Vitamin Supplements

Before you decide that you need to take vitamin supplements or change the way you eat, you should know where you stand and how much improvement you really need. To help you analyze your current diet, we’ve developed a system you can use to calculate your approximate vitamin D intake. Following is a list of vitamin D food sources, arranged according to the percentage of our Optimal Daily Allowance of vitamin D contained in them. Since 3 ounces of tuna canned in oil contain 197.2 IU of vitamin D and the ODA for vitamin D is 400 IUD, we’ve listed tuna in the 50 Percent category.

To determine your average intake of vitamin D, start by keeping an accurate food diary for three or four days. The longer you keep the diary, the more accurate your calculations will be. Write down exactly what you eat and drink, together with an estimate of the serving size. Don’t concern yourself with precisely how much vitamin D each food item contains; simply use the list to find the food item and the percentage of the ODA that it provides. Then add up all these percentages to see if you reach 100 percent each day.

If a particular item in your meals is missing from this list (it would be impossible for us to include every food item here), use the nutritional information on the food packaging. Most packaged foods are required to list their vitamin contents on the label.

After you’ve determined how much vitamin D you are obtaining from your diet each day, you can calculate whether you need to take supplements to reach the ODA. Let’s say that you determine that you are getting 60 percent of your vitamin D target through diet alone. You are consuming 240 IU of vitamin D in your diet (60 percent x 400 IU = 240 IU). To make up the difference, we would advise you to supplement your diet with 160 IU of vitamin D in tablet form (400 IU — 240 IU = 160 IU).

Because vitamin D is commonly sold in doses of 100, 200, or 400 IU, you may have difficulty finding a supplement in the precise amount you want. We recommend that you get as close as you can to your supplemental needs without taking several pills and/or cutting them in half. In the example cited here, you can meet your 160 IU requirements by taking a 200 IU tablet of vitamin D, which will more than meet your needs without any real risk (in this case, don’t be concerned about going a little higher than your optimal intake).

Vitamin D recommendations

How much vitamin D do you need to achieve optimal health?

We recommend that you consume 400 IU of vitamin D each day.

What special circumstances might affect the amount of vitamin D you need to take?

If you are an older person, are confined indoors, have kidney or liver disease, do not drink milk, take certain cholesterol-lowering or anticonvulsant medications, drink large amounts of alcohol, or are pregnant or breast-feeding, you may need to be particularly conscientious about consuming your optimal dose of vitamin D.

Is it possible to consume optimal amount of vitamin D through Diet alone?

It is possible to consume 400 IU of vitamin D per day, but many people do not do so, partly because there are few vitamin D-rich foods. Most people find that they need to supplement their dietary intake with a vitamin D capsule each day, no matter how much sun exposure they feel they get.

More about: How Much Vitamin D are you getting?

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