Winter Warning: Your vitamin D levels may be at their lowest right now

Unless you are lucky enough to live in a location that enjoys year-round sunshine and mild temperatures, you are likely to experience a drop in your Vitamin D levels during the winter. Getting direct sun on your skin is one of the chief ways in which you get vitamin D. With the colder weather, we spend less time outdoors and when we are outdoors, we try to cover as much skin as possible. 

But even in a mild winter, the northern half of the country simply doesn't receive enough UV to power sufficient skin production of the vitamin. As a result, your vitamin D levels are probably at their lowest toward the end of the cold weather season.  Some experts are concerned that the increased use of high-powered sunscreens threathens to make vitamin D deficiency a year-round phenomenon. In fact, a recent Harvard Study found that 60% of Americans may be vitamin D deficient.

Low vitamin D levels are serious business

Not only do you need vitamin D to keep your bones strong but it also plays an important role in your immune defenses against winter colds and flus, and can help prevent cancer, heart disease, and auto-immune diseases.  According to the UV Foundation, low vitamin D levels can also lead to fatigue, depression, and aches and pains.

Fortunately, there are other ways to get your vitamin D.  There aren't a whole lot of foods that  are naturally rich in vitamin D. (Mackerel, sardines, and fish liver oil are among the top providers.) Because our diet does not contain a lot of vitamin D-rich foods, the government also mandates fortification of milk and baby formula with vitamin D.  Other dairy products, like yogurt or cottage cheese may or may not contain additional vitamin D.  Vitamin fortified cereals can be another good source, and the nutrient can also be taken as a dietary supplement.

However you choose to take your vitamin D, just be sure you're getting enough on a regular basis. The current recommendations for vitamin D intake is 200IU per day for adults up to 50, 400IU a day for those between 51-70, and 600IU a day for those over 70. (Vitamin D deficiency is epidemic among the elderly). And there is a major movement afoot in the scientific community to get the government to raise--even double--those recommendations.

A cup of fortified cow or soymilk contains about 100IU.  Three ounces of canned pink salmon contains about 600 IU.  Here's a list of other foods high in vitamin D, generated with our Nutrient Search Tool.