Vitamin D deficiency in India:
why most of us are low
despite the sun.
India gets sunshine almost all year, yet most Indians tested are low in vitamin D. The reason is simple: your skin makes vitamin D only when strong midday sun touches bare skin, and modern life rarely allows that. Here’s why it happens, the 10 signs to watch for, how much you need, how to raise a low level quickly and safely, the Indian foods and drinks with the most vitamin D, and the easy ways to get enough.
Why are Indians low in vitamin D? The short answer
Is vitamin D deficiency common in Indians?
Yes. Across Indian studies, 70 to 100% of people tested were low. Skin makes vitamin D only when UVB rays from strong sun reach bare skin, and most Indians spend the sunny hours indoors, behind glass, covered by clothes or sunscreen, and often under polluted skies, while darker skin needs more sun to make the same amount. Adults need 600 IU a day.
Vitamin D is called the sunshine vitamin because your skin makes it from sunlight. But seeing the sun and making vitamin D are two different things. A review of Indian studies found 70 to 100% of people tested were low in vitamin D, in cities and villages, in the north and the sunny south.1 Worldwide, about half of people tested are below 20 ng/mL, and lower-middle-income countries such as India sit above that average.13 The good news: it is one of the easiest gaps to close.
The sunshine paradox: five things that block vitamin D
Why am I vitamin D deficient even though I get sun?
Five everyday things stop sunlight from becoming vitamin D: indoor hours, window glass, clothing and sunscreen, air pollution, and skin colour. Glass blocks UVB completely, sunscreen of SPF 8 or more blocks it, smog reduces it, and darker skin needs longer in the sun to make the same amount.
Your skin needs one specific part of sunlight, called UVB. It is strongest around the middle of the day. Here is what gets in its way:
Indoor hours
Office, school and home keep most of us inside from mid-morning to late afternoon, when UVB is strongest. In a review of 71 studies, 78% of indoor workers were low in vitamin D, against 48% of outdoor workers.2
Window glass
UVB does not pass through glass. Sun through a car, bus or office window makes no vitamin D.3
Clothes and sunscreen
Covered skin makes none, and sunscreen of SPF 8 or more blocks the rays that make vitamin D.3
Air pollution
Smog soaks up UVB. In Delhi, toddlers in a heavily polluted area had less than half the vitamin D of those in a cleaner area.4
Skin colour
Melanin, the pigment that gives skin its colour, works like a natural sunscreen. Darker skin needs more time in the sun to make the same vitamin D.3
Every one has a fix
A short spell of midday sun on bare arms, vitamin D foods, and a simple daily supplement cover the gap.
“India has plenty of sunshine. What most of us are missing is midday sun on bare skin, and that is easy to make up for.”
The sunshine paradox, in one line
10 signs you may be low in vitamin D
What are the 10 signs of low vitamin D?
The most common signs are dull bone aches, weak muscles, muscle aches or cramps, tiredness and low mood. Low vitamin D is also linked with getting sick often, poor sleep, hair thinning and stress fractures, and very low levels can cause tingling or twitching from low calcium. A blood test confirms it.
Vitamin D’s main job is to help your gut absorb calcium. It also supports normal muscles and the immune system.5 When levels stay very low for a long time, bones soften, a condition doctors call osteomalacia.3 The 10 signs most often linked with low vitamin D are:
- Dull, deep bone aches, often in the lower back, hips and legs.3
- Weak muscles, such as finding stairs or getting up from the floor harder than before.3
- Muscle aches and cramps, especially in the legs.
- Tiredness that rest does not fully fix.
- Low mood, which studies have linked with low vitamin D.
- Getting sick often: vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system.5
- Poor or short sleep: people low in vitamin D had about 50% higher odds of sleep problems in pooled studies.14
- Hair thinning, which some studies link with low vitamin D.
- Stress fractures or slow-healing bones, because soft bones break more easily.3
- Tingling, twitching or spasms in the hands, feet or face, from low blood calcium when vitamin D is very low.3
These signs have many possible causes, so they are a reason to ask your doctor, who can order a simple blood test. How do you feel if vitamin D is very low? Usually achy, weak and tired, with bone pain that feels deep rather than in the joints; in children, very low vitamin D causes rickets.3 Our guide to bone and joint aches covers the other nutrients involved.
Who is most likely to be low?
Who is most likely to be low in vitamin D?
People who work indoors, cover most of their skin, live in polluted cities, have darker skin, are older, or carry extra body fat are the most likely to be low in vitamin D. Pregnant women and people over 75 have higher needs and should follow their doctor’s advice.
