Turns out Vitamin D is even better for you.  A recent study concluded that people with healthy levels of Vitamin D in their blood had a 20% reduction in all-cause mortality.

Vitamin D has been shown to effect almost every disease known to man.  In fact, there are only two hormones that every tissue in your body has a receptor site for: Thyroid Hormone and Vitamin D (technically Vitamin D is a hormone).  This means that Vitamin D can literally effect every single aspect of your body and health.

Translation: Vitamin D is ESSENTIAL to good health and a long life.

“Okay, what do I do?”

Glad you asked.  First, go get a blood test ran.  Almost all doctors can run a Vitamin D test and you’re insurance should cover it.  If not, there are plenty of labs that you can order the test yourself through, they run anywhere from $35-$70. The test you want is called 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (NOT 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D).  And you want your results to be close to 50 ng/dL (35 minimum) or 120 nmol/L (80 minimum) depending on which measurement your lab uses.

Once you have your results, you should supplement to bring that up to optimal (don’t go over the above levels).  There are two methods that you can use for supplementing.  The first, is to take a daily dose.  Anywhere from 10,000-25,000 IU per day depending on how far from optimal you are.  The second option is to use two mega-doses per week.  This method is more effective at raising levels, but harder to remember for some.  Doses of 30,000-100,000 IU, 2x per week can be very effective at raising your vitamin D levels

Get retested every 4-8 weeks to make sure your levels don’t get too high.

I recommend to my clients Poliquin’s D3 Imulsion.  It is a a liquid Vitamin D supplement that comes in a dropper form.  It is the easiest form to supplement with (that I’ve found), especially for higher doses.