One of the easiest and dirt-cheap methods of increasing testosterone levels is by increasing your serum level of vitamin D3. "
A study found that giving men with low testosterone and vitamin D deficiency 3,332 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year raised their free testosterone levels by 20 percent. They also lost 6 kg over the course of the study! Vitamin D is thought to inhibit aromatization of testosterone to estrogen. See
Get Lean By Taking Vitamin D - It Raises Testosterone & Elevates Metabolism | Poliquin Article. "Low vitamin D is [also] associated with greater fat mass in all ages, races, and both genders. For instance,
a new study of overweight women found that those who took Vitamin D for 12 weeks lost 2.7 kg of fat compared to a placebo group that lost nothing. They didnt even modify diet or weight train" (
Take Vitamin D To Lose Fat & Gain Muscle | Poliquin Article).
Most people are seasonally, if not chronically, low or outright deficient in vitamin D3. "
The best way to know your vitamin D status is to have your doctor measure the blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (not to be confused with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D). The minimum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D required for health is controversial, and can also vary by the method used for measurement. However, most authorities have argued that a rock-bottom minimum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 30 ng/mL, or 75 nmol/L, is the point at which phenomena associated with deficiency begin to be corrected (
Vitamin D). According to Michael Faloon, editor of
Life Extension Magazine, "Some people waste their money by taking baseline 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood tests.
If you are not taking at least 3,000 IU of vitamin D each day with a heavy meal, you are almost certainly going to have insufficient blood levels. It's better to start taking a total of 3,000 to 8000 IU of vitamin D each day with your heaviest meal and then have your blood tested for 25-hydroxyvitamin D in 30-60 days (
Vitamin D Blood Levels - Life Extension).
For a dissenting opinion on long-term high-dose vitamin D supplementation, see
Precision Nutrition » Vitamin D supplements: Are yours helping or hurting you?.
