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Written by Phil Daru: Owner of Daru Fitness Performance, Author, and Exercise Science Student at KU, College of Golf and Sport Management

What is Vitamin D? 

Vitamin D is a micronutrient steroid hormone that affects over 1,000 different genes in the body. It controls expression of over those one thousand genes, it can be found in sunlight (UVB), food (fish, milk, nuts) and in vitamin form.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that can drastically improve mental and physical performance. The average amount a person should consume on a daily basis is around 1,000 to 3,000 IU. Depending on a blood test, adequate levels can be varied. 30-80 nanogram’s per milliliter are average levels of vitamin D; if you are lower than 30ng/ml, then it is vital to get the levels back up to optimal.

Vitamin D is responsible for boosting athletic performance, aids in the aging process, and recent studies have shown it to reduce cancer cells by up to 30%. The most important Vitamin D is D3 which comes from UVB radiation. It will give you all the positive benefits of this incredible vitamin. So make sure you get your D’s in and live a long healthy life in the process.

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