Dr. Prabhat AryaMBBS, MD (Internal Medicine) · DMC Reg. No. DMC-83759drprabhatarya.com

Reviewed by Dr. Prabhat Arya, MD (Internal Medicine) on 29 September 2026

Diet chart for vitamin D deficiency

The body makes vitamin D from sunlight on the skin. Very few foods have it, so food alone cannot fix a low level. Sunlight, calcium-rich food and the dose your doctor prescribes do it together.

½ Green leafy sabzi and salad ¼ Curd, paneer, dal, egg, fish ¼ Roti, rice, ragi or bajra
  1. Get sunlight on bare arms and legs for 15 to 30 minutes, between about 11 am and 2 pm, most days. Avoid burning in peak summer.
  2. Have calcium foods every day: milk, curd, paneer, ragi, til, green leafy sabzi. Vitamin D works with calcium to build bone.
  3. Take vitamin D only in the dose and for the time your doctor says. More is not better.

Eat more

  • Milk, curd, chaas, paneer: two or three times a day
  • Ragi, bajra, til and rajgira (amaranth)
  • Green leafy sabzi: palak, methi, sarson, chaulai
  • Egg yolk and oily fish such as sardine (mathi), mackerel (bangda) or hilsa, for those who eat them
  • Fortified milk or oil that says "vitamin D" on the pack
  • Dal, chana, soya, almonds for protein and minerals

Eat less

  • Tea and coffee: not more than two or three cups a day
  • Cold drinks, especially cola: they do nothing for bone
  • Salt: less than one teaspoon a day in all, counting pickle and papad
  • Packaged and fried snacks in place of milk and curd
  • Cooking oil and ghee together: 4 to 5 teaspoons per person for the whole day
  • Sweets and sugar: keep them small

Avoid

  • High-dose vitamin D sachets or shots taken on your own, without a test or a doctor
  • Taking the weekly 60,000 unit sachet every day by mistake: check the label
  • Staying indoors all day, every day
  • Smoking and tobacco: they weaken bone
  • Alcohol
  • Stopping calcium or vitamin D the doctor gave, without asking

A sample day

Vegetarian first; the swap is for those who eat eggs, fish or chicken.

On waking
Water. Tea or a glass of milk
Breakfast
Ragi or wheat dalia made in milk, or besan chilla with a katori of curdSwap: Two-egg omelette (with yolk) and one roti
Mid-morning
A walk or work in the sun with arms bare. One fruit or a glass of chaas
Lunch
Salad. A katori of dal, palak or sarson sabzi, raita, two rotis or riceSwap: Fish curry in place of dal
Evening
Tea with milk and a til laddu or roasted chana, or a small bowl of paneerSwap: A boiled egg
Dinner, by 8 pm
Dal or paneer, green sabzi, one or two bajra or ragi rotis, a katori of curdSwap: Grilled fish or chicken with sabzi
Bedtime
A glass of milk if you like

Common myths

Sunlight through a window gives vitamin D.
Glass blocks the rays that make it. You need direct sun on the skin.
Only early morning sun works.
Mid-day sun makes far more vitamin D. Early sun is pleasant but gives little.
Dark skin does not need vitamin D.
Everyone needs it; darker skin just needs a little more time in the sun.
More sachets mean stronger bones.
Too much vitamin D raises calcium and can harm the kidneys. Take only what is prescribed.

Dr. Arya’s note for you

This is general advice for adults. With kidney stones, kidney disease or high calcium, or in pregnancy, ask before changing calcium or vitamin D; with kidney disease, follow the kidney chart for milk, dal and greens. If sun worsens a skin or eye condition, ask about sun time.