Recent Advance on Vitamin D in Athletes

Abstract

PURPOSE Vitamin D plays important roles in calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism. Since vitamin D receptors (VDRs) are located in a variety of organs, including skeletal muscle, vitamin D has potentially widespread effects. The purpose of this review was to summarize the current understanding of the effects of vitamin D on muscle function and exercise performance in athletes. METHODS In this narrative review, we summarized previous studies by searching the literature in the PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct databases. RESULTS Vitamin D has been shown to regulate multiple actions in skeletal muscle tissue, such as myocyte proliferation and growth via genomic and non-genomic molecular pathways. Higher levels of vitamin D are associated with improved skeletal muscle function and exercise performance. Moreover, in some studies, vitamin D supplementation has beneficial effects on muscle strength in athletes, especially those who are vitamin D-deficient. CONCLUSIONS Vitamin D appears to have beneficial effects on muscle and exercise performance in athletes. However, more studies are needed to clarify the action and dosage of vitamin D in athletes.

Keywords

• vitamin d
• muscle strength
• athletic performance
• vitamin d supplement