Food Sources of Vitamin D
USDA databases compiled in the 1980s list the following foods as rich in vitamin D. The amounts given are for 100 grams or about 3 1/2 ounces. These figures demonstrate the difficulty in obtaining 4,000 IU vitamin D per day from ordinary foods in the American diet. Three servings of herring, oysters, catfish, mackerel or sardines plus generous amounts of butter, egg yolk, lard or bacon fat and 2 teaspoons cod liver oil (500 iu per teaspoon) yield about 4,000 IU vitamin D—a very rich diet indeed!

Cod Liver Oil 
Lard (Pork Fat) 
Atlantic Herring (Pickled) 
Eastern Oysters (Steamed) 
Catfish (Steamed/Poached) 
Skinless Sardines (Water Packed) 
Mackerel (Canned/Drained) 
Smoked Chinook Salmon 
Sturgeon Roe 
Shrimp (Canned/Drained) 
Egg Yolk (Fresh) 
(One yolk contains about 24 IU)
Butter 
Lamb Liver (Braised) 
Beef Tallow 
Pork Liver (Braised) 
Beef Liver (Fried) 
Beef Tripe (Raw) 
Beef Kidney (Simmered) 
Chicken Livers (Simmered) 
Small Clams (Steamed/Cooked Moist) 
Blue Crab (Steamed) 
Crayfish/Crawdads (Steamed) 
Northern Lobster (Steamed) 
 10,000
2,800
680
642
500
480
450
320
232
172
148

56
20
19
12
12
12
12
12
8
4
4
4