Light, Food and Supplements

Where are you going to test your Vitamin D? You have three choices: 1. spend time in the direct sun, 2. eat lots of foods rich in this vitamin and 3. take a vitamin D supplement. The first option is near impossible. Either you live south of Los Angeles and Atlanta and have not heeded the warnings to use sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, or you are at risk for a vitamin D deficiency. The second option also is difficult, since so few foods naturally contain much vitamin D and fortified foods are limited to no more than 100 IU per serving. That means you must drink 10 glasses of milk a day to get the latest recommended intake of 1,000 IU a day. Not likely.

That leaves supplements. If you live in hot, sunny climates and drink some milk or soy milk, then aim for 400 IU from supplements to fill in the gaps. For everyone else, talk to your physician about taking a supplement of 1000 IU a day.