Vitamin D is our last topic. Its primary role seems to be helping the body with the absorption of calcium. As just mentioned above, that could be pivotal for runners.
Vitamin D is hard to consume in large quantities through food. Fatty fish and egg yolks are the best sources, though in the average person will prove insufficient. Ultraviolet light can also stimulate the production of Vitamin D in the body. That's an advantage in sunnier places, but in the winter months somewhere like Missouri might keep athletes inside too much for adequate production levels. All the more so in Seattle or Scandinavia. This is where Vitamin D supplements are often most heavily marketed.
There is some room for pause. Holmer points to a 2022 study that showed no decrease in bone fracture incidents among those who supplemented with Vitamin D versus those who didn't. This held true regardless of the initial Vitamin D levels of participants. And it wasn't a small study. It included more than 25,000 participants.
There are other potential benefits to Vitamin D, so Holmer wasn't willing to write it off entirely. However, for improving performance in runners, he only rated it as a 1/5.
Vitamin D is hard to consume in large quantities through food. Fatty fish and egg yolks are the best sources, though in the average person will prove insufficient. Ultraviolet light can also stimulate the production of Vitamin D in the body. That's an advantage in sunnier places, but in the winter months somewhere like Missouri might keep athletes inside too much for adequate production levels. All the more so in Seattle or Scandinavia. This is where Vitamin D supplements are often most heavily marketed.
There is some room for pause. Holmer points to a 2022 study that showed no decrease in bone fracture incidents among those who supplemented with Vitamin D versus those who didn't. This held true regardless of the initial Vitamin D levels of participants. And it wasn't a small study. It included more than 25,000 participants.
There are other potential benefits to Vitamin D, so Holmer wasn't willing to write it off entirely. However, for improving performance in runners, he only rated it as a 1/5.
Getting Vitamin D from a number of sources is important. It just might not directly improve athletic performance.