Foods Rich in Vitamin D
While there aren’t many foods that naturally contain vitamin D, there are plenty of fortified foods to make up for it.
The best sources of naturally occurring vitamin D are tuna, mackerel, and salmon, as well as fish liver oils. Small amounts of the vitamin can be found in beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks. In the produce section, the only vitamin D you’ll find is in mushrooms.
When it comes to vitamin D fortified foods, you have many more options! Fortified foods provide the majority of vitamin D in the typical American diet. Nearly all of the US milk supply is fortified with vitamin D, a program implemented in the 1930’s to fight rickets, a then prevalent bone disease. Aside from milk, many breakfast cereals and some brands of orange juice, yogurt and margarine contain added vitamin D.
Check out this handy chart to see how different foods stack up in their vitamin D content:
| Natural Sources | IU Vitamin D/Serving |
| Herring | 1383 per 3 ounces |
| Herring, pickled | 578 per 3 ounces |
| Salmon, pink, canned | 530 per 3 ounces |
| Halibut | 510 per 3 ounces |
| Cod liver oil* | 450 per teaspoon |
| Catfish | 425 per 3 ounces |
| Mackerel, Atlantic | 306 per 3 ounces |
| Oyster | 272 per 3 ounces |
| Shitake mushrooms, dried | 249 per 4 |
| Sardines, pacific, canned in tomato sauce | 213 per 1/2 cup or 182 per sardine |
| Sardines, atlantic, canned in oil | 203 per 1/2 cup or 33 per sardine |
| Tuna, light meat, canned in oil | 200 per 3 ounces |
| Shrimp | 129 per 3 ounces |
| Egg, cooked | 26 per whole egg 25 per yolk |
| Fortified Sources | IU Vitamin D/Serving |
| Tofu, fortified | 120 per 1/5 block |
| Cow’s milk, all types | 100 per 8 ounces |
| Milk, canned evaporated | 102 per 4 ounces |
| Rice milk, fortified | 100 per 8 ounces |
| Soy milk, fortified | 100 per 8 ounces |
| Orange juice, fortified | 100 per 8 ounces |
| Pudding, made with fortified milk | 50 per 1/2 cup |
| Cereal, fortified | 40 per serving |
| Yogurt, fortified (Danimals) | 40 per 1/2 cup |
| Supplemental Sources | IU Vitamin D/Dose |
| Most multivitamins** | Usually 400 IU |
| Calcium with Vitamin D | Amount varies |
| Vitamin D only | Amount varies |
| * High in retinol ** May be high in retinol |
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| USDA National Nutrient Data Base: http://www.nal.usda.gov |
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