How the sun and foods contribute to our Vitamin D

How the sun and foods contribute to our Vitamin D

Did you know that Portugal is one of the sunniest countries?

Being Portuguese and residing in Portugal for several years gifted me the luxury of being sunkissed almost every single day. So you can understand why it never crossed my mind to check on my Vitamin D intake.

Living in the U.K.

Only after shifting to the U.K., where being kissed by the sun was something so rare, did I realized that my body and mind started to complain and show signs of Vitamin D deficiency. This taught me to make conscious efforts of adding Vitamin D in my daily life through different sources, and of course never miss a single sunray every time I would spot it, be it indoors or outdoors. 

 

If your life has taken you to a place where the sun seldom shows up, read through some of the following tips to add more vitamin D in your lifestyle. 

Planning

To make the most of being on a plant-based/vegan lifestyle, our diet must be planned carefully to keep our vitamins on track and have a healthy immune system, especially because some of them are difficult to find in certain plant-based foods. 

 

Vitamin D

Paying attention to vitamin D intake is not only a concern for those with a vegan lifestyle. It is common knowledge that the vitamin is produced by our body when exposed to sunlight. But due to an indoor lifestyle, or living in a country that is not very sunny, Vitamin D is needed to be in control. 

 

The role of Vitamin D in our bodies:

  • Build strong bones and teeth
  • Can prevent rickets, heart disease, and others
  • Helps absorb calcium from food and helps transport that calcium to the bones
  • Keeps muscles healthy 
  • Vitamin D helps absorb phosphorus from food 

 

Foods:

  • Fortified plant-based foods
  • Mushrooms

 

Tips:

  • Avoid overexposure to the sun
  • Consume fortified foods
  • During winters, you can sit indoors by the window naked and let your skin soak up the sun rays for 15 minutes without sunscreen
  • Exercise daily
  • Include calcium in your diet

 

Attention:

  • Before making a purchase, consult a doctor and get your blood levels tested in order to know the right dosage
  • Supplement yourself with Vitamin D3, not D2 which is synthetic and gets absorbed by our bodies to a lower extent 
  • Vitamin D must be taken along with calcium to maximize its effects on our body