Category: Diet

Vitamin D supplements for athletes

Vitamin D supplements for athletes

January 4, Athlettes addition, lifestyle factors can also Creates a happy state of mind to your particular risk factor zupplements having a vitamin D deficiency. The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 66 175— Vitamin D deficiency and fatigue: an unusual presentation. Clark M, Reed DB, Crouse SF, Armstrong RB.

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Vitamin D supplements for athletes -

You can pick whichever result you prefer. The largest meta-analysis , including 13 randomized trials with a total of subjects, found no improvement in athletic performance after vitamin D supplementation.

Perhaps the best illustration of the perplexities involved in studying vitamin D in athletes comes from a two-part Bangor University study from The first part involved measuring vitamin D levels in military recruits and assessing their exercise performance.

In part two of the study, a subset of subjects got vitamin D supplements either through a daily pill or through simulated sunlight three times a week, or else got a placebo version of the pill or the sunlight with the ultraviolet light filtered out.

But there were no effects on athletic performance. Vitamin D is stored in body fat, so people with excess fat tend to have lower levels of vitamin D circulating in their bloodstream—but it could be the extra weight, not the lack of vitamin D, that hurts their performance. Or it may be that low vitamin D signals a lack of sun exposure, but other benefits of sunlight such as elevated nitric oxide levels are what influence athletic performance.

Close to 90 percent of the 25[OH]D circulating in your bloodstream is bound to a molecule called vitamin D-binding protein VDBP. The problem is that the structure and function of VDBP can differ between ethnic groups.

How skeptical am I? Well, I still take a few thousand IU of vitamin D supplements per week during the winter. I live in Canada, after all. Hat tip to Chris Yates for additional research. For more Sweat Science, join me on Twitter and Facebook , sign up for the email newsletter , and check out my book Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance.

When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, we may earn a small commission. We do not accept money for editorial gear reviews. Read more about our policy. Search Search. Alex Hutchinson Originally Published Jan 20, Updated May 12, Moreover, vitamin D is found in only a few foods, which means that many including athletes fall short on our daily consumption.

So, how can you, as a dietitian, help your clients monitor their vitamin D levels to enhance their athleticism? You can also obtain it through your diet as either vitamin D2 ergocalciferol or vitamin D3.

The former is present in plants and yeast, while vitamin D3 comes from animal sources such as oily fish , and is more effective at increasing blood levels of vitamin D [2,3]. According to the U. Department of Health and Human Services, the Recommended Dietary Allowance RDA for people between the ages of 1 and 70 is IU per day.

For adults over 70, the RDA is IU per day [5]. However, studies show that supplementation can be used at 5, IU per day [6,7]. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that offers a variety of health benefits, as well as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties.

While vitamin D has a positive influence on immune and musculoskeletal functions, this is especially important for athletes, as sufficient amounts can prevent possible future injuries and improve sports performance [23]. Here are some symptoms associated with vitamin D deficiency , all of which are important for athletic performance.

Additionally, vitamin D deficiency can lead to high blood pressure, weight gain, and impaired wound healing [10,13,14]. This nutrient has been shown to have a positive impact on many important biological functions, including:.

When athletes have increased vitamin D levels, studies show a higher oxygen consumption rate, thus helping them breathe better to boost endurance levels [1].

Vitamin D protects against overuse injuries such as stress fractures , as it enhances calcium metabolism, improves bone and muscle strength, and repairs muscle tissue [1,21]. Moreover, emerging evidence suggests that athletes deficient in vitamin D are at a greater risk for stress fractures and reduced muscle function [26].

When athletes have proper vitamin D levels, it enables their blood to circulate at a more effective rate, which strengthens their heart and can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease [22]. Get to know the only software that includes meal planning, nutrition analysis, and practice management in one place.

Get a day free trial. Here are some ways to help your clients optimize their vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in bone health, immune support, and athletic performance.

We are always working toward bringing you the best nutrition content, so we welcome any suggestions or comments you might have! Feel free to write to us at info nutrium. Now is the time! You can try Nutrium for free for 14 days and test all its features, from appointments, to meal plans, nutritional analysis, videoconference, a website and blog, professional and patient mobile apps, and more!

Try it now for free! Moran, D. Vitamin d and physical performance. Sports medicine Auckland, N. Tripkovic, L. Comparison of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 supplementation in raising serum hydroxyvitamin D status: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The American journal of clinical nutrition, 95 6 , — Trang, H. Evidence that vitamin D3 increases serum hydroxyvitamin D more efficiently than does vitamin D2.

The American journal of clinical nutrition, 68 4 , — Forrest, K. Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults. Nutrition research New York, N. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of dietary supplements - vitamin D. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements.

