More News on Vitamin D Benefits
Vitamin D and Muscle Performance
Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, is critical for bone health, brain health and cancer prevention. But did you know that it also affects muscle performance and balance?
People who are deficient in Vitamin D increase their risk of reduced balance with the risk of falling and bone fractures.
Vitamin D promotes Type II muscle fibers, the ones that jump into action to save you when you trip and fall. This is great news to know, especially if you are older and starting to feel off balance. But for younger individuals, they should know that Vitamin D can also improve athletic performance. If you’re deficient in Vitamin D and start supplementing at the right amount, it can make you faster, stronger, and improve your balance and timing.
“Normal” reference ranges for Vitamin D levels are 30-100, but an Optimal range is 50-100. Getting Vitamin D from food is challenging, and so is getting it from the sun. Did you know that you would have to have half your skin exposed to sunlight (without sunscreen) for 10-15 minutes in the mid-day sun for fair skin people? That would produce approximately 10,000 iu of Vitamin D. The darker your skin, the longer you would need to be in direct sunlight. The darkest skin would need to be in the sun for 2 hours! For many people, it’s much more practical to take a high-quality Vitamin-D supplement.
The majority of Americans (90%) are deficient in Vitamin D due to body care products infused with sunscreen, working indoors, driving in cars with tinted windows, and not getting outdoors enough.
Insurance covers this blood test but if for some reason your doctor won’t order it, you can order the test directly online. You simply create an account with Direct Labs, place your order, then they send you a requisition with a list of labs near your zip code and you choose one you want. When your results are ready, you will receive an email telling you to log in and download your report. If you have trouble understanding your results, you can contact me and we’ll schedule an appointment. I often review my clients’ blood tests and you would be surprised by some of the things I uncover. Below is a link to the Direct Labs website.
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