- Indoor workers: office staff, students, shift workers and hospital staff.2
- People who cover up or use sunscreen every day.
- City dwellers in polluted areas.4
- Older adults: skin makes less vitamin D with age.3
- People with more body fat: fat tissue holds on to vitamin D, so less stays in the blood.3
- Vegetarians and vegans: the few natural food sources are mostly fish and eggs.
- Pregnant women and adults over 75, who may benefit from more than the standard amount under a doctor’s care.6
How much vitamin D do you need, and what do test numbers mean?
What is a normal vitamin D level?
ICMR-NIN sets the daily vitamin D target for Indian adults at 600 IU (15 mcg). The blood test is called 25-hydroxyvitamin D. A level of 20 ng/mL or more is generally considered adequate, 12 to 20 is low, and under 12 is deficient. Many Indian labs label 20 to 30 as “insufficient”.
The daily target for Indian adults is 600 IU, which is 15 mcg.7 A 2024 guideline from the Endocrine Society, a leading group of hormone doctors, gives healthy adults the same simple advice: get the recommended daily amount, every day.6
| 25(OH)D blood level | What it means |
|---|---|
| 20 ng/mL or more | Generally adequate for bones and overall health |
| 12 to under 20 ng/mL | Low (inadequate) |
| Under 12 ng/mL | Deficient |
| Over 50 ng/mL | More than needed; very high levels can be harmful |
These ranges are from the US National Institutes of Health.3 Many Indian lab reports use a slightly different scale and mark 20 to 30 ng/mL as “insufficient”. Your doctor can tell you what your number means for you. If a test shows you are clearly deficient, doctors often prescribe a short course of a higher dose and then return you to the daily amount.
How to increase vitamin D quickly, and safely
How to increase vitamin D quickly?
The quickest safe way is a blood test, then a short course of vitamin D3 that your doctor prescribes for your level, followed by a daily or weekly maintenance dose. Take vitamin D3 with a meal that has fat, get midday sun on bare skin, and make sure you get enough magnesium. Blood levels rise over weeks, and doctors usually retest after about three months.
Vitamin D builds up slowly, so “quickly” means weeks, not days. If a test shows you are clearly deficient, doctors usually prescribe a short, higher-dose course of vitamin D3 (in India, often 60,000 IU sachets once a week for a set number of weeks), then move you to a daily or weekly maintenance dose. What helps it work:
- Choose D3 over D2. D3 raises blood levels more, and for longer.3
- Take it with your biggest meal. Vitamin D dissolves in fat, so a meal with ghee, curd, eggs or nuts helps your gut absorb it.3
- Add midday sun. 5 to 30 minutes on bare arms and legs between 10 am and 4 pm, without glass.
- Get enough magnesium. The enzymes that activate vitamin D need it, and in a trial magnesium helped bring low vitamin D levels up.8,9
- Retest, don’t keep guessing. Levels settle after about three months; your doctor then sets the long-term dose.
Never take high-dose sachets for months on your own: too much vitamin D raises blood calcium and can harm the kidneys.3
Three easy ways to get enough vitamin D
How can I get enough vitamin D every day?
First, get 5 to 30 minutes of sun on bare arms and legs between 10 am and 4 pm on most days, with no glass in between. Second, eat vitamin D foods such as eggs, oily fish, sun-exposed mushrooms and fortified milk. Third, take a daily vitamin D3 supplement near the 600 IU target.
- Get some midday sunAbout 5 to 30 minutes of sun on bare arms and legs between 10 am and 4 pm, on most days, with no glass or sunscreen in between. Darker skin needs the longer end. Don’t let your skin burn.
- Eat vitamin D foodsEggs, oily fish, mushrooms that have been left in sunlight, and fortified milk and oil carrying the +F logo.
- Take a daily vitamin D3Choose D3 at or near 600 IU a day, and take it with a meal that has some fat, because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin.
- Look after the helpersMake sure you also get enough magnesium and calcium, which vitamin D works with.
- Check if you have signsIf you have bone aches, weak muscles or a high-risk lifestyle, ask your doctor about a 25(OH)D blood test.
Which Indian foods and drinks have the most vitamin D?
Which Indian food has the highest vitamin D?
Oily fish has the most: Indian salmon (rawas), mackerel (bangda) and sardines (mathi) are the best everyday choices, and cod liver oil is the richest food source of all. For vegetarians, the best sources are mushrooms left in sunlight, eggs, and milk or oil fortified with vitamin D, marked with the +F logo. Food alone rarely reaches 600 IU a day.
