Registered dietician Heidi Moretti says vitamin D helps your body create hormones. She breaks down the most important things you should know about vitamin D.
- The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin D is 600 IU (international units). 5000 IU is comparable to a grain of rice. Spending a little time in the sun gives you 10,000 to 25,000 IU of vitamin D.
- Vitamin D changes disease risk because it affects how your genes work. It dampens genetic expression of autoimmune disorders and cancer.
- Best nutritional sources of vitamin D are wild salmon and mushrooms, but it takes a lot of food to reach the amounts available from some sunshine.
- Supplements can enhance the vitamin D you get from the sun and food. Vitamin D3 comes from lanolin and is an effective supplement. Vitamin D2 is derived from mushrooms and is less effective but vegan.
- Sun exposure is a concern. If your shadow is long when you stand in the sun, you’re not getting enough of the right kind of UV rays to create vitamin D. Stick to supplements if you don’t have much melanin in your skin.