Muscle Up with Vitamin D

Recovery Supplements – Muscle Up with Vitamin D

by: Robbie Durand

Most bodybuilders pick up their protein powder, BCAA’s, pre-workout powder, etc. when they go to the supplement store but some bodybuilders may be missing out on an important muscle builder. Vitamin D is an essential vitamin required by the body for the absorption of calcium, bone development, immune functioning, and alleviation of inflammation. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a weakened immune system, increased cancer risk, poor hair growth, etc. Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, and has since been identified as an essential vitamin, acting as a precursor steroid to a host of metabolic and biological processes. Recently, to further emphasize the importance of Vitamin D and its role in muscle building is that Vitamin D3 receptors exist in human skeletal muscle tissue. Lastly, deficiency of Vitamin D has catabolic effects on muscle tissue which could impair athletic performance. There is further evidence that vitamin D3 might also potentially increase both size and number of type II muscle fibers.

A recent meta-analysis pooling 23 studies with 2313 athletes found that 56% of athletes had inadequate vitamin D levels. Vitamin D may also result in enhanced Recovery Supplements. For example, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, researchers demonstrated that 4000 IU/day for 35 days of vitamin D in healthy and moderately active adults attenuated the inflammatory biomarkers immediately following 10 sets of 10 repetitions of peak isometric force eccentric-concentric jumps. Furthermore, although peak power output decreased in both the groups, the supplementation group only declined by 6 %, while the placebo group’s power decreased by 32 % immediately post-exercise. A new study just reported this month also suggests that Vitamin D can also be important for muscle hypertrophy.

In this month’s American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, an interesting study was published titled, “A Systems Based Investigation into Vitamin D and Skeletal Muscle Repair, Regeneration and Hypertrophy.” The study reported the importance of Vitamin D and its role for muscle repair and muscle growth. Researchers conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial was performed in twenty males with low serum Vitamin D. Before and following 6-weeks of supplemental Vitamin D3 (4,000 IU.day-1) or placebo, participants performed 20 sets of 10 repetitions of damaging eccentric contractions of the knee extensors with peak torque measured over the following 7 days of recovery. After taking vitamin D, serum Vitamin D increased after Vitamin D supplementation and improved muscle recovery of peak torque at 48 hours and 7 days’ post-exercise. Together, these preliminary data are the first to characterize a role for Vitamin D in human skeletal muscle regeneration and suggest that maintaining serum 25D may be beneficial for enhancing reparative processes and potentially for facilitating subsequent hypertrophy.

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