Searching “how to increase vitamin d levels quickly?” Here are the vitamin d fruits and vegetables list (accepted to be vitamin d rich foods in Ayurveda) which are the Indian home remedies for vitamin d deficiency.
Why is Vitamin D Important
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate in the human body. The most important compounds of Vitamin D are:
- Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol)
- Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol)
One of the most important roles of vitamin D is to maintain skeletal calcium balance. Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the intestines, maintaining calcium and phosphate levels for bone formation. It also allows proper functioning of parathyroid hormone to maintain serum calcium levels.
Vitamin D deficiency can result in lower bone mineral density and osteoporosis or bone fracture. It must be noted that Vitamin D is critical for bone remodeling as it is a potent stimulator of bone resorption.
Vitamin D also affects the immune system. It can also affect muscle strength, mass and function.
Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency is known as Hypovitaminosis D and is defined as a vitamin D level that is below normal. Vitamin D deficiency commonly occurs in people when they have inadequate sunlight exposure.
Vitamin D deficiency impairs bone mineralization, leading to bone softening diseases such as rickets in children and osteomalacia or osteoporosis in adults. It can lead to an increased risk of bone fractures and muscle weakness. The Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of bone fractures in adults and in some cases it may be associated with the development of schizophrenia.
Get Vitamin D for the Body
There are handful of methods to increase Vitamin D levels quickly in the human body. The most popular 3 methods are:
- Adequate Sunlight
- Eat Mushrooms
- East Fattyfish & Seafood
Let us learn more about each of these:
Get Adequate Sunlight
Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because the sun is the best source of Vitamin D. In humans, the primary source of Vitamin D is UVB-induced conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol to vitamin D in the skin.
When the skin is exposed to sunlight, it makes vitamin D from cholesterol (sun’s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays hit cholesterol in the skin cells and initiates the Vitamin D synthesis in the body). Humans synthesize vitamin D3, so it is the most natural form.
Vitamin D exists in two forms. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is obtained from the UV irradiation of the yeast sterol ergosterol and is also found naturally in sun-exposed mushrooms.
Another most important point to note: the dark skin people absorb more UVB in the melanin of their skin than do white skin people and, therefore, require more sun exposure to produce the same amount of vitamin D (when compared to white skin people).
This’s because darker skin has more melanin, a compound that inhibits Vitamin D production in the body. Also, aged people will have to spend more time in the sun because as you get older, vitamin D production in your skin becomes less efficient.
It also must be noted that few types of liver and kidney diseases can decrease Vitamin D production in the body. It is so because liver is required to transform vitamin D into 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
Eat Mushrooms on Daily Basis
Mushrooms are the only completely plant-based source of vitamin D on the earth. It is interesting to note that like humans, mushrooms produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight (UV light). Which means, mushrooms can make their own vitamin D upon exposure to UV light. The only difference is, humans produce a form of vitamin D known as D3 (cholecalciferol), whereas mushrooms produce D2 (ergocalciferol).
Wild mushrooms have the highest vitamin D levels. Varieties such as wild maitake mushrooms provide as much as 2,348 IU per 100-gram of serving. This level is almost 300% of the RDI.
Eat Fatty Fish and Seafood
In-fact. fatty fish are among the foods the richest natural food sources of vitamin D. Going by the data, 100-gram serving of salmon can provide up to 386 IU of vitamin D which is about 50% of the RDI.
Fatty fish are a great source of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty fish has an exceptional amounts of vitamin D and healthy omega-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid). Both of the omega-3 fatty acids promotes brain health & condition, reduces inflammation, protect the body against all kinds of heart disease.
Some of the most-popular fatty fish and seafood rich in Vitamin D are tuna, mackerel, oysters, shrimp, sardines and anchovies.
Eat Fortified Foods
It is understood that because there are only a handful of naturally occurring food with high levels of Vitamin D, eating fortified food is a great option to get Vitamin D for the body.
Foods fortified with adequate amount of Vitamin D are dairy products, orange juice, tofu, cow’s milk, plant-based milk alternatives like soy and almond, ready-to-eat cereals and certain types of yogurt. Of all these, Vitamin D fortified soy, almond and oat milks contain 2.5 to 3.6 micrograms of Vitamin D per cup.
Apart from these, you can also include egg yolks in your diet as they are another source of vitamin D.
These foods are highest in vitamin d and can be consumed to overcome vitamin d deficiency in the human body.