Now that winter is approaching, your exposure to sunlight will become significantly reduced as a result of the darker days associated with winter, especially for those in the UK. This means that those fighters living and training in such environments may become Vitamin D deficient during these winter months. The reason for this, is that unlike all other vitamins, the majority of Vitamin D does not come from the foods we eat but instead predominantly comes from the sunlight we expose our skin to.
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Vitamin D plays a major role in supporting bone health and immune function whilst also having a role in regulating muscle protein synthesis and muscle function, meaning that it may have a potential benefit for improving how boxers adapt to training. In addition, research has also suggested that low vitamin D status is associated with lower bone mineral density meaning that there is potentially a greater risk of such bone injuries as stress fractures. Further to this, during the winter months the occurrence of common colds and flus amongst individuals dramatically increases and during periods of intense training (i.e. during a training camp in preparation for a fight) boxers are also susceptible to fall to illness or infection due to the increased amount and intensity of exercise. Therefore by maintaining adequate vitamin D status may reduce the risk of such infections during the winter months and intense training periods.
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Given the above benefits of adequate vitamin D status it may therefore be useful for boxers to supplement with Vitamin D3 during the winter months to correct any such deficiencies as foods such as oily fish and eggs will provide only small amounts of vitamin D. Therefore at present supplementing with 5,000 IU of vitamin D for six weeks appears a safe, tolerable and practically relevant dose. However it is highly advised before supplementing with vitamin D that boxers have their baseline serum 25 (OH)D levels (a measure of vitamin D levels in the body) assessed through reliable and valid techniques as supplementing with high doses in those fighters who already have high Vitamin D levels will cause toxicity in the body.
To conclude 3 key take home messages about vitamin D are provided below:
1. Vitamin D is needed to support bone health, promote immune function and potentially improve how a boxer adapts to training.
2. Vitamin D predominantly comes from the sun we expose our skin to so during the winter months sunlight is dramatically reduced meaning that vitamin D levels within the body may significantly reduce.
3. Supplementing with 5,000 IU of vitamin D each day for 6 weeks can restore any winter decline in vitamin D to levels deemed as sufficient. However it is recommended that individuals have their Vitamin D levels assessed before supplementation to avoid toxicity associated with high doses of vitamin D.
