What Is The Best Way To Get Vitamin D While On A Vegan Diet?
A vegan diet is very rewarding, but you have to make sure you are getting the right amount of nutrients. If not, you could suffer from vitamin deficiency. If you are not taking a vegan vitamin d3 supplement, then you can get sick. Read on to find out the best way to add vitamin D to your diet.
Sun Exposure
Before fortified foods, human got their vitamin D from sun exposure. A reaction occurs in your skin that allows your skin cells to produce vitamin D when ultraviolet rays hit your skin. However, it is hard for modern people to get enough vitamin D from sun exposure.
Fair-skinned people only need 10 minutes in the sun per day to produce about 10,000 international units of vitamin D, according to U.S. News. However, darker-skinned and elderly people need more exposure than 10 minutes to create the vitamin.
Sun exposure is not the best option during the winter months. It is hard to make enough vitamin D when it is cold outside. You are probably thinking that tanning beds can be used as a sunlight replacement during the winter months. However, many tanning beds give off ultraviolet rays that increase your risk for cancer. This method also does not make enough vitamin D. The American Academy of Dermatology does not recommend that you get vitamin D from indoor tanning or sun exposure because UV radiation leads to skin cancer.
Mushrooms
The selection is pretty slim when it comes to finding foods with vitamin D. This list gets slimmer when you are on a vegan diet. Mushrooms are your best plant-based option for vitamin D.
Vitamin Supplements
Most supplements contain vitamin D3. Another name for vitamin D3 is cholecalciferol. It is important to read the bottle because most vitamin D3 comes from animal products. These animal products derive vitamin D3 from the lanolin in sheep's wool and fish oil.
However, some companies provide the supplement with vitamin D3 that is acquired from lichen. Lichen is an organic plant source. Supplements are the best option for obtaining vitamin D when on a vegan diet or any other diet.
Cholecalciferol is necessary for maintaining healthy bones. It is safer to eat a plant based diet and take a vitamin D supplement, like those from Do Vitamins, instead of exposing yourself to the sun too much. If you watch what you are eating while on a vegan diet, then you can live a healthy life.