Vitamin D is produced by skin exposure to the sun, which many of us do not receive. If you wear sunscreen, are fully clothed or wear sunglasses your potential for vitamin D production is lower. Most of us (especially in the Northern Hemisphere) are at a high risk of Vitamin D deficiency, due to our lack of exposure to the elements, through the winter months and even in the summer as most of us do not have full skin exposure to the sun due to work or lifestyles.
Research completed at the Keck School of Medicine in Southern California looked at intramuscular fat adiposity, muscle mass levels, and adipose tissue levels relative to levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD). The researchers used young women as their subjects and found that 59% of the girls were insufficient (<29ng/ml) and of those 59%, and of those girls 24% were deficient (<20ng/ml).
There was found to be a high correlation between low serum 25OHD concentrations and measures of percent muscle fat. The girls that were in the normal range of serum 25 OHD concentrations were found to have much lower body fat scores compared to the deficient group.
Reminder that the subjects tested were all young girls in California with much higher potential for sun exposure than any of us in Saskatchewan. 59% of these subjects were found to be deficient in Vitamin D levels, research from Northern European countries has found up to 90% of subjects tested to be deficient in Vitamin D levels. The likelihood for deficiency in our area I believe is quite high, which may prompt the use of supplementation. At Synergy Strength we carry a product from Poliquin Performance called D3 Excellence, which is 120 capsules of 5000iu’s. 5000iu’s is a large dose of Vitamin D (upper limits of the RDA values) so we typically recommend that members take a bolus dose of Vit D once a week. Without having levels tested by a doctor, we recommend a lower dose to be safe.
Large Men can take 5000iu’s a day (one tab) or 35,000iu in a bolus dose once a week and women we recommend one tab every other day or 20,000-25,000iu’s once a week in a bolus dose.
If unsure talk to your doctor about having your Vitamin D levels tested to ensure proper dosages.
