You can get all of your RDA of Vitamin D from your food alone... no need for supplements

[salvorhardin]

My earlier post mentioned the new RDA levels for Vitamin D and the Institute of Medicine's finding that most people get all of the Vitamin D they need from their diets. So I decided to look up how much Vitamin D is in foods in the FDA National Nutrient Database. I've got to say I'm surprised. Just three glasses of milk a day will provide the new RDA standard amount of Vitamin D for everyone from 1 to 70 years of age. Ditto for a single 3oz. serving of salmon!

Here's a link to Vitamin D content in IUs of foods ranked from greatest to least: http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12354500/Data/SR22/nutrlist/sr22w324.pdf

Some of the foods highest in Vitamin D:
Salmon has 794 IUs per 3oz. serving.
Milk as 200 IUs per 8oz. serving.
Canned Tuna in oil has 229 IUs per 3oz. serving.
Canned Tuna in water has 154 IUs per 3oz. serving.

ETA: Apparently some people think I'm recommending everybody drink 3 glasses of milk or eat fish every single day. I'm not. I just listed these foods as being very high in Vitamin D. Please click through to the table from the FDA database I linked to, and you can see for yourself that almost any balanced diet will provide enough Vitamin D daily without the need for supplements.

[Schema Thing]

1. For god's sake choose the salmon then.

The idea of anyone consuming three glasses of milk per day is grotesque.

[tabatha]

2. How about cheese?

I know someone who eats a lot of cheese, yet had inadequate levels of Vit D, and was told by a doctor to take supplements. Is there anything that stops absorption of Vit D, such as alcohol?

[pitohui]

6. it isn't absorbed w.out fat

make sure she's consuming full fat cheeses, if they are low fat cheese/milk then the whole effort is pointless

vit.D and calcium are simply not well absorbed and they are not absorbed in the absence of fat

[salvorhardin]

8. It depends on what kind of cheese it is, but in general, not so much Vitamin D

For instance, a 1 oz. slice of cheddar cheese has 7 IUs of Vitamin D. You can click the link to the FDA nutrient database table I included in my OP and search on any particular food.

[snappyturtle]

3. However, I recently heard an expert on nutrition say that the RDA

recommended levels of both vitamin C and D aren't nearly high enough for optimum health. I wish NOW I had paid more attention to the name of the expert.

[snagglepuss]

4. Instant expert are you?

[pitohui]

7. instant cut and paster from the look of it EOM

,

[pitohui]

5. your evidence suggests the opposite

few adults over 50 can tolerate 3 glasses of milk a day w.out gastric adventure (google lactose intolerance if you dont know what i'm talking about)

daily consumption of large fish like salmon and tuna can't be good for you, you won't want to live a long time if you have mercury poisoning, a long life w.out a brain is something you need to desperately avoid

and i like the bit on the charts about the 50 year old pregnant, lactating females, yeah, i'm sure THAT happened naturally

at the end of the day read something before just copying and posting it, if it's utterly completely ridiculous and makes no biological or practical sense whatsoever...maybe best just to file it away in the circular file

[salvorhardin]

9. Please read my post again

No where was I recommending people drink 3 glasses of milk or eat fish every day. I was simply pointing out how easy it is to get extra Vitamin D in your diet.

And please, can we do without the questioning of my motives?

[ThatPoetGuy]

10. Why should we do without questioning your motives?

Your motives are questionable.

The RDA is set on a basis of avoiding a deficiency; that is, it says that less than 600 IU a day of Vitamin D could result in hypovitaminosis. The RDA is NOT designed to suggest what amount may be optimal to prevent heart disease and so on.

Off to take my 1000 IU supplement, because I'm rational.

[salvorhardin]

11. How are my motives questionable?

I posted information that's interesting to me because I thought others would find it interesting as well.

[ThatPoetGuy]

12. You take it as a given that supplementation is negative.

That leads you to confirmation bias; it leads you to selective reading; it leads you to subjective interpretations.

I don't know why you oppose supplementation, but without a clear, solid explanation of the reasoning, it means your motives are questionable and your conclusions are suspect.

[laconicsax]

13. RDA is awesome!

You can always get good RDA levels by watching MacGyver or Stargate SG-1.

[RagAss]

14. I've taken 7500 IU's a day for a decade...Fuck the Institute of Medicine !