Need Vitamin D? Add These Foods to Your Plate!
The body’s preferred method of getting vitamin D is sun exposure—but if you’re limiting time in the sun or trying to protect your skin when you’re outside, your body likely isn’t making enough. That’s where eating plenty of foods high in vitamin D comes in.
Vitamin D’s primary function is to support the metabolism and use of calcium and phosphorus, two minerals that help maintain healthy, strong bones and prevent muscle cramps and spasms, explained Brookell White, M.S., R.D.N., the nutrition data curator at MyFitnessPal. “Our nerves also use vitamin D to help transfer messages from the brain to other areas in the body,” she added. “It’s needed in our muscles to help us move. It’s also involved in glucose metabolism, inflammation reduction, and it’s needed in our immune system to help protect against things like viruses and bacteria.”
The recommended daily intake of vitamin D for adults under 70 is 600 international units (IU), per the National Institutes of Health (NIH), yet as many as 35% of American adults aren’t getting enough. And if you don’t take steps to up your intake, it can lead to symptoms of vitamin D deficiency like excessive sweating, weak bones, and aches and pains, or even vitamin D deficiency side effects such as an increased risk of depression, dementia, and heart disease.
Excerpted from Prevention
