Vitamin D Rich Foods Chart
Comprehensive searchable database of foods high in vitamin D with daily values and serving sizes
Daily Vitamin D Recommendations
Infants (0-12 months)
400 IU
(10 mcg)
Children & Adults (1-70 years)
600 IU
(15 mcg)
Adults (71+ years)
600-800 IU
(15-20 mcg)
| Food Name | Category | Vitamin D (IU)↓ | Vitamin D (mcg) | Daily Value % | Serving Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cod liver oil | Animal Products | 13600 IU | 340 mcg | 3400% | 1 tbsp (15ml) |
| Mushrooms (UV-exposed) | Mushrooms | 1110 IU | 27.8 mcg | 278% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Mushrooms (white button, UV-exposed) | Mushrooms | 1036 IU | 25.9 mcg | 259% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Carp | Fatty Fish | 968 IU | 24.2 mcg | 242% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Mushrooms (portobello, UV-exposed) | Mushrooms | 944 IU | 23.6 mcg | 236% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Salmon (Sockeye, wild) | Fatty Fish | 686 IU | 17.2 mcg | 171% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Herring (Atlantic) | Fatty Fish | 680 IU | 17 mcg | 170% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Salmon (Atlantic, farmed) | Fatty Fish | 666 IU | 16.7 mcg | 167% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Swordfish | Fatty Fish | 666 IU | 16.7 mcg | 167% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Rainbow Trout (farmed) | Fatty Fish | 645 IU | 16.2 mcg | 161% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Mackerel (Atlantic) | Fatty Fish | 643 IU | 16.1 mcg | 161% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Mushrooms (maitake, raw) | Mushrooms | 562 IU | 14.1 mcg | 141% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Halibut (Greenland) | Fatty Fish | 560 IU | 14 mcg | 140% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Orange Roughy | Fatty Fish | 480 IU | 12 mcg | 120% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Whitefish (Lake) | Fatty Fish | 456 IU | 11.4 mcg | 114% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Rockfish (Pacific) | Fatty Fish | 440 IU | 11 mcg | 110% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Mackerel (Pacific) | Fatty Fish | 360 IU | 9 mcg | 90% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Sardines (canned in oil) | Fatty Fish | 272 IU | 6.8 mcg | 68% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Caviar (black/red) | Other Sources | 232 IU | 5.8 mcg | 58% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Tuna (canned in oil) | Fatty Fish | 229 IU | 5.7 mcg | 57% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Tuna (Bluefin) | Fatty Fish | 227 IU | 5.7 mcg | 57% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Roe (fish eggs) | Other Sources | 200 IU | 5 mcg | 50% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Mushrooms (shiitake, dried) | Mushrooms | 168 IU | 4.2 mcg | 42% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Mushrooms (morel, raw) | Mushrooms | 136 IU | 3.4 mcg | 34% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Milk (cow, fortified) | Fortified Foods | 120 IU | 3 mcg | 30% | 1 cup (240ml) |
| Soy milk (fortified) | Fortified Foods | 119 IU | 3 mcg | 30% | 1 cup (240ml) |
| Mushrooms (chanterelle, raw) | Mushrooms | 116 IU | 2.9 mcg | 29% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Almond milk (fortified) | Fortified Foods | 100 IU | 2.5 mcg | 25% | 1 cup (240ml) |
| Oat milk (fortified) | Fortified Foods | 100 IU | 2.5 mcg | 25% | 1 cup (240ml) |
| Orange juice (fortified) | Fortified Foods | 100 IU | 2.5 mcg | 25% | 1 cup (240ml) |
| Cereal (fortified) | Fortified Foods | 80 IU | 2 mcg | 20% | 1 serving (30g) |
| Tofu (fortified) | Fortified Foods | 80 IU | 2 mcg | 20% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Yogurt (fortified) | Fortified Foods | 80 IU | 2 mcg | 20% | 170g (6 oz) |
| Cheese (fortified) | Fortified Foods | 60 IU | 1.5 mcg | 15% | 30g (1 oz) |
| Butter (fortified) | Animal Products | 60 IU | 1.5 mcg | 15% | 1 tbsp (14g) |
| Pork liver | Animal Products | 56 IU | 1.4 mcg | 14% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Beef liver | Animal Products | 49 IU | 1.2 mcg | 12% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Egg (whole, large) | Eggs | 44 IU | 1.1 mcg | 11% | 1 large egg (50g) |
| Egg yolk | Eggs | 37 IU | 0.9 mcg | 9% | 1 large yolk (17g) |
| Chicken liver | Animal Products | 32 IU | 0.8 mcg | 8% | 100g (3.5 oz) |
| Swiss cheese | Animal Products | 24 IU | 0.6 mcg | 6% | 30g (1 oz) |
What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps your body absorb calcium and phosphorus, essential for building and maintaining strong bones and teeth. It also plays important roles in immune function, muscle function, and reducing inflammation.
Best Sources of Vitamin D
The best natural sources are fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, trout) and fish liver oil. Many foods are fortified with vitamin D including milk, plant-based milks, orange juice, and cereals. UV-exposed mushrooms are an excellent plant-based source.
Enhancing Vitamin D Absorption
Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so consume it with healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts) for better absorption. Sunlight exposure triggers vitamin D production in skin, but factors like skin color, sunscreen use, and geographic location affect synthesis.
Vitamin D Deficiency Risks
Deficiency can lead to bone softening (rickets in children, osteomalacia in adults), osteoporosis, increased infection risk, muscle weakness, fatigue, and mood changes. People with darker skin, limited sun exposure, or certain medical conditions are at higher risk.
