Here are some interesting food ideas for enriching your child’s meals with Vitamin D. Read on to know more.Vitamin D also known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’ is very important for the human body. Foods rich in Vitamin D provide strength to the bones and teeth and keep away a host of diseases. Here are a few Vitamin D enriched foods which you can always include in your child’s diet.
Vanilla and Chocolate Milkshake
Vanilla milkshakes provide around 48 IU of Vitamin D whereas chocolate milkshakes provide around 41 IU of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is measured in IU (International Units). Around 100 grams of vanilla or chocolate milkshake will provide 48 IU and 41 IU of Vitamin D respectively. One of the main reasons for this is that, cow’s milk is fortified with Vitamin D and drinking plenty of cow’s milk provides a whole lot of Vitamin D to the body. Hence, include vanilla and chocolate milkshakes in your child’s diet without fail.
Oily Fish
Fishes are one of the best sources of Vitamin D. Oily fish such as tuna, salmon etc are among the best sources of Vitamin D. Include plenty of fish based dishes as a part of your child’s meals. You can include fish on toast, wraps, curies, etc. You can prepare it in a tasty way so that kids enjoy it. The flesh of fatty fish is a very important and natural source of Vitamin D. 100 grams of mackerel can provide up to 1,006 International Units of Vitamin D.
Cheese
It would delight you to know that cheese is an important source of Vitamin D. Kids love cheese and you can easily include cheese based recipes in your child’s diet. One of the important things to understand is that cheese being made of
milk is naturally high in Vitamin D. In fact, cheese is richer in Vitamin D as compared to plain milk because it is processed. Cheese is also a good source of
calcium which is another important element required for the human body. Cheese being rich in fat should not be consumed too much as well.
Eggs
Eggs are also a source of Vitamin D for kids. Around 100 grams of boiled eggs contains 87 International Units of Vitamin D.
Eggs are equally rich in protein as well. You can include eggs as a part of your child’s breakfast. Omelette, scrambled eggs, etc are all dishes which would provide some good nutrition for your child. Eating one egg daily can make your child healthy and strong. The vitamin D in egg comes from the yolk, however the yolk is fattening and high in cholesterol also. Hence, include limited amounts of egg in your child’s diet.
Milk
Milk is naturally rich in Vitamin D because the liver of the animal stores this vitamin. Vitamin D in milk also depends on the cow’s exposure to sunlight. There are some countries in the world, where milk is fortified with Vitamin D before being sold. Soya milk is also rich in Vitamin D. Yoghurt which is a natural milk product also contains Vitamin D. Hence, milk and various other products of milk will contain Vitamin D. Give your child at least one glass of milk early in the morning or at night. Your child might refuse plain milk however you can always give the milk smoothies, Badam millk or Kesar milk to make it tastier.
Drinking milk is an important habit which can be inculcated from childhood itself.
Thus, the above mentioned foods are rich in Vitamin D.
Orange juice is also a source of Vitamin D. This vitamin plays a vital role in growth and development. Sunlight is a source of Vitamin D however over-exposure to sun must also be avoided.
Which foods are rich in Vitamin D and good for children? How to include Vitamin D rich foods in the diet of children? What are the benefits of Vitamin D for children? Discuss here.