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If the skin does not receive enough sunlight in the winter, this can lead to vitamin D deficiency, which promotes various secondary diseases. But why is vitamin D so important for the body and how can a vitamin D deficiency be avoided?
Vitamin D deficiency occurs primarily due to insufficient exposure to sunlight, which is why people who work night shifts, for example, are at increased risk. But darker skin and increasing age also promote a deficiency of this vitamin, which is important for health.
Heart disease and depression due to vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D is important for healthy bones and teeth. The fat-soluble vitamin also plays a role in various diseases such as heart disease and depression.
Recent research highlights how many people in the world are affected by vitamin D deficiency, defined as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of less than 25 nmol/L.
How widespread is vitamin D deficiency?
According to the researchers, small children (especially those with low birth weight), adolescents, pregnant and breastfeeding women and older people in particular have an increased risk of developing a vitamin D deficiency.
According to the experts, less than 50 percent of the world’s population can be assumed to have sufficient vitamin D status in the winter.
How can vitamin D deficiency be prevented?
If sun exposure is no longer sufficient to cover vitamin D requirements in winter, the body can be supplied with at least a certain amount of the important vitamin through diet. The researchers therefore recommend increased consumption of fish, foods fortified with vitamin D and, if necessary, dietary supplements with vitamin D.
When it comes to fish, fish that are as fatty as possible, such as eel, herring, salmon, tuna and mackerel, are recommended because, as the German Nutrition Society (DGE) reports, 100 grams of salmon, for example, already contain 16 micrograms of vitamin D, and 100 grams of herring even contain up to 25 micrograms .
According to a study, if you want to cover your vitamin D needs by eating fish, wild-caught fish is best because it contains significantly more of the vitamin. For example, farmed salmon only has around 25 percent of the vitamin D content of wild-caught salmon.
Other foods with lots of vitamin D
However, there are also other animal foods that provide the body with vitamin D, such as eggs and dairy products. In addition, plant-based foods such as shiitake mushrooms and button mushrooms specially fortified with vitamin D can also help prevent vitamin D deficiency, and dark chocolate and cocoa butter also contain vitamin D.
Paying more attention to foods with vitamin D during the dark season can definitely make a contribution to vitamin D supply overall, but in cases of doubt this is not enough to prevent a vitamin D deficiency. Here, additional intake of vitamin D supplements should be considered.
However, a medical examination is first required to check whether there is actually a vitamin D deficiency, as an excess of vitamin D can also harm the body. (as)