All vitamins are essential but one, vitamin D may be particularly important for endurance athletes. Vitamin D is best known for its role in building healthy bones. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption. However a number of studies have shown that vitamin D plays an important role in enhancing endurance performance. For example:
- Vitamin D has been shown to increase protein synthesis, improve muscle mass and body mass
- Vitamin D deficiency results in a decrease in energy production in the mitochondria, the cell's energy factory
- Vitamin D deficiency is
associated with reduce cardiac function and increased heart rate.
Increased heart rate during exercise causes fatigue and a reduction in
endurance performance
Other evidence
supporting the role of Vitamin D in endurance performance is what researchers
term the seasonality of physical fitness. Vitamin D is converted by sun light
to its active form. Thus when exposure to sunlight is consistent there is
little need for Vitamin D supplementation. Thus one would expect Vitamin D
levels to fall in the winter for athletes in northern climates. This is what is
seen and this decrease is paralleled with a decrease in physical performance.
Other studies have shown that physical fitness and tolerance to hypoxia is
highest in the summer and declines starting in the fall.
The bottom line, pay attention to your vitamin D levels going into the winter
months. It is probably worthwhile to take a vitamin D supplement particularly
if you are training indoors.