As the days shorten and winter moves in it is more important to be conscious of our vitamin D intake since we are no longer getting it from frolicking in the sun…

P.S. I’m working on getting a scanner and will replace images with those of improved quality soon!

More vitamin D info:

• Maitake and Shiitake mushrooms are also a source of vitamin D (D2) for you vegans out there (really hard to get vitamin D from non-animal sources)
• Many naturopaths recommend 1,000-2,000 IU of vitamin D/day (above 4,000 IU/day is toxic, don’t do it) but get a blood test from your doctor to determine the correct dosage for you, you may not need that much.
• Breastfeeding, insufficient time outside (due to layered clothes, lack of mobility, or indoor jobs… sooo, everybody), darker skin, and obesity increase your needs for vitamin D
• Fish oil rocks for a whole bunch of reasons above and beyond vitamin D content and I will definitely talk about it again!

Time to go take my fish oil (I like the liquid Carlson variety that is lemon flavored- you can take a spoonful or throw it in a smoothie) and drink in some sunshine!

Sources: Gropper S, Smith J. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. Cengage Learning; 2012. and Murray MT, Pizzorno J. The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine Third Edition. Simon and Schuster; 2012.