Very few foods contain much vitamin D naturally, and almost all of them come from fish or eggs. The best drinks are fortified ones: milk with the +F logo, fortified soy or oat milk, and fortified orange juice.3
| Food or drink | Serving | Vitamin D (about) |
|---|---|---|
| Cod liver oil | 1 tablespoon | 1,360 IU |
| Oily fish (salmon, trout) | 85 g, cooked | 570–645 IU |
| Mushrooms exposed to UV light | ½ cup | 366 IU |
| Fortified milk | 1 cup | About 120 IU (check the pack) |
| Fortified soy, almond or oat drink | 1 cup | About 100–145 IU (check the pack) |
| Fortified orange juice | 1 cup | About 100 IU |
| Egg | 1 large | 44 IU |
Food values are from the US National Institutes of Health.3 For most vegetarians, food supplies only a small part of the 600 IU target, which is why sun and a supplement matter. Leaving mushrooms gills-up in midday sun for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking raises their vitamin D.
Vitamin D’s helpers: magnesium, vitamin K2 and healthy fat
Should I take magnesium with vitamin D?
Yes, it makes sense. Vitamin D does not work alone. The enzymes that switch vitamin D into its active form need magnesium. Vitamin K contributes to normal bones, where vitamin D sends calcium. And vitamin D is fat-soluble, so take it with a meal that contains healthy fat. Magnesium Glycinate by Evo Hominus™ gives 440 mg of magnesium, India’s full daily need for men.
Magnesium switches vitamin D on. The vitamin D you make or swallow is not yet active. Your liver and kidneys change it into its working form, and the enzymes that do this need magnesium.8 In a clinical trial, giving magnesium helped bring vitamin D levels towards the healthy middle range.9 So if you are topping up vitamin D, it makes sense to get enough magnesium too. Our guide to magnesium deficiency in India explains how common that gap is.
Vitamin K2 looks after bones. Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium. Vitamin K switches on the proteins that hold calcium in bone, and it has an approved claim for the maintenance of normal bones.5 Our vitamin K2 guide explains the forms.
Healthy fat helps it in. Vitamin D dissolves in fat, and fat in a meal, such as eggs, curd, nuts, ghee or oily fish, helps your gut take it in.3 Taking vitamin D with your main meal of the day is a simple routine. Our vitamin D3 and K2 guide explains how the two work together.
Vitamin D works better with its helpers.
Magnesium is the helper most people overlook. We made it our first product.
Magnesium Glycinate by Evo Hominus™
Launching first. 100% non-buffered, fully reacted magnesium bisglycinate: 440 mg of magnesium — India’s full daily need for men — from 3,667 mg of bisglycinate, with about 2.7 g of glycine and zero oxide. Magnesium contributes to the maintenance of normal bones and normal muscle function, and the enzymes that activate vitamin D need it. Three tablets a day (two for women), best taken in the evening.
See Magnesium Glycinate →Bioactive Multivitamin
Coming soon. Our daily multivitamin is in development. Join the waitlist to hear first when it launches.
Join the waitlist →Nutrient Gap Finder
Answer a few quick questions about your food, routine and symptoms to see which nutrients you may be running low on, and which tests to ask your doctor about.
Try the Nutrient Gap Finder →How to check a vitamin D supplement label
How do I choose a vitamin D supplement?
Look for vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which raises blood levels more and for longer than D2. Check the amount per day against the 600 IU target. If you are vegetarian or vegan, look for D3 from lichen, since most D3 is made from lanolin from sheep’s wool. Keep high-dose sachets for when a doctor prescribes them.
A daily amount near 600 IU
Shown as 600 IU or 15 mcg per day.
