Calcium and Vitamin D for athletic performance

Calcium is one of those underappreciated workhorses of the body. It stabilizes blood pressure, promotes blood clotting, maintains brain function, promotes insulin sensitivity, and even helps your muscles contract. It helps keep your bones and teeth strong too. In fact, the role of calcium is so vital throughout your body, that it will pull calcium from bones to make sure everything else functions properly if you’re not taking in enough from your diet.

From a sports perspective, trace amounts of calcium can be lost in sweat (especially in long-distance races in warm environments) and adequate calcium is required to promote bone growth in the young skeleton (30 years or younger) and bone maintenance in the aging skeleton (over 30). Consider the impact your activities have on your bones – if you want to continue to run far and lift strong, you should be getting adequate calcium.

We know that calcium is an essential part of a healthy diet to help bones and for other health reasons listed above, yet we see athletes at risk of low calcium levels. It’s time to pay closer attention to your daily diet to make sure you get enough calcium-rich foods, especially if:

Calcium-rich foods are especially important for female athletes who fall into any of the above categories and are attempting to improve performance – whether you’re prepping for next season or training for a marathon. Studies have shown that female athletes who train more than seven hours per week are at greater risk of developing osteoporosis due to excessive training. Excessive exercise with insufficient calories to meet training demands can cause hormones to drop, interfering with bone formation and inevitably sport or exercise performance.

Three to four servings of calcium-rich dairy foods are a simple and practical way to meet daily calcium needs. Plus, unlike calcium supplements, they supply other key nutrients including protein, riboflavin and vitamin D.

A cup of yogurt or milk (any type, including flavored milks like chocolate) or 1 1/2 ounces of cheese (about the size of a ping pong ball) delivers 300 milligrams. Calcium-fortified soy or rice milk is a good substitute for those with a milk allergy or who are lactose-intolerant. For those wary of drinking milk due to concerns over antibiotics, hormones and pesticides, organically produced dairy products alleviate this issue.

Nondairy calcium sources include dried beans (black, pinto, etc.) and lentils, canned sardines and salmon (with bones) and calcium-fortified foods such as breakfast cereal, orange juice, soy and rice milks and tofu (made with calcium sulfate), as well as dark-green leafy vegetables, such as kale, bok choy, collards and turnip greens, almonds, soy nuts and figs.

Fortunately, there are a ton of easy – and healthy – options to augment your calcium levels so you’re ready for every rep in the gym and every shift on the ice.

Vitamin D has an important role in supporting many body systems, including the muscles, the nervous system, and the immune system. This makes vitamin D of particular importance to athletes. Vitamin D also plays a critical role in the absorption of calcium, which is important for building strong bones; if you do not get enough vitamin D, you cannot absorb and utilize calcium, which has lasting implications.

Due to the significant benefits of vitamin D to athletes, slightly higher levels of vitamin D in the blood are recommended for athletes than non-athletes. In addition, studies indicate that athletes have increased risk of developing vitamin D deficiency during training, due to changes in body composition.

This nutrient has been shown to have a positive impact on many important biological functions, including:

Improved oxygen rate
When athletes have increased vitamin D levels, studies show a higher oxygen consumption rate, thus helping them breathe better to boost endurance levels.

Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease When athletes have proper vitamin D levels, it enables their blood to circulate at a more effective rate, which strengthens their heart and can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease .

Your risk factor for being Vitamin D deficient is based on where you live, your lifestyle, your genetics, and other factors.

Vitamin D is also known as the sunshine vitamin because your body can make this vitamin from ultraviolet B rays. However, it takes a lot of sunshine year-round for the body to make enough of this vitamin. So, if you live near the beach in a climate that’s warm year-round, and you go running every day in your swimsuit along the beach, you are probably getting sufficient Vitamin D. If you live in a climate that has four seasons, or you exercise indoors at a gym for most of the year, you will probably be missing out on vitamin D, and will have some a vitamin D deficiency for all or part of the year. Most people in the United States, Canada, and Europe live too far north of the equator for their bodies to make adequate vitamin D from sun for most of the year.

Regardless of the sport they participate in, the majority of athletes in the US are Vitamin D deficient. Athletes who train indoors year round may be at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. This may be shown by an increased incidence of inflammation, poor jumping velocity and power, lowered strength, and increased risk of fractures and stress fractures.

If you have darker skin, you have an additional risk of being Vitamin D deficient, regardless of where you live. Darker skin blocks a lot of the UV rays that the body needs to synthesize Vitamin D. Studies indicate that 82.1 percent of African-Americans are vitamin D deficient and 69.2 percent of Hispanics are also vitamin D deficient.

So, if you have dark skin (or even sun tanned skin), you are at increased risk and may want to discuss vitamin D supplementation with your doctor. In addition, lifestyle factors can also contribute to your particular risk factor of having a vitamin D deficiency. This could include how much time you spend in the sun and whether you wear sunscreen to protect your skin from aging and skin cancer. Sunscreen blocks the UV rays that cause sunburn and premature aging, and while that’s good for skin cancer prevention, it also means your body is not getting exposed to the UV rays you need to synthesize Vitamin D from sunshine.

How to get more vitamin D

Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin and produced in the body following 15-20 minutes of direct exposure to the sun. You can also absorb it through protein-rich foods, like egg yolk, fish and dairy products. Getting enough vitamin D can be difficult, so many dietitians and doctors recommend both athletes and non-athletes take a supplement to support their needs. If you’re concerned about your vitamin D status, talk to your doctor about getting it tested, so they can provide safe recommendations for supplementation.

Calcium and Vitamin D are both important for strong bones. Many children, especially those who are dairy avoidant, have a diet that is lacking in needed calcium. The body needs calcium for critical body functions. When dietary intake is poor, the body will “steal” the calcium from the bone, thus further contributing to poor bone density over time. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium, so even if calcium intake is good, a child can still be at risk for developing poor bone strength.

It is important to recognize that children and adolescents are in their prime bone-building years, as peak bone mass is typically achieved by 25 years of age. After that, bone loss gradually occurs naturally with age. Therefore, the “bank” or “reserves” that are achieved by that age will need to sustain the individual throughout life.

Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin,” is often easy for the body to produce during the summer months. However, because of the fear over adverse effects of sun exposure, sunscreen is applied to the skin, blocking up to 95% of natural Vitamin D. Athletes who train inside year round may be especially at risk for Vitamin D deficiency. During the winter, even in sunny climates, Vitamin D is more difficult to obtain from the sun because of its latitude. Unfortunately, Vitamin D is not readily present in a typical diet, so it is common for Vitamin D levels to significantly decrease in the winter season.