D, which differs according to the country of your residence. Plant-based milk from rice, soy, and the coconut may contain similar amounts, as high as 100 IU per cup.

Margarine

A tablespoon of margarine can give up to 20 IU of vitamin D.

Tofu

Tofu can contain around 100 IU per 100 grams.

Breakfast Cereals

This data may or may not be on par with your country’s diet standards. Do read the labels before purchasing to confirm whether your items contain vitamin D or not.

Instantly ready cereals and oatmeal are common ingredients enhanced with this nutrient. They can contain as much as 120 IU per half a cup.

3. Mushrooms

Just like human beings, mushrooms can create vitamin D with the help of UVB rays. This unique characteristic makes them the only plant-based source of vitamin D.

Mushrooms that are grown in an environment exposed to UVB, either naturally or artificially, have around 150 to 1,136 IU per serving of 100 grams.

Their shelf life and retention of vitamin D are high and capable of supplying as much as vitamin D supplements.

While wild mushrooms grow in a lit environment, market-sold mushrooms are often grown in the dark. To purchase UV light-exposed mushrooms, opt for wild mushrooms and shop at local markets.

It does not imply that one must forage for wild mushrooms on their own, as varieties of poisonous mushrooms also exist. Ingesting them can lead to a hoard of signs and symptoms from vomiting to death.

4. Cheese

It is one of the few natural sources of vitamin D, although it contains minute amounts of it.

Quantities of vitamin D differ according to the processing and variety of cheese. Most of them contain around 8-24 IU per 50 grams.

Ricotta, cream cheese, cottage cheese, and other soft cheeses do not contain any vitamin D. Mozzarella carries an average amount, while Cheddar, Fontina, and Monterey have significantly more.

Grocery stores sell cheeses fortified with vitamin D. Check for the labels and list of ingredients to determine whether your cheese contains vitamin D.

5. Eggs

Vitamin D exists in egg yolks, though its quantity relies on the diet and environment of the chicken that has laid it.

Chickens provided with vitamin D-enhanced food can give up to 6,000 IU per egg. Chickens taking regular grain food lay eggs with around 18-39 IU.

Sunlight exposure of the chickens affects the eggs laid, with outdoor chickens producing eggs with higher amounts of vitamin D compared to the ones reared indoors.

One might observe that organic or free-range chicken eggs contain more of the nutrient and may even be enhanced with it.

6. Vitamin D Supplements

If you worry about obtaining sufficient values of vitamin D through sunlight or diet, vitamin D supplements can help you.

You can opt for any one of the two types according to the diet you follow:

• Vitamin D2 supplements: Usually obtained from yeast or UV-exposed mushrooms (plant-based)
• Vitamin D3 supplements: Usually obtained from fish oil or sheep wool, recent advances have even started to get it from lichen.

Minimum doses of vitamin D3 and D2 appear to be of the same value. But high doses of as much as 50,000 IU of D3 were found to be superior in raising vitamin D levels than D2.

You can choose the supplement type through the list of ingredients printed at the back of the box. Most pills will specify if they are vegan or vegetarian-friendly.

Since vitamin D is a nutrient soluble in fat, its activity is enhanced when paired with fatty foods.

The recommended amount is around 400-800 IU. It may vary depending on your deficiency, the status of your pregnancy, and age. 

High doses of vitamin D are not suggested unless you suffer from vitamin D deficiency. It is because toxicity may occur from excess levels of vitamin D within. Toxic levels may arise as fatigue, nausea, and confusion and even lead to kidney failure or death in severe cases.

Conclusion

It is possible to develop vitamin D naturally, although it will be hard to get adequate amounts of it. Most natural food sources are animal-based, leaving very few vegetarian and vegan options.

Spending time under the sun is a promising way to improve your vitamin D levels but a challenging method in this fast and busy world. One can choose UV-treated mushrooms, eggs, and enriched pantry items.

Consult a physician to confirm whether you require additional support to maintain sufficient levels of vitamin D. Do not start supplementation without guidance from an expert.