Everyone now knows how crucial Vitamin D is for you. There are hundreds of studies that show:

• Vitamin D boosts your immune system.
• Vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium and phosphorous in your body. So you can maintain stronger bones.
• Vitamin D strengthens the blood cells around your retina. So you support your eyesight.
• Vitamin D helps limit joint pain. So you can have less pain in your knees.
• Vitamin D supports your heart. So you protect the most important muscle in your body.
• Vitamin D plays a crucial role in keeping your body strong and full of vigor.

Why You're Not Able To Get Enough Vitamin D Every Day

Why You're Not Able To Get Enough Vitamin D Every Day

Unfortunately, most people aren't getting enough Vitamin D. There are several reasons why:

First, few foods are naturally rich in Vitamin D. Fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel top the list. And while other foods like milk, cereal and juices are fortified with Vitamin D, it's usually a scant amount — and often in the wrong form.

Second, your body makes Vitamin D when your skin is exposed to the sun. But in winter, the days are shorter, the sun is lower, and we spend more time indoors. Summer may not be any better. Many people stay inside the air conditioning to beat the heat. Plus, what are you constantly warned to do? Stay out of the sun entirely or plaster yourself with sunscreen! Sunscreen creates a barrier between your skin and the sun — preventing your body from making natural Vitamin D.

Finally, the older you get, the less efficient your body is at making Vitamin D on its own. It's no wonder that 70% of my patients that I test have a Vitamin D level that is much too low.

So what should you do?

As I mentioned to you earlier, eating Vitamin D rich foods isn't enough. In a perfect world, you could get all the Vitamin D you need from natural sunshine. But since that's not always possible, the best way to boost your Vitamin D levels is with a high-quality supplement.

Unfortunately, a lot of Vitamin D supplements on the market aren't worth the money. First of all, many brands use Vitamin D2, a synthetic form of the vitamin made in the laboratory. The natural form, Vitamin D3, is at least three times more potent than Vitamin D2. Plus, D3 is more easily used by your body.

Second, many brands come in dosages that are pitifully low. You see, the RDA for Vitamin D is only 400 IU. That was the amount recommended 50 years ago, before modern research studies were done.

These studies show that the optimum amount to take is 2,000-10,000 IU a day — dozens of times the amount of the RDA! That's the amount you need to protect your immune system, your heart, your joints, and your eyes.

It's also the amount you would get from being exposed to 15-20 minutes of sunshine in the middle of the day. Which means it's perfectly safe. In fact, studies show that you'd have to take 40,000-100,000 IU a day for several months before you experienced any negative effects.