Eating eggs, liver, and fatty fish like salmon, herring and mackerel will increase your Vitamin D3 levels. You can find vitamin D2 in certain foods. It naturally occurs in plants, fungi and yeast. Some foods like milk products may be fortified with vitamin D3.
Children at risk of low vitamin D
Children whose skin is rarely exposed to the sun e.g. those who stay inside or who wear covering clothing. Babies born prematurely. Breastfed babies who have one or more of the above risk factors. Breast milk is the best type of food for babies, but it does not contain much vitamin D.
Oranges may be the closest you'll get to a fruit containing vitamin D.
Foods such as salmon, sardines, tuna, cod liver oil, egg yolks and shiitake mushrooms contain a lot of vitamin D. Many kids don't seem to love these vitamin D superfoods, so luckily store-bought milk is often fortified with vitamin D, as are many cereals and even orange juice.
It can take anywhere from 1-6 months to raise vitamin D levels with supplements. How much your levels increase and how long it takes will depend on the dose and your baseline vitamin D levels.
Many American children have abnormally low levels of vitamin D. Newer research shows that children with ADHD have lower vitamin D levels than children without the condition. One study showed that expectant mothers with low vitamin D levels had a higher likelihood of their children having ADHD.
One study found that when younger children are deficient in vitamin D, they tend to be more aggressive and defiant as adolescents (8). Hyperactive behaviour and anxiety levels can also be affected by a lack of vitamin D (9).
0–12 months old: 400 units daily. 1–18 years old: 400–600 units daily.
Therefore, conditions that affect the gut and digestion, like celiac disease, chronic pancreatitis, Crohn's disease, and cystic fibrosis, can reduce vitamin D absorption.
Today, 25(OH)D less than 12 ng/mL is considered evidence of severe vitamin D deficiency.
“Adding an over-the-counter vitamin D supplement can make improvements in just three to four months time. Vitamin D with a strength of 1000-2000 international units daily is the recommended dose for most adults,” Dr. Ropte says.
In general, the two main causes of vitamin D deficiency are: Not getting enough vitamin D in your diet and/or through sunlight. Your body isn't properly absorbing or using vitamin D.
Vitamin D supplements are important because most children will not get enough of this vitamin through diet alone. Breastfed infants should get an adequate supply of vitamin D through a supplement of 400 IU per day.
The best food sources of vitamin D are oily fish, including salmon, mackerel, and sardines. Other sources include egg yolks, red meat, and liver. Vitamin D is added to some foods too, including breakfast cereals, plant milks and fat spreads. Check information on-pack to see if this applies to the products you buy.
The humble and yummy bananas are a great source of magnesium, which plays an important role in activating vitamin D in the body.
Research has found that an average serving of 2 eggs contains 8.2mcg of vitamin D, a substantial portion of the recommended dietary intake of vitamin D [2], making them a great addition to the diet to support the intake of adequate levels of this vital vitamin.