The source, if you are vegan
Lichen D3 is plant-based. Most other D3 comes from lanolin, from sheep’s wool.3
Self-dosing with 60,000 IU sachets
These are for short courses a doctor prescribes. The safe upper level for daily use is 4,000 IU.3
- The 70 to 100% figure comes from a review of many Indian studies of different sizes and cut-offs, not a single national survey.1 A pooled analysis of South Asian adults put India at about two in three below 20 ng/mL.10
- The Delhi pollution study measured 12.4 against 27.1 ng/mL in toddlers from two areas; it was small and in young children.4
- The magnesium trial gave magnesium only, to 180 adults; it raised vitamin D when levels were low and lowered it when they were high, which is why researchers describe magnesium as helping to optimise vitamin D.9
- In people who already have enough vitamin D, extra does not add benefit: a large trial of 2,000 IU a day found no fewer fractures, and no difference in depression or heart disease.11,3
- For colds and chest infections, pooled trials show at most a small protective effect from vitamin D supplements.12
- The 2024 Endocrine Society guideline suggests against routine vitamin D blood tests in healthy adults; testing is for people with signs or risk factors.6
- Too much vitamin D raises blood calcium and can harm the kidneys. The upper level for adults is 4,000 IU a day unless a doctor advises otherwise.3
- The sleep and hair-thinning links come from observational studies, which show an association, not that low vitamin D causes them; trials of vitamin D for sleep have mixed results.14
- The worldwide figure pooled 7.9 million people from 2000 to 2022; the authors could not give reliable estimates for single countries, and the Eastern Mediterranean region had the highest rates.13
- Higher-dose courses vary by doctor and by blood level; the 60,000 IU weekly sachet is a common Indian prescription, not a self-care dose.
- European approved claims describe what a nutrient does at adequate intakes; they are not claims to treat any illness.5
Vitamin D in India, answered plainly.
Why are Indians vitamin D deficient despite so much sunlight?
How common is vitamin D deficiency in India?
What are the signs of low vitamin D?
How much vitamin D do I need each day?
Can I get vitamin D through a window?
What is the best time to get sunlight for vitamin D in India?
What is a normal vitamin D level?
Which foods have vitamin D?
Is vitamin D3 better than D2?
Is vitamin D3 vegetarian?
Should I take magnesium with vitamin D?
Can I take a 60,000 IU vitamin D sachet every week on my own?
Is vitamin D deficiency common in Indians?
How to increase vitamin D quickly?
Which country has the most vitamin D deficiency?
How do you feel if vitamin D is very low?
Why do Indians have low vitamin D and B12?
Which Indian food has the highest vitamin D?
What are the 10 signs of low vitamin D?
Which food is highest in vitamin D?
What drink has high vitamin D?
Which organ is affected by vitamin D deficiency?
Can low vitamin D affect sleep?
How long does it take to fix vitamin D deficiency?
Studies behind this guide
- Ritu G, Gupta A. Vitamin D deficiency in India: prevalence, causalities and interventions. Nutrients. 2014;6(2):729–775. PMID 24566435
- Sowah D, Fan X, Dennett L, Hagtvedt R, Straube S. Vitamin D levels and deficiency with different occupations: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2017;17:519. PMID 28637448 — 71 studies, 53,425 people.
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin D: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. ods.od.nih.gov
- Agarwal KS, Mughal MZ, Upadhyay P, Berry JL, Mawer EB, Puliyel JM. The impact of atmospheric pollution on vitamin D status of infants and toddlers in Delhi, India. Arch Dis Child. 2002;87(2):111–113. adc.bmj.com
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012: list of permitted health claims made on foods — vitamin D and vitamin K entries.
- Demay MB, Pittas AG, Bikle DD, et al. Vitamin D for the prevention of disease: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2024;109(8):1907–1947. PMID 38828931
- ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Nutrient Requirements for Indians: Recommended Dietary Allowances and Estimated Average Requirements, 2020. nin.res.in
- Uwitonze AM, Razzaque MS. Role of magnesium in vitamin D activation and function. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2018;118(3):181–189.
- Dai Q, Zhu X, Manson JE, et al. Magnesium status and supplementation influence vitamin D status and metabolism: results from a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018;108(6):1249–1258. PMID 30541089
- Siddiqee MH, Bhattacharjee B, Siddiqi UR, MeshbahurRahman M. High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among the South Asian adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2021;21:1823. doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11888-1
- LeBoff MS, Chou SH, Ratliff KA, et al. Supplemental vitamin D and incident fractures in midlife and older adults (VITAL). N Engl J Med. 2022;387(4):299–309.
- Jolliffe DA, et al. Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of stratified aggregate data. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2025;13(4):307–320. PMID 39993397
- Cui A, Zhang T, Xiao P, Fan Z, Wang H, Zhuang Y. Global and regional prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in population-based studies from 2000 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 7.9 million participants. Front Nutr. 2023;10:1070808. PMID 37006940
- Gao Q, Kou T, Zhuang B, Ren Y, Dong X, Wang Q. The association between vitamin D deficiency and sleep disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients. 2018;10(10):1395. doi:10.3390/nu10101395