Vitamin D is typically referenced as the sunshine vitamin considering that the vitamin’s major resource is attained by means of sun exposure. However, quite a few people today are vitamin D deficient.
Vitamin D is a body fat-soluble hormone that plays a vital position in bone wellness, muscle mass operate, adaptive immunity, and several human conditions like cancer, diabetes, and musculoskeletal health and fitness.2
Vitamin D Deficiency
In actuality, vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide community health situation.
About 1 billion persons worldwide have vitamin D deficiency, even though in excess of 77% of the basic population is insufficient.1 So, what does that signify if you are an athlete who plays an indoor sport, trains indoors year-round, and seldom receives outside throughout the day?
What if you also dwell in the northern hemisphere? Odds are you are not receiving ample vitamin D. Inadequate sun exposure can substantially increase your possibility of vitamin D deficiency. It can direct to a range of unfavorable wellness implications and hinder athletic performance.
Investigate has illustrated that vitamin D considerably influences muscle weak point, agony, harmony, and fractures in the growing older populace.1
Vitamin D performs a important role in:1
Vitamin D deficiency happens as blood levels fall to less than 20 ng/mL (< nmol/L), while vitamin D insufficiency for athletes is defined as blood levels reaching between 20-32 ng/mL (50-80 nmol/L).
Research has indicated that 40-50 ng/mL (100-125 nmol/L) seems ideal for optimizing athletic performance.1
Who’s at High Risk?
The people at high risk for vitamin D deficiency:1,5
- Decreased dietary intake: Certain malabsorption syndromes like celiac disease, short bowel syndrome, gastric bypass, inflammatory bowel diseases
- Decreased sun exposure. Roughly 50% to 90% of vitamin D is absorbed through the skin. Twenty minutes of sunshine daily, with 40% of skin exposed, is required to prevent deficiency.
- Aging adults: The ability to synthesize vitamin D decreases by as much as 75% as we age.
- Overweight and obese individuals: Those who carry excess body fat can increase their risk of up to 55% due to vitamin D being trapped in adipose tissue and being unavailable in the bloodstream.
See the previous blog on factors that influence vitamin D levels.
Athletes Who Play Indoor Sports
Athletes who play indoor sports are at a greater risk of vitamin D deficiency.
Hockey players specifically spend a great deal of their time training, conditioning, and competing indoors, making it difficult to attain vitamin D through sun exposure. To add to the statistics, another study found that as much as 88% of the population receives less than the optimal amount of vitamin D.3
Several studies link vitamin D status to bone health and the overall prevention of bone injuries in the athletic population.
Research and Vitamin D Deficiency
Studies have illustrated that inadequate vitamin D levels are linked to a greater risk of stress fractures in young men and women published in the Journal of Foot & Ankle Surgery.4
A study published in the journal, Nutrients assessed vitamin D status among college men and women basketball players in the season. The players were either allocated a high-dose, low dose, or no vitamin D depending on their circulation 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels at the beginning of the study to identify the optimal dosage of vitamin D3 supplementation optimal status.
The findings demonstrated that 13 of the 20 participants were vitamin D insufficient at baseline. Another finding was that of the athletes sampled, and the darker skin pigmentation increased the risk of vitamin D insufficiency at baseline.
Researchers found that most athletes who were vitamin D insufficient benefited from supplementation of 10,000 IU to improve their status.5
The study also suggests that professional football players deficient in vitamin D may also have a greater risk of bone fractures.7
Increasing power output is every athlete’s desire as it can translate into improved performance on the field. Your muscle tissues have several key receptor sites for vitamin D, and they will help support power production.1
A study in soccer players found that increasing baseline vitamin D status over an 8-week period leads to increased vertical jump and 10-meter sprint times.9
Of course, we need further research in this area to identify the relationship between vitamin D levels and power output.
Still, the current literature is promising and that, at minimum, baseline vitamin D levels should be desired.
Sources of Vitamin D
The best vitamin D sources include egg yolks, mushrooms, fortified milk, yogurt, cheese, salmon, mackerel.8
Vitamin D rich food sources:
- 6 oz. fortified yogurt = 80 IU
- 3 oz. of salmon = 794 IU
- 1 cup of fortified cereal = 40 IU
- 1 cup of fortified milk = 120 IU
- 1 egg yolk = 41 IU
- 1 cup of fortified orange juice = 137 IU
Practical applications
Athletes who train indoors, consume little vitamin D rich sources and live> 35 degrees north or south may well reward from a vitamin dietary supplement of 1,500 – 2,000 IU per day to preserve vitamin D concentrations within a enough assortment.
Athletes who may perhaps have a background of anxiety fractures, regular disease, suffering or weak spot, or overtraining indications ought to have their vitamin D standing evaluated.
Vitamin D is finest absorbed when taken with a food that incorporates extra fat.
It is crucial to follow up with a medical doctor to assess vitamin D levels even further and meet with a registered dietitian to go over nourishment intervention further more.
References
1. Ogan, D., & Pritchett, K. “Vitamin D and the athlete: threats, tips, and benefits.” Nutrition, 5(6), 1856–1868. 2013.
2. Umar, M., Sastry, K. S., & Chouchane, A. I., “Position of Vitamin D Past the Skeletal Operate: A Critique of the Molecular and Scientific Studies.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2018,19(6),1618.
3. Bendik, I., Friedel, A., Roos, F. F., Weber, P., & Eggersdorfer, M. “Vitamin D: a essential and critical micronutrient for human well being.” Frontiers in Physiology, 5, 248, 2014.
4. Elsevier Overall health Sciences. (2015, December 14). “Small degrees of vitamin D could raise possibility of stress fractures in active people: Gurus propose energetic people who take part in larger affect functions may perhaps have to have to preserve greater vitamin D stages.” ScienceDaily. Retrieved Oct 19, 2020.
5. Sizar O, Khare S, Goyal A, et al. “Vitamin D Deficiency.” [Updated 2020 Jul 21]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing 2020 Jan-.
6. Sekel, N.M. Gallo, S. Fields, J. Jagim, A.R. Wagner, T. Jones, M.T. “The Consequences of Cholecalciferol Supplementation on Vitamin D Status Between a Varied Populace of Collegiate Basketball Athletes: A Quasi-Experimental Trial.” Vitamins and minerals, 2020, 12, 370.
7. National Institutes of Wellness – Office environment of Dietary Dietary supplements – “Vitamin D – Reality Sheet for Health and fitness Gurus.” [accessed October 19, 2020].
8. Maroon JC, Mathyssek CM, Bost JW, Amos A, Winkelman R, Yates AP, Duca MA, Norwig JA. “Vitamin D profile in Countrywide Football League players.” Am J Sporting activities Med. 2015 May well43(5):1241-5. Epub 2015 Feb 3. PMID: 25649084.
9. Shut, G. L., Russell, J., Cobley, J. N., Owens, D. J., Wilson, G., Gregson, W., Fraser, W. D., & Morton, J. P., “Evaluation of vitamin D focus in non-supplemented experienced athletes and nutritious grown ups during the winter season months in the United kingdom: implications for skeletal muscle perform.” Journal of Athletics Sciences, 31(4), 344–353. 2013.