Vitamin D
Learn about vitamin D and how to get enough.
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About vitamin D
Vitamin D is a nutrient that is important to your health. Vitamin D plays many roles. For example, it:
- helps your body absorb calcium
- builds and maintains strong bones and teeth
Getting enough vitamin D
You can get vitamin D from:
- sun
- food
- supplements
Include vitamin D from foods or a supplement every day.
If you are between 2 and 50 years old:
- eat foods that contain vitamin D every day or
- take a daily supplement containing 400 IU (10 µg) of vitamin D
If you are 51 years of age and older:
- take a daily supplement containing 400 IU (10 µg) of vitamin D
- you can continue to eat foods that contain vitamin D as part of healthy eating
Food sources of vitamin D
Vitamin D occurs naturally in very few foods. Most dietary vitamin D is from fortified foods, where vitamin D has been added. When vitamin D is added, it must appear on the nutrition facts table.
You can get vitamin D from foods recommended by Canada's food guide. Examples include:
- eggs (yolk)
- soft margarine
- fatty fish, such as:
- salmon
- arctic char
- rainbow trout
- unsweetened lower fat milk
- unsweetened fortified plant-based beverages
If you don't eat foods that contain vitamin D on a daily basis, you should take a supplement containing 400 IU (10 µg) of vitamin D.
Sunlight and vitamin D
Vitamin D is a unique vitamin. This is because your body can make it when it is exposed to sunlight.
Many factors can reduce how much vitamin D your body makes, including:
- smog
- season
- time of day
- cloud cover
- sunscreen use
- limited outdoor time
- amount of skin exposed to sunlight
- your age:
- you make less vitamin D as you get older
- amount of melanin (natural pigmentation that makes the skin darker):
- it takes longer for people with more melanin to make vitamin D from the sun's ultraviolet rays
These factors can apply to many people living in Canada. This is why we recommend vitamin D from foods or a supplement every day.