Foods highest in Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium and supports bone and immune health; your skin makes it from sunlight.
Below are the whole foods with the most vitamin d in a typical serving, straight from USDA FoodData Central, plus how much you need and how to keep track without doing any math.
What vitamin d does
Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium and supports bone and immune health; your skin makes it from sunlight.
One of the most common shortfalls, especially in winter, at higher latitudes, and for people with darker skin or little sun. Very few foods contain much.
How much you need
The Daily Value used on food labels is 20 mcg a day for adults. The tolerable upper limit is about 100 mcg, with vitamin d, more isn't better.
Your real target depends on your age, sex and body, Healthy Squirrel sets it for you from NIH / Institute of Medicine reference intakes, then shows every food against your number, not a generic one.
Foods highest in vitamin d
| Food | Serving | Amount | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish oil, cod liver | 1 tbsp (14 g) | 35 mcg | 175% |
| Fish, halibut, Greenland, raw | 4 oz raw (113 g) | 31 mcg | 155% |
| Fish, carp, raw | 4 oz raw (113 g) | 28 mcg | 140% |
| Mushrooms, brown, italian, or crimini, exposed to ultraviolet light, raw | 1 cup whole mushroom (87 g) | 28 mcg | 139% |
| Fish, eel, mixed species, raw | 4 oz raw (113 g) | 26 mcg | 132% |
| Mushrooms, portabella, exposed to ultraviolet light, raw | 1 piece whole mushroom (84 g) | 24 mcg | 119% |
| Fish, mackerel, salted | 3 oz (85 g) | 21 mcg | 107% |
| Mushrooms, maitake, raw | 1 cup diced mushroom (70 g) | 20 mcg | 98% |
| Mushroom, white, exposed to ultraviolet light, raw | 1 cup pieces or slices mushroom (70 g) | 18 mcg | 92% |
| Salmon, sockeye, canned, drained solids, without skin and bones | 3 oz (85 g) | 18 mcg | 91% |
| Fish, trout, rainbow, farmed, raw | 4 oz raw (113 g) | 18 mcg | 90% |
| Fish, salmon, sockeye, canned, drained solids | 3 oz (85 g) | 18 mcg | 89% |
Per typical serving, using the reference amounts food labels are built on (3 oz of meat or fish, 1 tbsp of oil, 1 oz of nuts or cheese, 1 cup of milk), or the everyday size for whole fruit and vegetables. Whole foods from USDA FoodData Central, highest first. In the app, every amount scales to the serving you actually log.
Track vitamin d free
Healthy Squirrel is a free food tracker that fills in Vitamin D, and every other vitamin and mineral, automatically as you log meals, so you can see where your day actually lands. No account needed to start, no ads, nothing sold.
Open Healthy Squirrel and log a food to see your vitamin d for the day.
If you train
Training doesn't change your vitamin d target, but it can change how likely you are to fall short. The details and the evidence:
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