If you're not taking 5,000 or 10,000 IUs of D3 per day, you're doing it wrong.

Don't expect the 1,000 IUs in your multivitamin is enough. You need a MINIMUM of 5,000+ IUs per day for optimal health. The more you workout, the higher IUs you need. Go up to 15,000 to 20,000 for heavy days 4h+. The way it used to work is hunter gatherers would spend days under the sun hunting for animals. The body responded to sunlight, so being in the sun for extended periods would give these hunter gatherers D3 from the sun. Our current lifestyles are mainly indoors so we need a pill form of D3 to make up this outside deficiency.

Confirmed Health Benefits of Vitamin D3 OAWHealth - OAWHealth

1. Vitamin D3 Promotes Healthy Bones

Vitamin D is required to help your body control and absorb calcium from your diet and maintain the level of phosphorus in your blood. Both calcium and phosphorus are vital in maintaining your bones’ overall health and strength. Most of the calcium you consume would not be absorbed and would end up being excreted by the kidneys if it were not for Vitamin D. A vitamin D deficiency in the body often leads to poor bone density or even osteoporosis in senior adults.

2. Vitamin D3 Promotes a Healthy Immune Response

Vitamin D manages thousands of genes in your body. These genes rev up your immune system to fight bacteria and viruses. Vitamin D prompts antimicrobial peptide gene expression so your body can effectively fight infections. When your vitamin D levels are in an optimal range, the risk of catching flu, colds, and other respiratory illnesses are much lower. The theory is that a daily dose of 5,000 IUs of vitamin D may prevent colds and flu, with higher doses beneficial for exhibiting full-blown flu symptoms.

3. Vitamin D3 Supports Healthy Brain Function

Your brain also contains receptors for Vitamin D. Most of these receptors are found in areas of the brain linked to depression. Vitamin D aids in releasing neurotransmitters, mainly dopamine and serotonin, which can help with depression. One study indicates that adults who took high doses of vitamin D (4,000 IU/day) improved their depression symptoms in 2 months.

Your brain function is also affected by Vitamin D. Vitamin D supports, in mice studies, neurogenesis — the formation of new brain cells. Higher vitamin D levels in the body are associated with stronger short-term and working memory and a lesser risk of cognitive impairment that comes with aging or after a stroke. Enzymes in the brain involved in neurotransmitter synthesis and nerve growth are also regulated by vitamin D. Other research indicates that vitamin D also protects the neurons in the brain from damage.

4. Vitamin D3 Supports Healthy Blood Sugar Levels

There is a host of vitamin D receptors in the body’s cells, which regulate blood glucose. One particular study indicates that obese adults (at risk for type 2 diabetes but did not have diabetes) who consumed 2,000 IUs of a Vitamin D supplement every day improved their blood glucose levels, and insulin secretion from the pancreas improved. This is proof of the potential for Vitamin D to play a part in helping to slow down the advancement from pre-diabetes to diabetes in adults who are obese.

5. Vitamin D3 Supports Respiratory Health

Low levels of Vitamin D can play a part in poor respiratory health and lung function. A 2018 study from Australia indicates that respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis were significantly more common in people who presented with low levels of vitamin D. These researchers also found that people with high vitamin D levels presented with much better lung function. Additional studies show that vitamin D can help to lessen airway inflammation. This explains why lower vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of asthma attacks, and adequate vitamin D supplementation lowers the number of asthma exacerbations.

6. Vitamin D3 Supports Detoxification

You can support your body’s detoxification by getting more sunshine. Vitamin D3, known as the sunshine vitamin, kills harmful bacteria. Recent studies found that if you are getting just 20 minutes of sun a day, your body starts producing over 200 antimicrobials, killing off harmful bacteria, funguses, viruses, and parasites throughout your body. Research shows that vitamin D can help fight and kill off cancer cells.

7. Vitamin D3 Can Help Lower Your Biological Age

Recent research suggests that micronutrients, such as vitamin D hormone, folic acid, and vitamin B12, are involved in telomere biology and cellular aging. In particular, vitamin D is essential for various vital cellular processes, including cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. As a result of vitamin D’s multiple roles, it has been theorized that vitamin D could play a part in telomere biology and genomic stability, with potentially beneficial effects of this hormone on aging and age-related diseases. Vitamin D can reduce telomere shortening through anti-inflammatory. link.springer.com/…/jfa.2020.33 (2021). This study found a good association between the length of newborn telomeres and maternal vitamin D intake (diet + supplement) during the first trimester. www.mdpi.com/…/htm (2021)

In this review, higher circulating maternal folate and vitamin D concentrations were associated with increased telomere length academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/79/2/148/5910720?login=false (2021) Vitamin D modulates the expression of various ion channels in cells of hormone-sensitive tissues, including cancers, cardiovascular and neurological diseases. www.frontiersin.org/…/full (2020) Dietary magnesium intake is associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in middle-aged and elderly US adults.