We can get enough Vitamin D from sunshine and the correct diet, right? Wrong! Although Vitamin D is known as the "sunshine vitamin," it's simply not possible to get all the Vitamin D we need from sunlight while following safe sun exposure practices. Of course, this is particularly true during winter with long, dark nights. While our skin is able to ultimately convert a limited range of the sun's UVB rays into Vitamin D3, there are many factors that affect this process, such as geographical location, season, UV index, climate, pollution, skin tone, and even age. That's not even considering how little time we spend outside as a modern society. What about Vitamin D in our food? Unfortunately, even the foods richest in Vitamin D don't provide high enough quantities to meet our daily needs. For example: Trout is the richest food source of Vitamin D available, but it only provides 645 I.U. per 3-ounce serving. Each day, you would need to eat approximately 23 ounces of trout to meet 5,000 I.U. of Vitamin D necessary. So, how do you get enough Vitamin D? Supplements are the answer, but it must be at the proper dosage to achieve sufficiency. Choose Vitamin D3 over Vitamin D2 because it’s more potent. To ensure optimal absorption, take it with a fat source, including avocado, olive oil, nuts/seeds, eggs, fish, and dairy.
