Someone I love soaking up the sun

Someone I love taking her vitamin D

In the news today was a report that our children are being shortchanged on their Vitamin D.

At least one in five U.S. children aged 1 to 11 don’t get enough vitamin D…

By a looser measure, almost 90 percent of black children that age and 80 percent of Hispanic kids could be vitamin D deficient…

Children can get 400 units daily by drinking four cups of fortified milk, or eating lots of fish, but many don’t do that…

According to my research, vitamin D is best assimilated from exposure to the sun between 10 AM and 2 PM (yes, that’s right…the very hours we’ve been warned against) for 20-120 minutes, depending on skin color. This article explains the importance of those hours to maximize vitamin D intake while minimizing exposure. You can, with few exceptions, get the vitamin D you need from sunlight exposure. If you live in a cloudy area, or are experiencing a rainy season, you might need to supplement your diet with foods high in vitamin D.

Cod Liver Oil is an excellent source of vitamin D. Relax, there are finally good alternatives to taking it off a spoon the way they did in your mother’s time. I take a combination of fermented cod liver oil and butter oil in a capsule which provides 90% DV. I never taste it.

Food sources high in vitamin D include fish, specifically: salmon and mackerel (very good sources), sardines (good) and tuna (moderate). But, if the fish has had no exposure to sunlight, his body can’t generate the vitamin D that you consume when you eat him. So, you need to consider farmed fish as  virtually useless when it comes to providing vitamin D.

As for “fortified” milk? Sure, putting vitamins in might seem like a good thing. But some synthetics added to food are barely touched by our bodies because they aren’t in a usable form. Much better to get the kids out in the sunshine, eat wild fish from time to time and drink good, healthy, raw, A2 milk. Not only will this provide your children the vitamin D they need, it will encourage them to exercise and enjoy good tasting food.

This post is part of the Natural Cures Carnival at Hartkeisonline.

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