Bischoff-Ferrari H. Optimal serum hydroxyvitamin D levels for multiple health outcomes. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, , 55— Institute of Medicine US Committee to Review Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin D and Calcium; Ross AC, Taylor CL, Yaktine AL, et al. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D.

Washington DC : National Academies Press US ; Sizar O, Khare S, Goyal A, et al. Vitamin D Deficiency. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island FL : StatPearls Publishing; Jan-. Linnebur, S. Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in elderly ambulatory outpatients in Denver, Colorado.

The American journal of geriatric pharmacotherapy, 5 1 , 1—8. Singh P. Treatment of Vitamin D Deficiency and Comorbidities: A Review. The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 66 1 , 75— Martens, P. Vitamin D's Effect on Immune Function. Nutrients, 12 5 , Johnson, K. Vitamin D deficiency and fatigue: an unusual presentation.

SpringerPlus, 4, Spedding S. Vitamin D and depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing studies with and without biological flaws.

Updated: Feb Vitmain, Green tea extract for cholesterol D has been shown to play an Creates a happy state of mind role in supplementz health, immune Vitamib, protein synthesis, muscle function, inflammatory response, cellular growth and regulation of skeletal muscle. It is Vitamin D supplements for athletes to see why researchers have started investigating its influence on athletic performance and injury prevention. This figure sounded extraordinarily high to me when I first read their article does the sun not shine over there? but it quickly became clear how this is possible when they explained the recommended daily allowances and how important the quality of sunshine is see below. Why should athletes worry about Vitamin D? Bone health.

Vitamin D supplements for athletes -

This is partly due to the fact that calcium cannot be absorbed from the intestines without the presence of Vitamin D. Circulating Vitamin D also affects osteoblast cells that produce bone function through several different mechanisms.

It is thought that Vitamin D can improve muscle function via pathways inside the cells as well as increasing the efficiency and number of calcium binding sites involved in muscular contractions. They tested a large cohort of athletes during the winter months.

Only 1. They then split them into 2 groups and gave one group a placebo and the other a Vitamin D supplement. After 8 weeks they founds significant improvements in the 10m sprint performance as well as vertical jump height for athletes who received the supplement compared to the placebo group.

There is also evidence that it can help you build higher quality muscle in response to exercise. Vitamin D deficiency was first shown to negatively affect heart function about 30 years ago. Most research in this area has been done on the general population. To my knowledge only one study has so far looked at its effect on the hearts of healthy athletes and what they found is alarming.

The researchers found that athletes who were classed as severely Vitamin D deficient had significantly smaller hearts than athletes who were classed as being only slightly deficient or within normal ranges. Vitamin D is very important for a strong immune system and helps to defend the body against acute illness including influenza and the common cold.

Runners and endurance athletes are specifically prone to upper respiratory tract infections e. coughs and head colds and research has found that athletes with higher Vitamin D levels tend to report fewer infections during the winter months. Low levels of Vitamin D have been shown to be associated with increased inflammatory markers in endurance athletes.

Researchers have also found that a combination of aerobic exercise and Vitamin D supplementation had superior effects on the exercise tolerance of asthmatic patients compared to just exercise or supplements which may suggest that this combination has an anti-inflammatory effect in the lungs.

There appears to be a correlation between low Vitamin D levels in the blood and low iron levels. Researchers are not yet quite sure how these 2 are linked but it may be worth checking your Vitamin D levels if you struggle with low blood iron levels.

The short answer is most of us! Vitamin D is unique in that, unlike other vitamins, it is not primarily obtained from dietary sources. Certain foods e. fatty fish and eggs do contain Vitamin D but the majority is produced when the sun shines on our skin.

Researchers believe that the main reason for this worldwide phenomenon of Vitamin D deficiency is down to our sun-shy lifestyles.

Not only do we spend more time working and playing indoors, but we also tend to avoid direct sunshine or slap strong sunscreen on to avoid skin cancer and ageing.

The distance from the equator, season, time of day, cloud cover, pollution, sunblock, skin pigment and age all dictate whether Vitamin D is available from the sun. Vitamin D can only be synthesised if UVB radiation from the sun is absorbed through the skin in adequate amounts.

This means that if you avoid the sun between 10am and 3pm, wear sunblock or cover most of your skin when outside, you may actually be Vitamin D deficient — even in the summer. During the winter months the angle of the sun prevents UVB radiation from reaching latitudes greater than 35—37 degrees that includes us in the UK.

Therefore Vitamin D cannot be synthesised from the sun in these areas during the winter months. The table below shows some of the studies that have found different groups of athletes to be deficient.

