Do you supplement with 2000-5000 IU of Vitamin D each day? Or, do you use your lunch hour to lie in the sun in just a loincloth? If not, you're likely low in vitamin D.



You could be raising your risk of developing a plethora of health problems, including diabetes, arthritis, dementia, bone loss, and getting the flu, just to name a few.



More than half of the world’s population is deficient in vitamin D, and as many as four out of five in the United States may be below optimal levels.



Fortunately, the most common micronutrient deficiency in the world is easily preventable. High-quality supplements are inexpensive, and if you live in the right latitude, you can get a healthy dose from moderate mid-day sun exposure.



After reading this article, you’ll understand why vitamin D is one of my Foundational Five, the best supplements for foundational health.



In all my many years of practice of medicine, I've never seen one vitamin, even vitamin C, have such a profound effect on human health.Dr. Soram Khalsa, board-certified internist and medical director of the East-West Medical Research Institute



What is Vitamin D?



Vitamin D is actually a pro-hormone, not a vitamin. It influences the expression of more than 200 genes and acts as a precursor to hormones such as DHEA and cortisol.



The active form of vitamin D is 25-hydroxy vitamin D, or 25(OH)D.



Through your diet, you consume vitamin D in two forms: ergocalciferol (D2) and cholecalciferol (D3). However, even if you eat fortified foods, the amount you consume through diet is a fraction of what you need each day.



Ergocalciferol comes from plants and is not converted to active vitamin D in the body very well. Cholecalciferol comes from animals and is the best form for increasing 25(OH)D. It's also the form most researchers use.



Of course, food and supplementation aren't the only ways to raise vitamin D. Since the time of Adam and Eve, sun exposure has been our main supplier.



In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Babylon, and Persia, sunlight (heliotherapy) prevented and treated various medical conditions.Juzeniene A, et al.



When your skin is exposed to sunlight, UVB rays stimulate the production of vitamin D.



To benefit from the sun's rays, you need to live close to the equator and expose most of your skin to the mid-day sun for 20-30 minutes. That would give you about 10,000 IU, or 200 times the amount in a glass of fortified milk.



Some practitioners believe exposing your private parts to the sun is the best way to get vitamin D to levels to rise. I have no personal experience, but if you have the right place to try nude sunbathing, go for it.



Today, we get more light from our computer screens and cell phones than light from the sun (a topic for another time, but that type of light could be cause far more damage than an occasional sunburn). Even when you get out in the sun, you're probably covered in so much sunblock that you can't benefit from the UVB rays anyway.



Since you’re probably not going to practice buck-naked sunbathing, or even get out in the sun very often at all, supplementation will be necessary to maintain optimal levels.



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Effects Of Low Vitamin D