Keep Your Vitamin D High This Winter (No Supplement Needed!)
To stay healthy this cold and flu season, you’ll want to keep your vitamin D levels as high as possible (that is, the high end of the normal range).
This can be a challenge for older adults because we tend to spend most of our time indoors during winter.
But don’t stock up on vitamin D supplements just yet…
Today, I will reveal how to keep your vitamin D levels up without relying on a supplement.
Yesterday, I revealed how sun exposure can protect your HEART. Today, you’ll discover how it could raise a shield against colds and flu all fall and winter.
The best source of vitamin D is from the sun itself.
Only a few foods naturally contain vitamin D. These include fatty fish (like salmon and sardines), beef liver, and mushrooms.
Unfortunately, the mushrooms you purchase from the grocery store only contain about 7 IU of vitamin D per 100 grams (approximately ¾ cup).
You’d need to eat buckets of them to get the recommended 600 IUs daily!
(I like mushrooms but not THAT much.)
But there’s a simple way to SUPERCHARGE mushrooms’ vitamin D content:
Put them in the sun!
That’s right, setting your mushrooms in the sun can significantly boost their vitamin D levels.
According to a recent study, putting mushrooms in the midday sun for 15 minutes increased their vitamin D to 700 IU per 100 grams!
And after one hour, vitamin D shot up to an incredible 1,300 IU per 100 grams.
You can do this simple hack at home with store-bought mushrooms.
Wash, slice, and spread them out in a single layer on a plate or baking sheet. Then, set them in the sun anytime between 10a.m. and 4p.m.
The sunlight will cause a compound in mushrooms called ergosterol to convert into ergocalciferol—vitamin D2.
So, if you’re not spending enough time in the sun as the days grow colder, you can let the mushrooms do the sunbathing for you.
P.S. Why would you want to load up on D? I’m glad you asked… find out 5 VITAL reasons here.
SOURCE:
Cardwell G, Et AL. “A Review of Mushrooms as a Potential Source of Dietary Vitamin D.” Nutrients. 2018 Oct 13;10(10):1498. doi: 10.3390/nu10101498. PMID: 30322118; PMCID: PMC6213178.
