Resource Centers:(News, information, and tools to support your practice)
February 2009
| Article Tools | |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vitamin D tied to muscle power in study
Chevy Chase, MD—Vitamin D is significantly associated with muscle power and force in adolescent girls, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Although vitamin D is naturally produced in the body through exposure to direct sunlight, vitamin D deficiency has become widely common in the United States. Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to have a significant negative impact on muscle and bone health, and can lead to conditions including osteoporosis and rickets.
"We know vitamin D deficiency can weaken the muscular and skeletal systems, but until now, little was known about the relationship of vitamin D with muscle power and force," said Dr. Kate Ward, Ph.D., of the University of Manchester in the U.K., and lead author of the study. "Our study found that vitamin D is positively related to muscle power, force, velocity and jump height in adolescent girls."
For this study, researchers followed
Researchers used a novel outcome measure called jumping mechanography to measure muscle power and force. Jumping mechanography derives power and force measurements from a subject's performance in a series of jumping activities. Dr. Ward says this method of testing is ideal as the muscles required to jump are those most often affected in subjects with vitamin D deficiency. Girls without vitamin D deficiency performed significantly better in these tests.
"Vitamin D affects the various ways muscles work and we've seen from this study that there may be no visible symptoms of vitamin D deficiency," said Dr. Ward. "Further studies are needed to address this problem and determine the necessary levels of vitamin D for a healthy muscle system."
Back to the Nutritional Supplements Resource Center
Bookmark this page
Comments
Location: Oakland, CA
The study results are consistent with new knowledge about the physiological role of Vitamin D in the formation of bone, muscle and nervous system. German and Russian literature exists from the 1930s demonstrating that athletic performance was enhanced among athletes who trained minimally clothed (naked) in sunlight, which triggers formation of Vitamin D precursors on and under the skin. This one factor, adequate Vitamin D formation, is thought to explain the dominance of Russian and German athletes in Olympic competition during the thirties, forties and fifties. Appropriate doses of supplemental Vitamin D are 2000 for children 2 to 18, 3,000 for adults 18 to 40, 4,000 for adults 40 to 70 and 5,000 or more for adults over 70. Take an appropriate dose for two months and ask your doctor for a 25(OH)D test, then adjust your dose accordingly. Optimal range is 50-80 nanograms/milliliter (VitaminDCouncil.Org).