Swe appreciate that the Vitamin D (here all our articles on the subject) is fundamental for the good health of the whole organism: not only of the bone he was born in immune system. It also helps against inflammations and it’s also valuable for the nervous system and the heart.
But not everyone knows that the precious nutrient must not be taken in a “preventive” way, thinking that “it is so good for everything”. Even supplements, like any drug, should be taken only after verifying a real deficiency. Just a blood test to make sure you really need it.
Take a Vitamin D supplement (or other vitamins) without first checking the values it could in fact lead to unpleasant side effects.
Excess Vitamin D: What Happens
A recent Danish study published on August 17, 2021 on PubMed which examined the effects of Vitamin D supplements on muscle function, with a focus on strength and muscle mass.
The research, led by Lise Sofie Bislev, Diana Grove-Laugesen and Lars Rejnmar, performed 54 tests on 8,747 volunteers and found that there are no obvious muscle health benefits in people taking this vitamin supplements.
What is Vitamin D
It cannot be considered a vitamin in the strict sense. The term vitamin, in fact, identifies organic substances essential for life that must necessarily be introduced with the diet since the body is unable to synthesize them. The D, on the other hand, comes mainly synthesized through exposure to Sun rays and in normal conditions it is not necessary to take it even through the diet to reach an adequate concentration.
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The values not to be exceeded
“If an excessive intake of supplementation brings the Vitamin D values above 100 micrograms, there is the possibility that the arteries present inside the muscle undergo calcification, and therefore the data of this last study would be explained “, explains Professor Rossi, Specialist in Nutrition Science and in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine and lecturer at the University of Bologna, Catholic University of Rome.
Vitamin D without needing it: the movement test
But the most useful and interesting aspect of the study is that the Vitamin D taken without an actual deficiency verified with a specific blood test seems to have harmful effects on sports performance.
Study participants were tested Timed Up and Go (TUG), usually used in Physiotherapy to determine the risk of falling, to measure improvements in balance, postural passages and walking during the patient’s rehabilitation process. During the research, the test was used to measure the level of mobility of the volunteers, how long it took them to get up from a chair, walk three meters, turn around, go back to the chair and sit down again.
After taking vitamin D supplements in people who had no deficiency proven by blood tests is there was a decrease in the force used to flex the knees.
The supplement only if there is a deficiency
«We should Always measure your blood Vitamin D levels before taking a supplement. This vitamin can be “sequestered” by adipocytes, the fat cells, and then not be used by the body », Professor Pier Luigi Rossi recommends.
«After 1/3 months of taking a specific supplement indicated by your doctor, it should be checked whether the values have risen. In this case, the integration can be suspended », concludes the Professor.
The right values of Vitamin D
To understand if you have a deficiency, you need to undergo blood tests. In the standard i adequate values of vitamin D are included between 30 and 100 ng/ml: we talk about insufficiency if the value is between 20 and 30, shortage below 20 e severe deficiency for values below 10. In these cases, adequate supplementation is more than recommended
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