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Vitamin D is even more important for athletes than for people with a low level of physical activity. Its amount in the body determines the efficiency of the entire motor system: muscles, bones and nerves. Vitamin D deficiency in athletes can reduce exercise capacity, result in chronic fatigue and greater susceptibility to injuries. Check how much vitamin D should be taken by people practicing sports.

Vitamin Din sports nutritionplays a huge role, but not many people in training are aware of it. Scientific research carried out in Poland has proven that vitamin D deficiencies affect half of the athletes in the summer, when - it would seem - the body should have enough of it. Frequent ailments occurring in physically active people, e.g. fatigue, tendency to injuries, are associated with overtraining or improper diet - while these may be non-typical symptoms of vitamin D deficiency in the body.

Why is vitamin D so important for people involved in sports and how to ensure that its level is always normal?

Vitamin D as an anabolic hormone

Vitamin D is not exactly the same substance as, for example, vitamin C. In fact, it is a steroidal hormone, very similar to testosterone. It can be found in some food products, but the human body obtains 90% of this substance through skin synthesis under the influence of UV B rays. Ultraviolet radiation converts cholesterol derivatives into pre-vitamin D, which in turn transforms into vitamin D.

Initially, it was thought that vitamin D mainly affects the skeletal system, supporting the formation of bones and teeth. Its deficiency causes rickets in children, and in adults - osteoporosis and osteomalacia. It was soon discovered that vitamin D receptors are located in more than 300 places in the body, which led to the conclusion that this hormone regulates the work of almost all major organs in the human body.

Vitamin D - benefits for athletes

The appropriate level of vitamin D in the athlete's body gives the following benefits:

  • stimulates protein synthesis in muscle cells - as a result, faster growth occursmuscle;
  • is involved in the production of myositis, actin and troponin - proteins responsible for muscle strength;
  • stimulates the production of proteins that transport phosphorus and calcium to muscle cells, which affects the strength of muscle contraction and supplies them with energy;
  • blocks the production of proteins with an anti-anabolic effect (inhibiting muscle growth) - mainly myostatin and PTH (parathyroid hormone);
  • stimulates the production of testosterone, a hormone with a strong anabolic effect, by multiplying its receptors in the muscles; the more vitamin D in the body, the higher the testosterone concentration (this is confirmed by the experiment from 2009, in which a positive correlation between the level of vitamin D and the amount of free testosterone was observed in men subjected to the study);
  • takes part in the bone mineralization process by increasing calcium absorption - thanks to this, the skeletal system is stronger and more resistant to injuries.

Vitamin D provides athletes with a number of benefits in the form of increased strength, speed and muscle power, as well as a strong bone system resistant to injuries.

Vitamin D - what are the symptoms of deficiency?

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How to detect vitamin D3 deficiency?

For this purpose, the concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin, or 25-OH-D, in the blood serum should be determined. The result is given in nanograms per milliliter (ng / ml) or nanomoles per liter (nmol / l). The cost of performing the test privately oscillates between PLN 40-100.

Vitamin D3 Standards

Optimal norm: 30-100 ng / ml (75-250 nmol / l)

Suboptimal norm: 20-30 ng / ml (50-75 nmol / l)

Below Normal: 0-20 ng / ml (0-50 nmol / L)

Vitamin D research in athletes

The importance of vitamin D for the exercise capacity of athletes was discovered in the 1920s. At that time, it was already known that increased sun exposure healed the symptoms of rickets, strengthening the skeletal system and improving the general physical condition of patients. So it was expected that light therapy would produce similar results among athletes.

In the 1920s, exposing players to ultraviolet lamps was a common practice, which was soon considered a form of doping. In an experiment in 1938, it was found that irradiated sprinters improved their 100m performance by 7.4% and unexposed sprinters only 1.7% using the same training program. In the 1940s, a study was carried out on students who were regularly exposed to UV lamps for 6 weeks - they improved their results in riding a stationary bike by 13%.

The positive effect of vitamin D on exercise capacity has become commonplacea known fact after the results of an experiment in 2009 at the University of Manchester were disclosed. It was attended by 99 girls aged 12-14 years, whose vitamin D levels were checked. jumping ability, muscle contraction strength and resistance to fatigue. It turned out that in girls with high vitamin D levels, the muscles worked faster and with greater strength.

Important

What daily dose of vitamin D should people who practice sports take?

As for the recommended doses of vitamin D, there are many discrepancies and it is difficult to indicate one binding recommendation. Most often it is stated that the daily dose of vitamin D should be1000 IU , and in very intensively training people2000 IU(supplemented from September to April) . However, the given values ​​are for prophylaxis, and in the case of a deficiency, 2000-4000 IU should be taken. daily until the correct level of this substance in the body is achieved.

How to increase vitamin D levels in the body?

In order not to expose yourself to vitamin D deficiency, in warmer, sunny seasons (April-September) you should do outdoor sports as often as possible. It is best to train between 12-15. Choose short shorts and sleeveless shirts as a training outfit. In the period April-May, when the sun is not operating too much, you should not apply sunscreen on the body (the filters block UVB radiation to a large extent).

In colder seasons, vitamin D should be supplemented by taking over-the-counter preparations in tablets. You can also support yourself with your diet - rich sources of this vitamin include, among others fish oil (10,000 IU / 100 g), herring (1,117 IU / 100 g), mackerel (812 IU / 100 g), calf liver (206 IU / 100 g), pork liver (175 IU / 100 g), mushrooms ( 167 IU / 100 g), eggs (166 IU / 100 g), butter (153 IU / 100 g)

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