Vitamin D helps our bodies absorb calcium from foods. At our latitude in Canada, we cannot make vitamin D from the sun for about half the year (October to March). As a result, a daily dietary source of vitamin D is important. There are only a few commonly consumed foods naturally rich in vitamin D. These include cod liver oil, salmon, mackerel and tuna. You can also get smaller amounts of vitamin D from egg yolks, liver and margarine. Milk in Canada is fortified with vitamin D so that 1 cup (250 mL) provides 100 IU.
Shannon Denise McClary says:
Are yougurt or cheese good sources of Vitamin D?
Sydney Massey, RD says:
They can be, but it depends. If you make your own yogurt or cheese from milk which has been fortified with vitamin D, then the yogurt and cheese will be a good source of vitamin D. Some manufacturers of yogurt do this— you would have to check the label. The label will state that it has been made with fortified milk.
In Canada, milk must be fortified with vitamin D so that each cup contains about 100 IU of vitamin D. Manufacturers cannot directly fortify yogurt or cheese, but they can make their dairy products (even ice cream!) with vitamin D fortified milk. The bottom line? YES—yogurt and cheese are good sources of vitamin D if they are made with fortified milk, but NO if they are manufactured from unfortified milk. Check the label.
Darise says:
Hi there -
On my container of Lucerne milk it states:
“Vitamin D 45% Daily Value”
How many International Units of Vitamin D is 45% daily value?
With thanks, for making the time to answer my question,
Darise
BC Dairy Association says:
The % daily values on the food label do not fit a specific person’s requirements for a given nutrient. The guidelines state that if something has more than 15% of the DV, it is considered to be a very good source of that nutrient (such as vitamin D in milk).
To find out how you’re doing with your vitamin D intake, information can be found on our website in a variety of places, such as here: http://bit.ly/JlNsXL
To find out more about using food labels, check out Health Canada’s Frequently Asked Questions about Nutrition Labelling: http://bit.ly/J5d0dF