You train for hours, spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on equipment but if your level of this one powerful substance are not optimal you will not get the benefits of all your hear work and money. I am not talking about a new supplement with fancy packaging or high-end marketing but a substance that our body has relied on for thousands and thousands of years.
The substance is vitamin D. And I want to emphatically state that optimizing your vitamin D3 level may be the single, most important thing you can do for your health and performance.
It is important to know that Vitamin D really isn’t a vitamin that you get from dairy but rather, a hormone-like substance that your skin manufactures when exposed to the UV-B rays of the sun.
Vitamin D contributes to peak athletic performance by directing the physical processes involved with muscular function, strength and recovery. In addition, it drives physical reaction time, balance and coordination. In order to understand how vitamin D can impact your athletic performance, it’s important to understand that it functions—much like a steroid hormone (due to its highly-anabolic ability to promote growth, repair and recovery).
What is even more interesting is that the connection between vitamin D and athletic performance has long been known. During the 1960’s and 70’s, the Germans and Russians won many Olympic medals, attributing their success to vitamin D. A 1945 study confirmed that just two minutes of UV exposure three times a week could improve cardiovascular fitness scores by 19 percent. A study dating back to 1938 showed that 100-meter dash times were improved from 13.63 to 12.62 seconds with the use of ultraviolet lamps.
Even in ancient times, many knew the therapeutic benefits that the sun provided (within moderation). Herbert Shelton, famous natural hygiene proponent of the early 20th century, wrote:
“Positive evidence of the hygienic use of the sun is found in the history of the Egyptians and other peoples. The Babylonians, Egyptians and Assyrians had their sun gardens; the Greeks their helioses; the Romans their solaria… The great sanitarium of Hippocrates, on the Island of Cos, was equipped with a large solarium for the use of the sun. The Roman thermæ were all equipped with solaria for those taking sun-baths. Hippocrates extols the exsiccative (drying) action of sun-light. Herodotus gives extensive instructions for the use of the sun-bath, emphasizing its effect in strengthening the muscles and nerves. Antyllos describes at some length the effects of sunlight, his description comparing well with those of modern users. Philostratus tells us that the Olympian athletes were required to take sun-baths."
Yet as powerful of a nutrient for health and performance, 95% of the athletes we have assessed—even those who train regularly outdoors—have less than optimal levels (less than 55 ng/ml) of vitamin D. And even more importantly, those who have restored their vitamin D3 to an optimal level have been able to measurably improve their performance, recover from hard efforts faster and depend on the support of a stronger, more responsive immune system.
So the take home point here is... if you truly care about your health and performance, assess your vitamin D3 levels (a simple finger-stick is all that is needed) and then use a combination of sun when possible with a low-cost, highly-absorbable form of vitamin D3 to raise your D levels between 55 and 75 ng/ml. It is the best performance and health decision you can make!