How Essential Foods With Vitamin D Are.
By Sam Cyrus

Foods with vitamin D are sources that provide another important supply of essential nutrient aside from the body's natural production of vitamin D. The vitamin D can be made in your body after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. However, sunlight is not always the most effective source for the vitamin, depending on geographic latitude, seasonal changes, cloud cover, smog and sunscreen. In this case, The foods with vitamin D are essential to avoid the vitamin D deficiency.

In the 1930s, a vitamin D deficiency disease called rickets (a bone disease seen in children) was a major public health problem in the United States so a milk fortification program was implemented nearly eliminating this disorder. Fortified foods are the major dietary sources of the foods with vitamin D. Milk in the United States is fortified with 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D per quart, and rickets is now uncommon in the US. Although milk is one of foods with with vitamin D, dairy products made from milk, such as cheese and ice creams, are generally not fortified with vitamin D.

Vitamin D can also be found in organs and tissues of animals, pigs, cows and sheep. The vitamin D content of the foods with vitamin D will vary depending on the amount of time spent in UV-B containing sunlight. Poultry and eggs, for instance, contain varying amounts of vitamin D obtained from insects, fishmeal, and sunlight containing UV-B or supplements. While fish do not respond to sunlight and rely on vitamin D found in phytoplankton and other fish. 

Only a few foods naturally contain significant amounts of vitamin D, including fatty fish and fish oils. How essential the foods with vitamin D are, so vitamin D supplements are often recommended unless you are exposed to sunlight on your skin regularly. 

The most common natural foods with vitamin d are animal food products including: egg, liver, beef, fish liver oil, milk, cooked salmon, cooked mackerel, catfish, tuna, cooked eel and sardines. A study results showed that wild salmon has the largest amount of vitamin D per serving. Among the foods with vitamin D, the wild solmon has 147 percent more than the US RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of vitamin D. While farmed salmon has 75 percent less vitamin D (245 IU) content as the wild salmon.

For vegetarians, mushrooms are a great source of foods with vitamin d. Fortified milk is also a good vitamin D souce for the vegetarians. The other foods with vitamin D that are good for the vegetarians include : cereals, baked goods (like bread, crackers and pastries), dairy products (like yogurt and soy milk), margarine. Just as a comparison, the fortified milk provides 100 IU of the vitamin D per glass, while one tablespoon of fortified margarine provides about 60 IU.