Medical Disclaimer: This chart provides nutritional data for informational purposes only. Recommended daily values are based on general guidelines (400 IU for infants, 600 IU for children and adults up to 70, 800 IU for adults 71+). Consult a healthcare provider before taking vitamin D supplements, as excessive intake can be harmful.
Vitamin D is unusual among nutrients in that food is the secondary source for most people; skin synthesis from sunlight normally supplies more. That makes the food chart most relevant precisely when sunlight is not available, in winter at high latitude, for people who cover their skin, and for anyone with darker skin, in whom melanin substantially slows cutaneous synthesis.
How much vitamin D you need
Recommendations are given in both micrograms and International Units, and the two appear interchangeably on labels, which is a frequent source of confusion. One microgram equals 40 IU.
- Breastfed infants need a supplement, because breast milk contains very little vitamin D regardless of the mother intake.
- The upper limit is a genuine ceiling. Vitamin D is fat soluble and accumulates, and toxicity from high-dose supplements causes hypercalcaemia.
| Age group | RDA | Upper limit |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 12 months | 10 mcg (400 IU), Adequate Intake | 25 to 38 mcg (1,000 to 1,500 IU) |
| 1 to 18 years | 15 mcg (600 IU) | 63 to 100 mcg (2,500 to 4,000 IU) |
| 19 to 70 years | 15 mcg (600 IU) | 100 mcg (4,000 IU) |
| 71 years and over | 20 mcg (800 IU) | 100 mcg (4,000 IU) |
| Pregnancy and lactation | 15 mcg (600 IU) | 100 mcg (4,000 IU) |
Vitamin D per realistic serving
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central per-100-gram values scaled to the portions shown, with IU conversions at 40 IU per microgram.
- Ordinary mushrooms contain very little vitamin D. Only those deliberately exposed to ultraviolet light carry the amounts shown, and the packaging says so.
- Oily fish is the only unfortified food group that reliably supplies a large share of a day requirement in one serving.
| Food | Serving | Vitamin D | USDA FDC ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portabella mushrooms, UV-exposed | 1 cup diced (86 g) | 24.4 mcg (977 IU) | 170143 |
| Salmon, sockeye, canned | 3 oz (85 g) | 17.9 mcg (714 IU) | 173693 |
| Trout, rainbow, farmed, cooked | 3 oz (85 g) | 16.1 mcg (646 IU) | 173718 |
| Salmon, sockeye, cooked | 3 oz (85 g) | 14.2 mcg (568 IU) | 173692 |
| Cod liver oil | 1 tsp (4.5 g) | 11.2 mcg (450 IU) | 173577 |
| Milk, whole, vitamin D added | 1 cup (244 g) | 3.2 mcg (127 IU) | 171265 |
| Fortified breakfast cereal | 1 cup (30 g) | 2.5 mcg (100 IU) | 173003 |
| Orange juice, fortified | 1 cup (248 g) | 2.5 mcg (99 IU) | 169101 |
| Egg, whole, hard-boiled | 1 large (50 g) | 1.1 mcg (44 IU) | 173424 |
| Tuna, light, canned in water | 3 oz (85 g) | 1.0 mcg (41 IU) | 173709 |
Sunlight, skin and why deficiency is common
Ultraviolet B radiation converts a cholesterol precursor in skin to vitamin D3. The efficiency of that reaction depends on latitude, season, time of day, skin pigmentation, age and sunscreen use. Above roughly 37 degrees latitude, winter sunlight contains too little UVB for meaningful synthesis for several months a year, which is why intake from food and supplements matters most in exactly the months when people are least likely to think about it.
Melanin absorbs UVB, so people with darker skin need considerably longer exposure to produce the same amount, and are correspondingly more likely to have low vitamin D status at a given latitude. Age matters too: skin synthesis capacity declines substantially over the decades, which is part of why the recommendation rises after 70.
Limitations
- Fortification levels vary by country and by product. The milk, juice and cereal figures above are for specific US records and do not transfer to other markets.
- Vitamin D content in fish varies with species, whether the fish is farmed or wild, and with fat content, so the figures are representative rather than exact.
- Only UV-exposed mushrooms contain meaningful vitamin D. Standard cultivated mushrooms contain very little.
- Food alone rarely meets requirements without oily fish or fortified products, which is why supplementation is commonly advised in winter at high latitudes.
- Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D reflects total exposure from sun, food and supplements together, so dietary intake alone does not predict status.
- High-dose supplementation can cause toxicity. The upper limits above apply to total intake from all supplement sources.
Frequently asked questions
How much vitamin D do I need per day?
15 mcg (600 IU) for most people aged 1 to 70, rising to 20 mcg (800 IU) after 70, with an Adequate Intake of 10 mcg (400 IU) for infants. The tolerable upper limit for adults is 100 mcg (4,000 IU) a day.
Which foods are highest in vitamin D?
UV-exposed mushrooms and oily fish. A cup of UV-exposed portabella supplies about 977 IU and a 3 oz serving of canned sockeye salmon about 714 IU, well above a day requirement in a single serving.
Can I get enough vitamin D from sunlight alone?
In summer at moderate latitudes, often yes. Above roughly 37 degrees latitude, winter sunlight contains too little UVB for meaningful synthesis for several months, and skin pigmentation, age and sunscreen all reduce it further.
Do mushrooms really contain vitamin D?
Only if they have been exposed to ultraviolet light, which some growers do deliberately and label accordingly. Ordinary cultivated mushrooms contain very little.
What is the difference between mcg and IU?
They are two units for the same thing. One microgram of vitamin D equals 40 IU, so 15 mcg is 600 IU. Labels use both, which is a common source of confusion when comparing products.