- Vitamin D is essential for a healthy mood. It’s well-known that people with mood swings, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia benefit from taking high levels of vitamin D.
- In fact, research has shown that people who are too low in vitamin D can have negative effects on their cognitive function.
- Unfortunately, many people don’t get enough vitamin D because they don’t know how to take it. Here are three ways to increase your vitamin D intake.
Get enough sunlight
- One of the best ways to get enough vitamin D is to get enough sunlight. When you’re outside, expose yourself to as much sunlight as possible.
- Vitamin D is produced in the skin when the sun shines on it. The more sunlight you exposure, the more vitamin D you’ll get.
Eat a healthy diet
- One of the best ways to increase your vitamin D intake is to eat a healthy diet. A healthy diet includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy products, and fish. You can also get vitamin D from sunlight or supplements.
- To get the most out of your sun exposure, make sure you are using sunscreen with SPF 25 or more.
- Sunscreen should also be applied before bed so that you’re getting the full measure of UV protection.
Drink plenty of water
- One way to increase your vitamin D intake is by drinking plenty of water. It’s natural for your body to create vitamin D when it sunlight exposure equals 400 ng/mL or more.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults get at least 30 minutes of sun each day and that we get at least 700 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day. Most people don’t receive enough vitamin D from the sun, so drink plenty of water each day to make sure you meet these recommendations.