You’re probably not getting enough vitamin D. Here’s what Health Canada thinks will help

To give Canadians a boost in vitamin D, Health Canada is now requiring milk and margarine producers to more than double the amount in their products. 

According to the federal health agency, one in five Canadians aren’t getting enough of the so-called “sunshine” vitamin. Experts say that’s mainly because of a lack of sunlight, which our body uses to produce vitamin D.

“The reality is we live in Canada,” said Brenda Hartman, a nutritional sciences professor at Western University in London, Ont. “We don’t make vitamin D from the sun, you know, six to eight months of the year.” 

Canada’s high latitude results in shorter days and less intense sunshine during the winter months, because of the sun’s low angle. According to Statistics Canada, the likelihood that people experience low vitamin D levels more than doubles in the winter. 

That’s concerning for experts, who say vitamin D is essential — it’s known to help the body absorb calcium, which strengthens bones and teeth. Research also suggests vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis.

Other ways to get vitamin D include through diet and supplements, like pills or drops. 

While Health Canada has required milk and other products to have vitamin D added in for decades, it has increased the amount to ensure more people are meeting the recommended daily dose. 

In 2022, under its food fortification strategy, Health Canada created a new regulation that allowed companies to voluntarily more than double the amount of vitamin D in cow’s milk, goat’s milk and nearly double it in margarine. 

As of Dec. 31, 2025, the regulation became mandatory. 

For milk, this means it went from having roughly 2.3 micrograms to five micrograms of vitamin D per cup, whereas for margarine it’s now about 13 micrograms per 50 grams, or about three tablespoons. 

“By using mandatory fortification with very common foods, it becomes a more equitable approach to ensure that the whole population gets the benefit,” said Mary L’Abbé, director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Policy for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention. 

Yogurt, kefir and plant-based beverages are also allowed to include vitamin D, though they aren’t required to have it. As more people switch over to non-diary drinks, Health Canada said it was important to ensure vitamin D was also included in alternatives.

Depending on your age, Health Canada recommends varying allowances per day. For babies, it’s 10 micrograms, for older kids and adults, it’s 15 micrograms, and older adults should have 20 micrograms. 

If a cup of milk now has five micrograms, that would mean having two to four cups of milk, depending on your age, to meet the recommended daily allowance, if it’s your sole source of vitamin D. 

“We have to have at least four to five dairy products per day, which is not always possible,” said Despoina Manousaki, a pediatric endocrinologist who studies bone health and an associate professor at the University of Montreal. 

She said that would include drinking a couple of glasses of milk, having yogurt and some sort of cheese. Other food sources with naturally occurring vitamin D include egg yolks and fatty fish, according to Health Canada. 

“We know that vitamin D supplementation is pretty effective, easy and cheap and helps maintain normal levels,” Manousaki said. 

People who take certain types of medications or have certain medical conditions might also need to take more vitamin D.

A typical vitamin D pill would give someone 25 micrograms — also expressed as 1,000 international units — of vitamin D.

While it is possible to take too much vitamin D, experts say it’s very rare and would need to happen over a prolonged period of time to have significant health consequences. 

Some of those health effects could be a buildup of calcium that weakens the bones and leads to kidney or heart damage. 

The maximum amount varies depending on age, but Health Canada says the average adult shouldn’t have more than 100 micrograms a day — that’s equivalent to 4,000 international units, more than 20 glasses of milk or multiple vitamin D pills. 

“The amount that you would actually … make from the sun, we’re not going to get anywhere near that level where we’re going to start seeing some of the side-effects or adverse effects associated with high intake,” said Hartman. 

“You only really see that with supplementation. You don’t see it from food at all.”