If you’re like me, you have good intentions about taking your Vitamin D. We’ve all heard about the myriad benefits of having adequate amounts of D. But …. life has this way of getting away from you. And the Vitamin D sits on the shelf alone and lonely.

What would it take to truly convince you to make the effort to take that Vitamin D?

What if you heard that Vitamin D can actually increase your testosterone levels? Would that do the trick for you? Several studies suggest that supplementing with moderate amounts of Vitamin D can do exactly that. The gains weren’t huge, about 20%, but are considered statistically significant.

It’s important to realize that these studies were conducted in men who had low blood levels of Vitamin D. This means that correcting a deficiency helped increase T levels, but for those who already have adequate levels of Vitamin D, supplementing is not going to hugely boost their T levels . However, most doctors agree that a large majority of the U.S. population is deficient, particularly those people in the northern latitudes and people who don’t get outside much or who wear sunscreen when they are outside.

Still not convinced? Okay. Here’s more.

What if I told you that you’re twice as likely to have a heart attack if you’re a man with low Vitamin D levels? Would that be enough to do it for you?

Need more?

You have a 62% lower risk of getting Multiple Sclerosis if you have the highest blood levels of Vitamin D versus those people with the lowest levels. If you’ve had MS, your relapse risk goes down 12% for each 4ng/mL increase in your blood levels of vitamin D.

That’s not all, though.

If you’re like most guys, prostate cancer is on your short list of things you want to avoid. Multiple studies have shown that having sufficient levels of Vitamin D plays a significant role in prevention of various types of cancer, including aggressive prostate, colorectal, breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.

What about if you’re not worried about your T levels, heart attacks, cancer or MS? You’re just tired of getting the flu every winter. Well, in a study of Japanese school kids, those kids who supplemented with 1200 units of Vitamin D per day were 40% less likely to get Influenza A than the kids who got a placebo.

Okay, enough already. You’re convinced that you need to take your Vitamin D. What kind and how much?

How much is complicated. Different organizations recommend different amounts and even the same organization recommends different amounts depending on why you’re taking it. The Vitamin D Council recommends taking roughly 5000 units per day for most people. However, if you are taking it for a disease like MS or prostate cancer, you may be advised to take as much as 10,000 units per day. If you take that much, you should also have your blood tested periodically to check your serum levels. There are also a few conditions that are contraindicators for taking Vitamin D, so it’s smart to check with your doctor before starting.

The best kind of Vitamin D to take is Vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is less than one-third as potent as D3 based on how well it elevates blood levels of Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is one of the easiest vitamins to take because it doesn’t matter what time of day you take it and you don’t have to take it with a meal. You can take it in pill or liquid form. In fact, it doesn’t really matter how you take it as long as you take it.

I know. You have good intentions, but you always forget to take your Vitamin D. 

Several people I’ve worked with have worked this out by putting their Vitamin D by something they use every day. One client put his next to his coffee maker, one takes his lunch to work, so keeps it in his lunchbox. I keep mine in my medicine cabinet and take it when I brush my teeth. Just establish a routine where you’ll remember to take it each day.

The last reason to take Vitamin D? It makes you a good lover.

Okay, I totally made that up. And I didn’t really give you 101 reasons. But you should still take your Vitamin D, anyway. 😉

More on Vitamin D in Part 2.