Of note are the Israeli athletes whom you would have thought would get plenty of sunshine! It is important to get your head around the fact that researchers distinguish between three levels of Vitamin D in the blood. It is also only at these higher levels that vitamin D is stored in muscle and fat for future use.

The recommended daily Vitamin D intake according to most experts to maintain optimal Vitamins D status, is at least IU per day. However, more is required if you start with suboptimal levels. IU stands for international units and for Vitamin D 1 IU equals 0. With these massive differences in recommendations one wonders if it is possible to overdose on Vitamin D?

Apparently the amount of Vitamin D produced from 15 min of unprotected sun exposure is 10, to 20, IU, in a light-skinned individual, which makes most experts believe toxicity to be a rare and unlikely event. There has, however, been increasing reports of people who has suffered from overdoses and national guidelines currently advise that you should not take more than IU per day.

The sun is the most plentiful source of Vitamin D but certain foods also contain significant levels salmon, fatty fish, egg yolks and fortified milk, cereal and orange juice.

The one produced by BetterYou has been shown to be more effective at boosting your Vitamin D levels than tablets. I found it at Holland and Barrett and it tastes quite nice.

It comes in and IU. It is also worth noting that Vitamin D3 appears to be the best supplement to take. There is mounting evidence that taking Vitamin D2 can actually decrease the amount of active Vitamin D in your blood.

Vitamin D deficiency can have an influence on athletic performance and injury. If you work indoors, wear sunscreen, avoid the sun between 10am and 3pm or live above 35 degrees latitude you are very likely to have sub-optimal levels of Vitamin D.

Need more help with your injury? Maryke Louw is a chartered physiotherapist with more than 15 years' experience and a Masters Degree in Sports Injury Management.

Follow her on LinkedIn , ResearchGate. Allison RJ, Close GL, Farooq A, et al. Severely vitamin D-deficient athletes present smaller hearts than sufficient athletes. European journal of preventive cardiology ;22 4 Eur J Prev Cardiol ; 22 : — Article Google Scholar.

Close GL, Leckey J, Patterson M, Bradley W, Owens DJ, Fraser WD et al. The effects of vitamin D 3 supplementation on serum total 25[OH]D concentration and physical performance: a randomised dose—response study.

Br J Sports Med ; 47 : — Ducher G, Kukuljan S, Hill B, Garnham AP, Nowson CA, Kimlin MG et al. Vitamin D status and musculoskeletal health in adolescent male ballet dancers a pilot study.

J Dance Med Sci ; 15 : 99— PubMed Google Scholar. Mowe M, Haug E, Bohmer T. Low serum calcidiol concentration in older adults with reduced muscular function. J Am Geriatr Soc ; 47 : — Salles J, Chanet A, Giraudet C, Patrac V, Pierre P, Jourdan M et al.

Mol Nutr Food Res ; 57 : — Close GL, Russell J, Cobley JN, Owens DJ, Wilson G, Gregson W et al. Assessment of vitamin D concentration in non-supplemented professional athletes and healthy adults during the winter months in the UK: implications for skeletal muscle function.

J Sports Sci ; 31 : — Barker T, Schneider ED, Dixon BM, Henriksen VT, Weaver LK. Supplemental vitamin D enhances the recovery in peak isometric force shortly after intense exercise.

Nutr Metab ; 10 : Wyon MA, Koutedakis Y, Wolman R, Nevill AM, Allen N. The influence of winter vitamin D supplementation on muscle function and injury occurrence in elite ballet dancers: a controlled study. J Sci Med Sport ; 17 : 8— Holick MF. Vitamin D status: measurement, interpretation, and clinical application.

Ann Epidemiol ; 19 : 73— Wyon MA, Wolman R, Nevill AM, Cloak R, Metsios GS, Gould D et al. Acute effects of vitamin D3 Supplementation on muscle strength in Judoka athletes: a randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. Clin J Sport Med ; 26 : — Dubnov-Raz G, Livne N, Raz R, Cohen AH, Constantini NW.

Vitamin D Supplementation and Physical Performance in Adolescent Swimmers. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab ; 25 : — Gezondheidsraad Evaluation of Dietary Reference Values for Vitamin D. The Hague Health Council of the Netherlands: Hague, Gallagher JC, Sai A, Templin T 2nd, Smith L.

Dose response to vitamin D supplementation in postmenopausal women: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med ; : — Cashman KD, Wallace JM, Horigan G, Hill TR, Barnes MS, Lucey AJ et al. Am J Clin Nutr ; 89 : — Heaney RP, Davies KM, Chen TC, Holick MF, Barger-Lux MJ.

Human serum hydroxycholecalciferol response to extended oral dosing with cholecalciferol. Am J Clin Nutr ; 77 : — Halliday TM, Peterson NJ, Thomas JJ, Kleppinger K, Hollis BW, Larson-Meyer DE. Vitamin D status relative to diet, lifestyle, injury, and illness in college athletes.

