Use vitamin D to promote performance and strength

Even in the cold season, it's important to stay outdoors quite often. Photo: iStock

When the body has enough sun – that is a sufficient amount of UVB radiation – it generally produces enough vitamin D. However, if you are not (too) exposed to the sun, for example in autumn and winter when the sky is covered with cloth, you can help with drops or tablets with vitamin D. But that does not mean you do not have to go out on a regular basis. Even in cloudy weather, a half-hour stroll can be a balm for body and soul.

Vitamin D is the only vitamin that can be produced by the body itself (and therefore, in principle, is more a hormone than a vitamin). And more and more new studies show how important a good level is. Because vitamin D does not only contribute significantly to a strong immune system and promotes the immune system, it is also important for a stable psychic because the symptoms of deficiency can aggravate exhaustion and depression.

Better oxygenation

But vitamin D can do much more, as more studies show. It should promote performance and strength, which is particularly interesting for athletes. This is one of the findings of a recent study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. This shows, according to study director Amr Marawan of the Virginia Commonwealth University in the US, that "a higher level of vitamin D with better exercise capacity is connected."

This study investigated whether people with higher levels of vitamin D in the blood have better cardiorespiratory capacity. The fitness cardiorespirator shows how well the breathing and circulation of the blood provides the body with oxygen. There is a link between higher levels of vitamin D and better mobility for men and women, small and medium age groups and regardless of body mass index, "notes Marawan.

These new findings match a whole range of study results in recent years. "Anyone who brings their vitamin D levels to speed can work better in sports. On the contrary, a deficiency of vitamin D may cause athletic performance to collapse," the German German Center for Health recently wrote a general overview of various studies on this subject . Vitamin D improves the strength and performance of the cardio-pulmonary system, promotes muscle growth and increases testosterone production.

More power from the cardiopulmonary system

Various studies with athletes have shown, for example, a higher oxygen supply due to vitamin D, a reduction in muscle inflammation and an increase in energy levels. Two independent studies, presented by the British Journal of Nutrition in 2016, also showed that vitamin D can improve the performance of the cardiac-pulmonary system.

The fact that a sufficient amount of vitamin D is, in principle, "very important for human health", the Federal Public Health Office (FOPH) points out in an informative leaflet. The Federal Office for Food and Veterinary Safety (BLV) has also published "concrete recommendations to meet the daily requirement for vitamin D".

But before taking vitamin D in the form of drops or tablets, you should measure the family doctor's D levels and get advice on the indicated dose, if necessary. Because an overdose over a long period can also be harmful.

Silvia Aeschbach is a journalist, blogger and author, she writes. for Tagesanzeiger.ch, "encore!" and "SonntagsZeitung". She wrote four bestseller, "Bye-bye Dream Figure" appeared in the spring of 2018. She also leads the consultation of the www.stilbüro.ch style. Silvia Aeschbach lives with her husband and two dogs in Zurich.