The best way to get more vitamin D is from the sun.

I recently asked friend and physical therapist, Alan Tyson, “If there was one supplement you would recommend to your otherwise healthy patients, what would it be?” You may or may not be surprised by his answer… it’s vitamin D.  He told me why it is so crucial and so I have highlighted his reasons and suggestions below. Very soon I will write another post which will explain how vitamin D affects performance in athletes.

Why Is Vitamin D Important?

Vitamin D plays a key role in the absorption of calcium.  When we don’t have adequate vitamin D stores, our body cannot absorb enough calcium from our diet that it needs, and this results in calcium depletion.  This depletion works to take calcium from our bones to maintain normal blood calcium levels and can often cause muscle and bone pain as well as muscle weakness.  This can ultimately lead to osteoporosis. [Read more…]