First of all, over 75% of all Americans are deficient in vitamin D. They either don’t get enough of it from food or sunshine, or their bodies don’t process it correctly. If you go outside regularly, you might think you are getting enough Vitamin D, but that is not necessarily true. To know, you really have to have your levels checked by a healthcare professional. 

Most people link Vitamin D with Calcium because we have heard that you need a proper amount of Vitamin D for the calcium to be absorbed in your body. But Vitamin D is needed for much more than that! In an article written by Dr. Stewart B. Leavitt entitled “Vitamin D for Chronic Pain”, we learn that Vitamin D really should be thought of as a prohormone, not just a vitamin. Low Vitamin D will affect your sleep and the production of your sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Vitamin D has its own receptors in almost every human tissue. Because of this, low levels of vitamin D really affects people with chronic pain. Low Vitamin D doesn’t create pain, but it does make people who are already in pain feel worse.

Although the FDA says the daily value for vitamin D is between 600-800IUs, we recommend taking 5000 IUs of vitamin D daily. This is because most people are so deficient that they need more than usual. It is also very difficult to take too much Vitamin D. Always check with your doctor if you are worried about your Vitamin D levels.