To date, many studies have been written and edited about the different benefits that vitamin D can bring to our body. Among others, it can help us keep bones and heart healthy, thus reducing the risk of contracting cancers as lethal as breast, colon or prostate. Other consequences that can lead to the lack of intake of this vitamin are diseases such as rickets in children, osteomalacia in adults (equivalent to rickets), osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes and even cardiovascular problems.
Keys to maintaining an adequate level of vitamin D
Vitamin D belongs to the group of fat-soluble vitamins, being stored in the fatty tissue of the body. Its main function is to support the body in the task of absorbing the necessary calcium to, in conjunction with phosphorus, help the development of bones. This vitamin is produced mainly through the exposure of our skin to the sun’s rays, in fact it is known as “the vitamin of sunlight”. But we can also obtain it, although to a lesser extent, through food intake.
According to the Spanish Society of Cardiology, following a balanced diet, accompanied by exposure to ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun for half an hour a day always with protection, can provide us with the necessary daily levels of vitamin D. Both ways of obtaining the vitamin are essential and complementary. This nutrient appears, above all, in fish liver oils, egg yolks and dairy products.
Foods to Get More Vitamin D
Salmon is one of the foods with the highest amount of vitamin D, finding in a serving of 100 grams a little less than half of the daily intake that experts recommend. Cow’s and soy milks, especially brands that have products enriched with this vitamin, in addition to almond milk or rice also provide a substantial amount of this nutrient. Tuna in oil is another item that contains a significant presence of vitamin D, consuming an amount of 85 grams either in the form of a sandwich or in a salad provides us with 25 percent of the minimum suggested by experts. Yogurts and cereals are two other foods with which we can make vitamin contributions of this kind to our body.
Maintaining a balanced and healthy diet will help us absorb, in a more optimal way, the adequate and recommended levels of vitamin D, in the presence of other nutrients so necessary in our body such as vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin C and pantothenic acid (vitamin B5).