Vitamin D "de'fish'ency" strikes 1/3 of Australians

I see many clients in my practice with vitamin D deficiency. It's not surprising, as nearly 1/3 of adult Australians are vitamin D deficient. With winter coming this week and the (sigh!) subsequent shorter days and less exposure to sunlight, we need to consider where we will get our vitamin D from this winter?

Did you know that some foods contain vitamin D? 

• oily fish
• mushrooms
• smaller amounts in eggs and butter

Tassal Australia is the largest farmer of fresh and frozen salmon. They have released results revealing that one standard portion of Tassal salmon (150g) contains 8 micrograms of vitamin D - more than 1/2 the recommended daily intake for adults.

Tassal has produced the following delicious salmon recipes, using their salmon range. They have fresh portions, smoked salmon and canned salmon. Jump on their website and use their recipe finder to find more ways to include salmon in your diet! I love the look of the smoked salmon and quinoa cakes (recipe at link below).

Smoked Salmon and Quinoa Cakes

Moroccan Grilled Salmon and Cous Cous

 

Vitamin D is not only important for the absorption of calcium for healthy bones. Low vitamin D levels have also been linked to increased risk of Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

So, top up your vitamin D levels and avoid vitamin D "de'fish'ency" by:

• exposing 15% of your body (equivalent of arms and legs) to the sun daily
• including 2 serves of fish a week, particularly oily fish such as salmon
• including eggs, low fat milk and mushrooms in the diet in recommended amount