Vitamin D or the sunshine vitamin plays a big role in keeping our bones, muscles, hair and teeth stay in good shape. A great way to avoid vitamin D deficiency is by including vitamin D-rich foods in your diet especially during monsoon.
Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These nutrients are needed to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy. A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children, and bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults. With cloudy weather of monsoon on the brink, getting our daily dose of sunlight could be a problem; staying indoors for more time in the wake of COVID-19 could be another reason for the rise in vitamin D deficiency.
Here are some vitamin D-rich foods you can include in your daily diet to stay away from medicines:
Whole Grains
Consume a variety of grains like whole wheat, ragi, barley and oats because they have lots of vitamin D.
Dairy Products
Milk, yoghurt, buttermilk, cheese, and eggs are great sources of vitamin D & make these foods a part of your daily diet. Even plant-based soya milk is rich in Vitamin D.
Fish
Salmon, Mackerel and Tuna are an excellent food to fuel vitamin D in your body along with other nutrients like calcium and Omega 3 fatty acids, make fish a worthwhile food to add to your diet.
Dry Fruits
Walnut and peanuts are good sources of vitamin D among all dry fruits. Try to have a handful (5-6) of nuts including walnut and peanuts (2-3) every day.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are low-fat, high-nutrient food provides a good amount of vitamin D too can be consumed in many ways.
It is the total diet and eating pattern that is most important in disease prevention and good health. It is better to eat a diet with a variety of nutrients than to concentrate on one nutrient as the key to good health.