There’s been no shortage of coverage lately regarding the health benefits of Vitamin D. And there are many reasons for it. Many times we eat certain foods or take vitamin supplements because we’re told to, not really sure what it’s doing for us or feeling really different because of it, but we continue doing it anyway. But with Vitamin D, when you’re deficient it’s fairly obvious…or more commonly, once you start getting enough you’ll realize what you were missing. With all the talk about the need for Vitamin D and the symptoms involved if your intake is too low, I’d like to go over briefly specifically what Vitamin D deficiency treatment encompasses and the three types of Vitamin D sources.

Conceptually, what you must do is pretty straightforward…increase your intake of Vitamin D. As a result, you’ll be better prepared to deal with and avoid mental conditions like anxiety and depression, many auto-immune disorders, and a long list of types of caner. With that said, what are the Vitamin D sources, and most importantly, which ones are the most beneficial?

Getting Vitamin D from the Sun

Depending on the time of year and where you live, one of the best sources of Vitamin D is to just get outside and get some sunshine.What’s happening is your skin will take the ultra-violet B (UVB) rays that you’re getting from the sun and convert them into Vitamin D3.

There is an anxiety shared by many people in regards to skin cancer and its relationship to the skin’s exposure to the sun. It’s mainly this reason that many people do not find this particular Vitamin D source to be the most suitable. There is also the often accidental result of getting too much sun when you lose track of time. On the other hand, the advantages of increased amounts of Vitamin D are so great that these concerns can be overcome if you’ll be aware of your sun exposure and take it in small doses. So go take a 15 minute walk around the block outside the house on a sunny day with a t-shirt on and no sunblock. You’ll come home grinning and feeling good.

Vitamin D Foods

Another Vitamin D deficiency treatment is to get more Vitamin D through food. Egg yolks, fish oil, beef liver, and wild-caught oily fish are the only major sources of Vitamin D from food. Blue fish, tuna, mackerel and salmon have been discovered to have the most significant levels of Vitamin D. Even if you believe in evolution or a divine creator, this point is remarkable. Humans near the equator get their necessary Vitamin D from their exposure to sun rays. As humans moved further north and settled in places that can go up to six months without any sunshine whatsoever, the lack of Vitamin D could impose substantial risks to their health. These cultures traditionally have eaten a diet almost entirely focused on fish, and in particular, the fish that naturally carry large amounts of Vitamin D. So for these peoples, the needed levels of Vitamin D that weren’t available from the sun were instead replaced by naturally occurring food sources.

Nevertheless, this source of Vitamin D can rarely be counted on, if ever, to supply all of the Vitamin D we need. The way we eat today is such that it is almost impossible to get just from the food we eat the amount of Vitamin D we need for optimal health.

Supplementing Vitamin D

Although it is always best to get as many nutrients from natural, clean, whole foods, you’re unlikely to get enough Vitamin D3 from dietary sources alone. Even if you happen to be a fan of fish and egg yolks, you probably don’t eat enough to obtain Vitamin D in adequate quantities. As far as Vitamin D, supplementing is wise.

Taking a top quality supplement is a very efficient source of Vitamin D. I really like the one I use because the company encapsulates it with wild-caught salmon oil so it combines a dietary source with the supplement to boot.