Med Sci Sports Exerc ; 43 : — Clark M, Reed DB, Crouse SF, Armstrong RB. Pre- and post-season dietary intake, body composition, and performance indices of NCAA division I female soccer players.

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab ; 13 : — Brouwer-Brolsma EM, Vaes AM, van der Zwaluw NL, van Wijngaarden JP, Swart KM, Ham AC et al. Relative importance of summer sun exposure, vitamin D intake, and genes to vitamin D status in Dutch older adults: The B-PROOF study. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol , e-pub ahead of print 11 August doi Fitzgerald JS, Peterson BJ, Wilson PB, Rhodes GS, Ingraham SJ.

Vitamin D status is associated with adiposity in male ice hockey players. Med Sci Sports Exerc ; 47 : — Blum M, Dolnikowski G, Seyoum E, Harris SS, Booth SL, Peterson J et al. Vitamin D 3 in fat tissue. Endocrine ; 33 : 90— Holick MF, Matsuoka LY, Wortsman J.

Age, vitamin D, and solar ultraviolet. Lancet ; 2 : — Mavroeidi A, O'Neill F, Lee PA, Darling AL, Fraser WD, Berry JL et al. Seasonal hydroxyvitamin D changes in British postmenopausal women at 57 degrees N and 51 degrees N: a longitudinal study.

J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol ; : — Dawson-Hughes B, Harris SS, Palermo NJ, Ceglia L, Rasmussen H. Meal conditions affect the absorption of supplemental vitamin D3 but not the plasma hydroxyvitamin D response to supplementation.

J Miner Res ; 28 : — Siebelink E, Geelen A, de Vries JH. Self-reported energy intake by FFQ compared with actual energy intake to maintain body weight in adults. Br J Nutr ; : — Faul F, Erdfelder E, Lang AG, Buchner AG.

Behav Res Methods ; 39 : — Cashman KD, Seamans KM, Lucey AJ, Stocklin E, Weber P, Kiely M et al. Relative effectiveness of oral hydroxyvitamin D3 and vitamin D3 in raising wintertime serum hydroxyvitamin D in older adults.

Am J Clin Nutr ; 95 : — Farrokhyar F, Tabasinejad R, Dao D, Peterson D, Ayeni OR, Hadioonzadeh R et al. Prevalence of Vitamin D inadequacy in athletes: a systematic-review and meta-analysis. Sports Med ; 45 : — Constantini NW, Arieli R, Chodick G, Dubnov-Raz G.

High prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in athletes and dancers. Clin J Sport Med ; 20 : — Hamilton B, Grantham J, Racinais S, Chalabi H. Vitamin D deficiency is endemic in Middle Eastern sportsmen. Public Health Nutr ; 13 : — Bescos Garcia R, Rodriguez Guisado FA. Low levels of vitamin D in professional basketball players after wintertime: relationship with dietary intake of vitamin D and calcium.

Nutr Hosp ; 26 : — CAS PubMed Google Scholar. Galan F, Ribas J, Sanchez-Martinez PM, Calero T, Sanchez AB, Munoz A. Serum hydroxyvitamin D in early autumn to ensure vitamin D sufficiency in mid-winter in professional football players. Clin Nutr ; 31 : — Cashman KD, Fitzgerald AP, Kiely M, Seamans KM.

A systematic review and meta-regression analysis of the vitamin D intake-serum hydroxyvitamin D relationship to inform European recommendations. Cashman KD, Hill TR, Lucey AJ, Taylor N, Seamans KM, Muldowney S et al. Estimation of the dietary requirement for vitamin D in healthy adults. Am J Clin Nutr ; 88 : — Melamed ML, Michos ED, Post W, Astor B.

Arch Internal Med ; : — Durup D, Jorgensen HL, Christensen J, Schwarz P, Heegaard AM, Lind B. A reverse J-shaped association of all-cause mortality with serum hydroxyvitamin D in general practice: the CopD study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab ; 97 : — Vieth R.

Vitamin D supplementation, hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and safety. Am J Clin Nutr ; 69 : — EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products NaAN.. Scientific opinion on the tolerable upper intake level of vitamin D.

If you suppleents involved supplemenhs sport inyou Vitamin D supplements for athletes certainly encountered discussions about vitamin D. It was supplemnets much the supplement du jour back then. Plenty of research showed its function in performance, as well as the prevalence of insufficiency. This research kindled interest that remains strong today. Vitamin D refers to a group of vitamins. The most important are D2 ergocalciferol and D3 cholecalciferol. Vitamin D supplements for athletes

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