You may have heard of Vitamin D, but do you really know what it is or why it is so important ... especially this time of year?
Something to think about is that roughly 60-70% of Americans are deficient in Vitamin D.
I know, when I first saw this number I was shocked too.
There may be a chance you get enough through your diet, but odds are, like most of us, you do not.
Even with a well-balanced diet, I found out that I was Vitamin D deficient last year.
So, from first-hand experience, I can tell you that it's important to pay attention to vitamin D intake.
With that, understanding that Vitamin D is vital in things like immune function, energy levels, bone health and many other processes in our body is also important.
We need to be making sure that we are at a sufficient level at all times!
In this article, I’ll explain what Vitamin D is. I’ll also explain dosing recommendations and how to make sure you’re meeting them.
What Is Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that we can consume from foods and supplements. We can also produce it on our own, thanks to the sun, but we’ll talk more about that later.
Vitamin D is used for a variety of biological processes. Below are just a few of them:
Immune function – Your immune system is what the body uses to fight off disease and infection. Vitamin D has been shown to improve your overall immune function, so you get sick less often.
Improve Mood – The link between depression and Vitamin D deficiency symptoms has long been established in both children and adults.
You might have even heard of “seasonal depression” that happens during the winter. One factor for this is the lack of sunlight and increasing levels of Vitamin D deficiency across the population.
Therefore, by having appropriate Vitamin D levels, you can increase your mood, have more energy, and feel better overall.
Calcium absorption – Your body needs Vitamin D in order to absorb calcium.
Calcium is absorbed in the stomach and a lack of Vitamin D makes your stomach significantly less efficient at absorbing this essential mineral.
Without a proper dose of Vitamin D, it’s quite possible that you’re consuming plenty of calcium, but your body still isn’t getting enough of it to keep your bones healthy and strong.
Bone growth – Vitamin D doesn’t just play a role in calcium absorption, but it’s also involved in bone growth itself.
Without proper Vitamin D levels, it can potentially lead to weak, brittle bones because your body can’t do what it needs to do to strengthen them.
This increases your chances of injury, and it can lead to other physical problems too.
Prevents osteoporosis – Osteoporosis is a bone condition where your skeletal system becomes weak from tissue loss.
You can develop osteoporosis as a result of changing hormones or because you’re lacking the proper levels of calcium and Vitamin D. Osteoporosis is a disease nobody wants to suffer from.
One way that may actively help prevent it is with a Liposomal Vitamin D supplement. That way, you’re getting the Vitamin D you need, plus you’re increasing your body’s natural ability to absorb calcium.
Cell growth – Along with bone growth, your cells also need Vitamin D in order to grow and function properly.
At this point, it should be pretty clear why Vitamin D is so important. Really, it’s not a matter of if you need Vitamin D, but if you’re getting enough of it.
Therefore, you may want to look at some nutritional changes and high-quality vitamin D supplementation to fulfill your vitamin D requirements.
Where Can I Get Vitamin D
Food
Vitamin D isn’t in a lot of foods. In fact, it’s pretty difficult to get enough Vitamin D from your diet alone. Most foods that contain Vitamin D are fortified, meaning it's added in, but those high levels of Vitamin D are not naturally occurring in those foods.
Foods fortified with Vitamin D include:
- Milk
- Cereal
- Eggs
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Mackerel
- Sardines
An issue with most of these foods is that they’re fortified with Vitamin D2, which is a subtype of Vitamin D.
The problem with Vitamin D2 is that your body cannot utilize it as easily as it can other forms of Vitamin D. For example, Vitamin D3 provides higher levels of bioavailable Vitamin D than D2 does.
Supplements
There are a variety of Vitamin D supplements on the market. At 1st Phorm, we've also developed our own high-quality and highly-effective Liposomal Vitamin D supplement.
Supplements are a great way to get the necessary levels of Vitamin D you need. Just make sure your supplements come from a reputable company and that they’re using the best, bioavailable forms of Vitamin D.
As we mentioned before, if the supplement you’re looking at contains Vitamin D2, you should probably keep looking.
Sun
Vitamin D is an important vitamin that performs essential biological processes, and one of the most common sources of Vitamin D is the sun.
That’s right, the sun.
The human body can create its own Vitamin D if it’s exposed to a sufficient amount of sunlight.
How much sunlight is enough, you ask?
Well, that will depend on a few factors. But a good practice is to get 10-30 minutes of sun time a day, if you can! If you can’t, shoot for 20-30 minutes at least 3 times a week.
How Much Vitamin D Should I Take
Now you know what Vitamin D does, and you know where you can get it, but how much Vitamin D do you need?
Unfortunately, there’s no straightforward answer to that question.
The Institute of Medicine recommends that young adults get about 600 international units (IU's) of Vitamin D per day. They also recommend that you increase that to 800 IU's per day once you turn 70.
On the other hand, the Endocrine Society recommends that you consume anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 IU's of Vitamin D every day, whereas many other recommendations range from 5,000IUs to 10,000 IU's a day.
One important note though, you should probably not get anywhere near 40,000 IU's of Vitamin D a day, for an extended period of time. That’s when your body may start experiencing Vitamin D toxicity.
Vitamin D toxicity includes symptoms like:
- Poor appetite
- A general sick feeling
- Abdominal pain
- Thirst
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Muscle weakness
- Lethargy
While reaching those levels is rather difficult to do … actually, I can’t think of or know anyone that actually has hit that level … you should still be conscious of it.
1st Phorm Can Help You Get The Vitamin D You Need
Now that you have an overview of what Vitamin D is and how it can help with immune function, energy/mood, healthy bones, and more...
We can focus on filling in the gap that most people suffer from, a lack of Vitamin D.
If you are someone who is low in Vitamin D, and you are struggling to get adequate amounts through your nutrition and lifestyle … or you just want the peace of mind that you are getting enough Vitamin D consistently, then check out Liposomal Vitamin D3.
By using Liposomal Vitamin D3, your body will better absorb and utilize it than other Vitamin D supplements on the market.
Tap the link to check out 1st Phorm’s Liposomal Vitamin D3 supplement for yourself today!
If you have questions about Vitamin D or your nutrition plan, please feel free to contact us here at 1st Phorm HQ, where one of our NASM Certified Personal Trainers and NASM Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialists can help you out … for FREE!
You can email us HERE or give us a call at 1-800-409-9732 Monday thru Friday, 6 am to 10 pm CST.
