The importance of vitamin D became clear to a lot of people during the Covid-19 pandemic as we started to see the dramatic relationship between bad infection outcomes and vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is also important for strong bones and is essential for mood, and may play a role in depressive symptoms. Additionally, new research out of the University of South Australia found that “vitamin D deficiency is associated with premature death.” How much vitamin D do we need? According to the Mayo Clinic, a daily amount of 600 IU’s is recommended for people ages 1 – 70 and 800 IUs is recommended for anyone over 70. It is essential to get tested to understand if you need to be taking a supplement and, if so, how much.