What Does Vitamin D Do?

Written by Sam · Filed Under Supplements  235 views

Getting adequate vitamin and mineral support is an important factor in your overall health and wellness.

Whether you’re trying to lose weight or just get fit, you should be thinking about whether you’re getting the daily recommended dose of key vitamins and minerals.

One vitamin that’s often discussed today is Vitamin D. But what’s the deal with this vitamin? And how much should you be getting on a daily basis? Let’s take a closer look…

What Does Vitamin D Do?

Vitamin D is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin because sunlight is the most common source. Some foods do contain trace amounts of vitamin D, but it’s just not enough to meet our body’s needs.

Vitamin D’s most basic role is in hormone functioning. This vitamin actually functions as a steroid hormone and is responsible for gene expression, among other things, making it a pretty important component in many bodily processes.

But the benefits of Vitamin D are much greater and more varied than that. In fact, Vitamin D has been shown to play a key role in illness and disease. For example, Vitamin D appears to reduce your risk of heart disease, many cancers, bone loss, and Alzheimer’s disease. It also helps support immune functioning, reduces anxiety and depression, fights acne, and plays a significant role in Type II diabetes.

Believe it or not, Vitamin D can also help you lose weight! A recent study from the University of Minnesota found that people are more likely to lose weight when taking Vitamin D supplements. Researchers reported that increasing the Vitamin D levels of obese men and women led to a 50% increase in weight loss compared to those whose Vitamin D levels remained the same. This was in combination with a healthy diet plan.

What this means is that supplementing with Vitamin D is not only effective in improving overall health, but it’s also effective in helping you reach your weight loss goals. Combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise, you should see some additional success with Vitamin D.

How Much Vitamin D Should I be Getting?

You should be supplementing with Vitamin D, especially if you live in the Northern hemisphere. You simply won’t get enough Vitamin D from the sun to support regular bodily processes, even in the summer months!

While taking a multivitamin can be helpful (I would recommend Armor-V Vitamins), you won’t get enough Vitamin D with this supplement alone. You should be supplementing with at least 1000 IU of Vitamin D daily, and up to 5000 IU depending on your goals and needs. 1000 IU is the minimum, so don’t be scared to increase that dosage. Of course it’s always important to consult a medical professional is you have specific issues or concerns.

I recommend investing in a good Vitamin D supplement like NOW Vitamin D. These are softgels, which means they’ll be more effectively absorbed by your body. Definitely go for the 1000 IU option or greater. By adding Vitamin D to your diet, you’ll be taking an important step towards better health!

Have any questions or feedback about Vitamin D? Please leave a comment below…

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