Vitamin D Deficiency Can Predict Injury?

VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY SUCKS

We're a week into October, and the forecast is already showing cloudy and rainy conditions for the end of the week. So you know what time it is... it's that time of year in the PNW when the sun goes away for a long time. And now seemed like as good a time as any to talk about Vitamin D.

As you probably know, natural sunlight allows our body to create vitamin D and it even destroys excessive amounts.

But in case you didn't know just how important it really is, let me give you some data (borrowed from Precision Nutrition and Eric Cressey:

• Since this is the SHOP newsletter, how about some performance-based data regarding the importance of Vitamin D
• A 2015 study of NFL Players demonstrated that they were 3.61 times more likely to suffer a hamstring injury if they had inadequate preseason Vitamin D levels.
• A recent study concluded that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a greater risk of postoperative surgical complications after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.
• Studies also reveal that low Vitamin D levels in the body are associated with increased loss of muscle strength and mass, increased risk of cancers, lower levels of immunity, higher blood pressure, and on and on.

What's the moral of this story? Don't neglect your Vitamin D, and it couldn't hurt to get your levels checked. What should my serum Vitamin D levels be? Luckily Precision Nutrition has given us some solid guidelines:

And as fall and winter are upon us, the need for supplementation goes way up. How much should you supplement? Obviously getting tested would determine precisely where you are and exactly how much you should supplement, but Precision Nutrition comes through in the clutch again:

RESOURCES

• https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-vitamin-d
• https://ericcressey.com/random-thoughts-on-sports-performance-training-installment-35
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29275983
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31579883