Without proper nutrition, it is nearly impossible to achieve your health and fitness goals. You may be the kind of person who works out on a daily basis, takes a multivitamin and fish oil supplement, eats six small meals a day, and drinks at least eight eight-ounce glasses of water daily, but I bet you didn’t know that you aren’t getting enough Vitamin D in your diet. In fact, I bet there at quite a few things you don’t know about this vitamin. Read on to find out more.
Vitamin D Can Make You Live Longer
Everyone knows that Vitamin D is the vitamin that conquered Rickets and can help increase bone density. However, did you know that Vitamin D can help you live longer? According to several studies (including reports in the New England Journal of Medicine) Vitamin D can actually prolong your life. It has been linked to the prevention of type I and II diabetes, increased insulin sensitivity, and lower blood pressure. People with low levels of Vitamin D are at increased risks for several types of cancer, chronic fatigue, cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease.
Vitamin D Can Be a Performance Enhancing Substance
There have been studies that have shown Vitamin D supplementation can improve athletic performance. Vitamin D is known to improve power output, speed, raw strength, and endurance. At least one study has shown that those who supplemented with vitamin D see an increase in balance and reaction time (factors critical to high level sports performance). Vitamin D supplementation has also been shown to increase muscle mass by increasing the rate of protein synthesis.
Vitamin D Can Improve the Way You Look
Due to the fact that it improves insulin sensitivity many find that vitamin D supplementation helps them maintain a healthy body composition. Some studies have even shown that vitamin D supplementation increases the rate at which someone loses fat when they are on a low calorie diet. The vitamin has also been shown to decrease the cravings for sugars, which would help anyone in their fight to lose belly fat.
How Much?
While the “government” recommends about 200-400 IU of vitamin D daily many experts considers these numbers very low. While the numbers vary depending on who you ask most recommend somewhere between 1000 – 5000 IU a day.
So if you’re looking to improve the way you look, your performance, and your life span then you should seriously look into direct supplementation with Vitamin D.
References –
1. ” ‘D’ is for Doping”, Chris Shugart. http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_nutrition/d_is_for_doping
2. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D
