Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Vitamin D, Muscle Mass, Fat Loss/Accumulation

A study was forwarded from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism discussing the relationship between vitamin D status and muscle mass and muscle fat in young women. Vitamin D insufficiency has now reached epidemic proportionsand has been linked to increased body fat and decreased muscle strength. Whether vitamin D insufficiency is also related to adipose tissue infiltration in muscle is not known. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and the degree of fat infiltration in muscle.
In the conclusion they found that vitamin D insufficiency is associated with increased fat infiltration in muscle in healthy young women.
The most important question, where does vitamin D come from?
The main source of Vitamin D is sunlight. The only other place to naturally get vitamin D is from fish. From an evolutionary standpoint, many of our ancestors might have ate a limited amount of fish, as they all did not all live near the ocean. But one thing is true about our ancestors, they spent a lot of time in the sun. Studies show that people that spend a lot of time in the sun can get ten times the amount of vitamin D we get today.
Just another reason to get outside and soak up some rays, the sun is a performance enhancer and will help with muscle mass.  In the winter months it is extremely difficult to get adequate sun and is most important to supplement with a quality source of Vitamin D.

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