The “Got Milk” campaign helped spread the news that you just have to have calcium if you want strong bones, but there’s more to the story than milk moustaches.  Your body lacks the ability to process calcium on its own.  You could consume calcium until the cows come home, but it would do you no good without vitamin D.  Why?  Because your digestive tract cannot absorb calcium without vitamin D.

How do you get vitamin D?  While you can get it from certain foods (I’ll tell you which in a minute) the primary source of this vitamin is that big yellow ball in the sky.  Simply spending a few minutes in the sun every couple of days is enough to give you all the vitamin D you need.  That’s not a big deal for most of us, even if we spend most of our time at a desk.  You can get sunlight by walking outside on your lunch break rather than sticking to the break room for the full hour.

But if you might not be getting enough sun and you’re concerned about getting vitamin D, you can it from the yolks of eggs, fish oils, or your morning orange juice.  Some milk and other products have vitamin D added to them and these are clearly labeled.