Ever since I was a child I have been told to get outside and have fun. To get some sunshine, to run around, to be healthy. The general feeling was that sunshine was good for you, that having a healthy tan spoke well of your general health, and that being locked up indoors all day was generally a bad thing, even if that meant you were studying or reading. These days however people tell horror stories about what the sun can do for you, and babies and children are slathered in SPF1000 before they are allowed outside, if they are allowed out at all. This may stave off the threat of skin cancer, but it also causes people to run the risk of vitamin D deficiency. Given that the sun is increasingly a source of danger, where else can we turn for vitamin D? In today’s article we’ll look at both a common and delicious source, as well as a second that many of us might find dramatically unappetizing.

First with the delicious and common source of vitamin D: fortified cereal.

That’s right, your breakfast can contain a healthy dose of the vitamin if you include a cereal that contains high levels of vitamin D. If you manage to grab a low-calorie fortified cereal like Multi-Grain Cheerios you can add 40 IUs of vitamin D. To give you an idea, you need 600 IUs for optimal health. If you pour a glass of milk onto your cereal you can get another 100 IU’s. Add a boiled egg and a glass of orange juice, and you have just added another 140 IUs, meaning that your breakfast can easily give you half of your required daily dose.

Now for the less than appealing source of vitamin D: beef liver. Hold on, don’t turn away, some people actually like this stuff, and the health benefit can’t be argued with.

A 3.5 ounce serving of beef liver contains 50 IUs of vitamin D, along with vitamin A, iron, and plenty of protein. However, just like eggs, beef liver is dangerously high in cholesterol, so be sure to eat it in moderation or switch to fatty fish instead which has more IUs of vitamin D and contains the wonderful omega-3′s fatty acids. However, if you are particular to beef liver, than know that you are in fact including a healthy dose of vitamin D as well as your favorite tasty treat.