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Usage Note

• Vitamin D value is in mcg and calculated per 100g of food weight.
• This database has vitamin D content for approximately 4,600 foods.
• Click on column header to sort foods by name or by Vitamin D content.

VITAMIN D

information from the National Institutes of Health

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in very few foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. It is also produced endogenously when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis.

Vitamin D can be found in small amounts in a few foods, including fatty fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines and tuna. To make vitamin D more available, it is added to dairy products, juices, and cereals that are then said to be “fortified with vitamin D.” But most vitamin D – 80% to 90% of what the body gets – is obtained through exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D can also be made in the laboratory as medicine.

Vitamin D is used for preventing and treating rickets, a disease that is caused by not having enough vitamin D (vitamin D deficiency). Vitamin D is also used for treating weak bones (osteoporosis), bone pain (osteomalacia), bone loss in people with a condition called hyperparathyroidism, and an inherited disease (osteogenesis imperfecta) in which the bones are especially brittle and easily broken. It is also used for preventing falls and fractures in people at risk for osteoporosis, and preventing low calcium and bone loss (renal osteodystrophy) in people with kidney failure.

Vitamin D is used for conditions of the heart and blood vessels, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It is also used for diabetes, obesity, muscle weakness, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, bronchitis, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and tooth and gum disease.

Some people use vitamin D for skin conditions including vitiligo, scleroderma, psoriasis, actinic keratosis, and lupus vulgaris.

It is also used for boosting the immune system, preventing autoimmune diseases, and preventing cancer.

Because vitamin D is involved in regulating the levels of minerals such as phosphorus and calcium, it is used for conditions caused by low levels of phosphorus (familial hypophosphatemia and Fanconi syndrome) and low levels of calcium (hypoparathyroidism and pseudohypoparathyroidism).

Vitamin D in forms known as calcitriol or calcipotriene is applied directly to the skin for a particular type of psoriasis.

If you travel to Canada, you may have noticed that Canada recognizes the importance of vitamin D in the prevention of osteoporosis. It allows this health claim for foods that contain calcium: "A healthy diet with adequate calcium and vitamin D, and regular physical activity, help to achieve strong bones and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.” But the US version of this osteoporosis health claim does not yet include vitamin D.

Vitamin D Effectiveness

information from the National Institutes of Health

The effectiveness ratings for Vitamin D are as follows:

Effective for

• Treating conditions that cause weak and painful bones (osteomalacia).

• Low levels of phosphate in the blood (familial hypophosphatemia).

• Low levels of phosphate in the blood due to a disease called Fanconi syndrome.

• Psoriasis (with a specialized prescription-only form of vitamin D).

• Low blood calcium levels because of a low parathyroid thyroid hormone levels.

• Helping prevent low calcium and bone loss (renal osteodystrophy) in people with kidney failure.

• Rickets.

Likely effective for

• Treating osteoporosis (weak bones). Taking a specific form of vitamin D called cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) along with calcium seems to help prevent bone loss and bone breaks. Preventing falls in older people. Researchers noticed that people who don’t have enough vitamin D tend to fall more often than other people. They found that taking a vitamin D supplement reduces the risk of falling by up to 22%. Higher doses of vitamin D are more effective than lower doses. One study found that taking 800 IU of vitamin D reduced the risk of falling, but lower doses didn’t.

• Also, vitamin D, in combination with calcium, but not calcium alone, may prevent falls by decreasing body sway and blood pressure. This combination prevents more falls in women than men.

• Reducing bone loss in people taking drugs called corticosteroids.

Possibly effective for

• Reducing the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). Studies show taking vitamin D seems to reduce women’s risk of getting MS by up to 40%. Taking at least 400 IU per day, the amount typically found in a multivitamin supplement, seems to work the best.

• Preventing cancer. Some research shows that people who take a high-dose vitamin D supplement plus calcium might have a lower chance of developing cancer of any type.

• Weight loss. Women taking calcium plus vitamin D are more likely to lose weight and maintain their weight. But this benefit is mainly in women who didn’t get enough calcium before they started taking supplements.

• Flu. Some research in school aged children show that taking a vitamin D supplement during winter might reduce the chance of getting seasonal flu.

• Reducing the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in older women.

• Reducing bone loss in women with a condition called hyperparathyroidism.

• Preventing tooth loss in the elderly.

Calcium and Vitamin D: Important at Every Age

The foods we eat contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other important nutrients that help keep our bodies healthy. Two nutrients in particular, calcium and vitamin D, are needed for strong bones.

