Looking out the window on a February day in upstate New York, it is abundantly clear why many people have low vitamin D levels in their bodies in the winter. Vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin” is formed from exposure of skin cells to ultraviolet rays. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure almost daily on your face, hands and arms to meet your vitamin D needs. In the winter, skin is covered up, the sunlight is not as intense and clouds frequently block the sunlight.

The good news is that vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and can be stored in fat cells as a reserve when you are not getting enough sun exposure. The bad news is that by midwinter, many people have used up vitamin D that was stored during warm, sunny fall days.

What does vitamin D do?

Vitamin D helps move calcium into bones, which prevents soft bones (rickets) in children and bone thinning (osteoporosis) in adults. Preliminary research studies are showing that vitamin D may help with immune function and with reducing the risk of some cancers, diabetes and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

What about vitamin D in foods?

It is possible to meet your vitamin D needs from what you eat but very few foods are good sources of vitamin D. Vitamin D is measured in International Units (IU).

How much is enough?

For children and adults up to age 50, 200 IU is the recommended daily amount. From ages 51-70, the recommendation is 400 IU and for 70 years and older the recommendation is 600 IU. These recommendations are for bone health. As further studies are done on the role of vitamin D in disease prevention, it is likely that vitamin D recommendations will be increased. If you do not get adequate vitamin D from foods, multivitamins and calcium supplements can help meet vitamin D needs. If you want to know whether your vitamin D stores are adequate, your physician can order a blood test and then advise you about taking supplemental vitamin D.

Unless prescribed by a physician, you should not exceed the Upper Limit (UL) for vitamin D of 2000 IU per day which is set by the National Academy of Sciences.

Tip of the week:

Although milk is fortified with vitamin D, not all cheese and yogurt has vitamin D added. If vitamin D has been added, it is stated on the food label.

Christine Gutelius, MA, RD, CDN,

is a nutrition resource educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County

Salmon Patties

Makes 8 patties

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

15 ounces canned salmon, drained

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3/4 cup breadcrumbs (or oatmeal)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Microwave onion and celery in small bowl for 1 minute. Set aside. Place salmon in a medium bowl. Flake apart with a fork, removing bones and skin. Add eggs and mustard and mix well. Add onion, celery, bread crumbs and pepper and mix well. Shape into 8 patties. Place on baking sheet and spray tops of patties with cooking spray. Bake 15-20 minutes or until browned on top. While salmon cakes are baking, prepare Creamy Dill Sauce. Serve sauce over salmon cakes.

Creamy Dill Sauce

Makes about 1/2 cup

1/4 cup reduced fat or nonfat mayonnaise

1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt or nonfat sour cream

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried dill

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

- Source: Recipe modified from www.eatingwell.com