6 Drinks High in Vitamin D for Stronger Bones and Immune Support.

6 Drinks High in Vitamin D for Stronger Bones and Immune Support.

Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium to build strong bones. It’s also an important vitamin for maintaining a healthy immune system. While only a few foods are naturally high in vitamin D, the nutrient is often added to drinks, like orange juice and milk, and consuming those beverages can be a great way to increase your vitamin D intake.

1. Fortified Milk:Milk is one of the best dietary sources of vitamin D, following some mushrooms and fish.2Vitamin D doesn’t occur naturally in dairy milk; however, it’s added to most commercially produced milks. An 8-ounce glass of fortified milk contains 120 IU of vitamin D—about 20% of the recommended daily intake.1Getting your vitamin D from a glass of milk may be particularly beneficial because milk also provides a good dose of calcium, which needs vitamin D to be used by the body.

2. Fortified Soy Milk:If you don’t drink dairy milk, know that many milk alternatives can also provide vitamin D. Most soy milks are also fortified with it, containing about 120 IU per cup. That means you get the same amount of vitamin D—about 20% of the recommended daily intake—by drinking a glass of soy milk as you would drinking dairy milk.

3. Fortified Almond Milk and Other Alternatives

Fortified almond milk beverages contain about 107 IU of vitamin D per cup.2 While that’s slightly less than dairy or soy milk, it can help you reach your daily vitamin D goals.

Other milk alternatives are typically fortified, too: Rice milk and oat milk, for example, each contain about 100 IU of vitamin D per one-cup serving.

A daily glass of orange juice can help you get enough vitamin D into your diet. Orange juice is typically fortified and contains 100 IU per cup.

One study found that drinking fortified orange juice was as effective as taking a vitamin D supplement for adults.