During NFL season – Omega-3 down by 2.5 points while Vitamin D up by 9 ng – March 2018

A profile of body composition, omega-3 and vitamin D in National Football League players.

J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2018 Mar 1. doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.18.08122-7. [Epub ahead of print]

VitaminDWiki

Omega-3

  • Suspect the Vitamin D increase was due to supplementation recommended by team doctors
  • Perhaps Omega-3 was consumed by intense athletics
  • Perhaps the index went down because team members ate more Omega-6 during the season (fast foods)
    Note: The Omega-3 index decreases when Omega-6 is increased
  • I use Vectomega brand of Omega-3 – Admin of VitaminDWiki, May 2014

Vitamin D

Overview Sports and vitamin D has the following summary

Athletes are helped by vitamin D by:

  1. Faster reaction time
  2. Far fewer colds/flus during the winter
  3. Less sore/tired after a workout
  4. Fewer micro-cracks and broken bones
  5. Bones which do break heal much more quickly
  6. Increased VO2 and exercise endurance Feb 2011
  7. Indoor athletes especially need vitamin D
  8. Professional indoor athletes are starting to take vitamin D and/or use UV beds
  9. Olympic athletes have used UV/vitamin D since the 1930's
  10. The biggest gain from the use of vitamin D is by those who exercise less than 2 hours per day.
  11. Reduced muscle fatigue with 10,000 IU vitamin D daily
  12. Muscle strength improved when vitamin D added: 3 Meta-analysis
  13. Reduced Concussions
    See also: Sports and Vitamin D category 279 items


Blue MN1,2, Trexler ET1,2, Hirsch KR1,2, Smith-Ryan AE3,2.

  • 1 Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
  • 2 Human Movement Science Curriculum, Department of Allied Health Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
  • 3 Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA - abbsmith@email.unc.edu.


BACKGROUND:
Body composition (%BF), omega-3 and vitamin D (VitD) status are important components of an athlete's individual physiological profile, as each measure has potential to influence performance, inflammation, and injury recovery. The purpose of this study was to characterize %BF, omega-3, and VitD in a subset of professional football athletes. Secondary analyses investigated changes in %BF, omega-3, and VitD, throughout a competitive season, and evaluated the relationship between physiological variables, race, and injury prevalence.

METHODS:
Forty-two professional football players (Age: 24.0±2.4 yrs; Height: 186.8±5.9 cm; Weight: 108.8±19.4 kg) volunteered to participate. A-mode ultrasonography measured %BF and the percentage of highly unsaturated fatty acid content comprised of omega-3s was determined by an omega-3 bloodspot test. Vitamin D levels and injury prevalence were obtained from the team athletic trainer.

RESULTS:
Omega-3 was moderately correlated with VitD (R=0.397, p=0.030). Throughout the season there was a significant decrease in omega-3 percentage (∆=-2.47±5.48%, p=0.030), no change in body composition (∆=0.26±1.97%, p=0.482) and a significant increase in VitD (∆=9.03 ± 19.46 ng/mL, p=0.015). VitD was significantly higher in white athletes (48.00±13.73 ng/mL) than black athletes (27.09±9.28 ng/mL; p<0.001) and athletes of other races (23.33±4.73 ng/mL; p=0.004).

CONCLUSIONS:
Throughout the season, %BF was maintained, VitD levels increased, and omega-3 decreased. White athletes had significantly higher VitD levels than athletes of all other races. There were no differences in the physiological variables between injury severity categories. The results from the current study provides support for the potential importance of VitD and omega-3 supplementation for professional football athletes.

PMID: 29498249 DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.18.08122-7

9227 visitors, last modified 03 Mar, 2018,
Printer Friendly Follow this page for updates