How much Vitamin D should I take?

Everyone has heard of Vitamin D, but can anyone really explain what it does or where you can get it?

In this article, we’ll explain what Vitamin D is. We’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 humans 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:

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 strengthen to 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 with.

One of the best ways to actively prevent it is with a Vitamin D supplement. That way, you’re getting the Vitamin D you need, and 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.

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 the cause of this can be the fact there is less sunlight and increasing levels of vitamin D deficiency across the population. Therefore by having appropriate vitamin D levels, you can increase your mood and feel better.

At this point, it should be pretty clear to everyone 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.

In the modern world, it’s possible that you are getting enough Vitamin D through your diet and other methods, but with staggering statistics that 60-70% of Americans are Vitamin D deficient, there’s a good chance you’re not.

Therefore, you will want to look at some nutritional changes and proper 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 hard to get enough Vitamin D from your diet alone. Most foods that contain Vitamin D are fortified for it but don’t come with a lot of natural Vitamin D.

Foods fortified with Vitamin D include:

• Milk
• Cereal
• Eggs
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Mackerel
• Sardines

The problem 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 humans with higher levels of bioavailable Vitamin D than D2 does.

Supplements

There are a variety of Vitamin D supplements on the market. 1st Phorm also has developed its 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 it’s 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 good practice is to get 10-30 minutes of sun time a day if you can! If you can’t shoot more for 20-30 minutes at least 3 times a week. 

You need to get that much sun before your body will start producing the proper amount of Vitamin D.

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 (IUs) of Vitamin D per day. They also recommend that you increase that to 800 IUs per day when you turn 70.

On the other hand, the Endocrine Society recommends that you consume anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 IUs of Vitamin D every day, whereas many other recommendations range from 5,000IUs to 10,000 IUs a day.

More importantly is that you should not get anywhere near 40,000 IUs of Vitamin D a day, for an extended period of time. That’s when you’re body will 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

Which reaching those levels is pretty hard to hit… actually, I can’t think of or know anyone that actually has hit that level… but still, be aware of it.

1st Phorm Can Help You Get The Vitamin D You Need

If you are someone who is low in Vitamin D and you are struggling to get adequate amounts in through nutrition and lifestyle … or you just want the peace of mind you are getting enough Vitamin D, then check out Liposomal Vitamin D3.

By using a Liposomal Vitamin D3 your body will better absorb and utilize it than other Vitamin D supplements on the market.

Come and check out 1st Phorm’s Vitamin D for yourself today!

If you have questions about Vitamin D or your plan, please feel free to contact us here at 1st Phorm Head Quarters 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.