The Role of Calcium
Calcium is needed for our heart, muscles, and nerves to function properly and for blood to clot. Inadequate calcium significantly contributes to the development of osteoporosis. Many published studies show that low calcium intake throughout life is associated with low bone mass and high fracture rates. National nutrition surveys have shown that most people are not getting the calcium they need to grow and maintain healthy bones.

Vitamin D
The body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium. Without enough vitamin D, one can’t form enough of the hormone calcitriol (known as the “active vitamin D”). This in turn leads to insufficient calcium absorption from the diet. In this situation, the body must take calcium from its stores in the skeleton, which weakens existing bone and prevents the formation of strong, new bone.

Vitamin D Food Sources

List of foods high in vitamin D. Vitamin D content is in micrograms per 100 grams of food weight.

Foods High in Vitamin D

Vitamin D

Fish oil, cod liver

250.0

Mushrooms, maitake, raw

28.1

Fish, halibut, Greenland, raw

27.4

Fish, mackerel, salted

25.2

Fish, carp, raw

24.7

Malted drink mix, chocolate, with added nutrients, powder

23.8

Malted drink mix, natural, with added nutrients, powder

23.5

Fish, eel, mixed species, raw

23.3

Salmon, sockeye, canned, drained solids, without skin and bones

21.5

Fish, salmon, sockeye, canned, drained solids

21.0

Fish, trout, rainbow, farmed, cooked, dry heat

19.0

Salmon, sockeye, canned, total can contents

19.0

Fish, salmon, chinook, smoked

17.1

Fish, swordfish, cooked, dry heat

16.6

Fish, sturgeon, mixed species, smoked

16.1

Fish, mackerel, Atlantic, raw

16.1

Fish, trout, rainbow, farmed, raw

15.9

Steelhead trout, dried, flesh (Shoshone Bannock)

15.7

Steelhead trout, boiled, canned (Alaska Native)

15.1

Fish, salmon, pink, canned, drained solids

14.5

Fish, Salmon, pink, canned, drained solids, without skin and bones

14.1

Fish, swordfish, raw

13.9

Fish, salmon, pink, canned, total can contents

13.7

Fish, cisco, smoked

13.3

Mushrooms, portabella, exposed to ultraviolet light, grilled

13.1

Fish, salmon, sockeye, cooked, dry heat

13.1

Fish, salmon, pink, cooked, dry heat

13.0

Fish, sturgeon, mixed species, cooked, dry heat

12.9

Fish, whitefish, mixed species, smoked

12.8

Foods High in Vitamin D

Vitamin D

Fish, catfish, channel, wild, raw

12.5

Fish, roe, mixed species, raw

12.1

Fish, whitefish, mixed species, raw

12.0

Egg, yolk, dried

11.4

Fish, mackerel, Pacific and jack, mixed species, cooked, dry heat

11.4

Fish, salmon, coho, wild, cooked, dry heat

11.3

Mushrooms, portabella, exposed to ultraviolet light, raw

11.2

Fish, salmon, sockeye, raw

11.0

Fish, pompano, florida, raw

11.0

Milk, dry, nonfat, instant, with added vitamin A and vitamin D

11.0

Milk, dry, nonfat, regular, with added vitamin A and vitamin D

11.0

Fish, salmon, pink, raw

10.9

Margarine-like vegetable-oil spread, stick/tub/bottle, 60% fat, with added vitamin D

10.7

Margarine-like, vegetable oil spread, 60% fat, stick/tub/bottle, without salt, with added vitamin D

10.7

Margarine-like, vegetable oil spread, 60% fat, stick, with salt, with added vitamin D

10.7

Margarine, regular, 80% fat, composite, stick, without salt, with added vitamin D

10.7

Margarine, regular, 80% fat, composite, tub, with salt, with added vitamin D

10.7

Margarine-like, vegetable oil spread, approximately 37% fat, unspecified oils, with salt, with added

10.7

Margarine, regular, 80% fat, composite, stick, with salt, with added vitamin D

10.7

Margarine-like, vegetable oil spread, 60% fat, tub, with salt, with added vitamin D

10.7

Milk, dry, whole, with added vitamin D

10.5

Fish, sturgeon, mixed species, raw

10.3

Fish, snapper, mixed species, raw

10.2

Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, ENFACARE LIPIL, with iron, powder, with ARA and DHA

9.8

Fish, salmon, chum, canned, drained solids with bone

9.6

Child formula, MEAD JOHNSON, PORTAGEN, with iron, powder, not reconstituted

9.3

Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, SENSITIVE, (LACTOSE FREE), powder, with ARA and DHA

9.2

(formerly ROSS)

Fish, mackerel, Pacific and jack, mixed species, raw

9.1

Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, NEOSURE, powder, with ARA and DHA (formerly ROSS)

9.0

Fish, salmon, coho, wild, raw

9.0

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