Effects of an Individualized vs. Standardized Vitamin D Supplementation on the 25(OH)D Level in Athletes
Nutrients 2023, 15(22), 4747; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15224747
by Chiara Tuma 1,2,*ORCID, Arne Schick 1,Nele Pommerening 1,Hans Braun 1,2 and Mario Thevis 1,3
- 1 Institute of Biochemistry/Center of Preventive Doping Research, German Sport University Cologne, 50933 Cologne, Germany
- 2 German Research Centre of Elite Sports (Momentum), German Sport University Cologne, 50933 Cologne, Germany
- 3 European Monitoring Center for Emerging Doping Agents, 50933 Cologne, Germany
Vitamin D is crucial to the health and performance of athletes. Although the exact vitamin D requirements for athletes have not been established, maintaining a 25(OH)D level of at least 40 ng/mL is considered beneficial. This randomized controlled intervention study aimed to determine whether an individual loading dose formula for vitamin D supplementation is more effective than standardized supplementation and suitable enough for athletes to meet a target value of 40 ng/mL. In a 10-week supplementation study conducted during the winter months in Germany, 90 athletes with insufficient vitamin D levels (25(OH)D < 30 ng/mL) were randomly assigned to receive either a universal dose of 2000 IU/day of vitamin D or a loading dose of 4000 IU/day, followed by a maintenance dose of 1000 IU/day. The total 25(OH)D concentration was measured from dried blood spots at three time points: at baseline, at the computed date of 40 ng/mL, and after the 10-week period. Additionally, a vitamin-D-specific questionnaire was issued.
On the day when 25(OH)D blood concentrations of 40 ng/mL were calculated to prevail, the individualized group had a significantly higher 25(OH)D level than the standardized group (41.1 ± 10.9 ng/mL vs. 32.5 ± 6.4 ng/mL, p < 0.001). This study demonstrated that the examined formula is suitable enough for athletes to achieve a 25(OH)D concentration of 40 ng/mL. This indicates that a personalized approach is more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach in restoring adequate vitamin D levels in athletes.
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There are many successful ways to individualize dosing
- Reasons for low response to vitamin D
- work in progress Personalized treatment of Vitamin D
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VitaminDWiki – Overview Sports and vitamin D contains
Athletes are helped by vitamin D by:
- Faster reaction time
- Far fewer colds/flus during the winter
- Less sore/tired after a workout
- Fewer micro-cracks and broken bones
- Bones which do break heal much more quickly
- Increased VO2 and exercise endurance Feb 2011
- Indoor athletes especially need vitamin D
- Professional indoor athletes are starting to take vitamin D and/or use UV beds
- Olympic athletes have used UV/vitamin D since the 1930's
- The biggest gain from the use of vitamin D is by those who exercise less than 2 hours per day.
- Reduced muscle fatigue with 10,000 IU vitamin D daily
- Muscle strength improved when vitamin D added: 3 Meta-analysis
- Reduced Concussions
See also: Sports and Vitamin D category277 items
VitaminDWiki – Sports category contains
277 items in Sports category Sports benefits from up to 50 ng (click on chart for details)
see also:
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Vitamin D supplementation increases strength of lower muscles – Meta-analysis April 2019
Omega-3 helps muscles - many studiesIndividualized – RCT Nov 20233313 visitors, last modified 12 Mar, 2024, This page is in the following categories (# of items in each category)