LOAD UP: Vitamin D’s broader role in musculoskeletal health proves it supports MUSCLE FORM and FUNCTION – NaturalNews.com
LOAD UP: Vitamin D’s broader role in musculoskeletal health proves it supports MUSCLE FORM and FUNCTION
Maintaining a consistent fitness routine is challenging. Life’s demands—work, family, travel—can pull you away from regular workouts, or you may be training consistently yet still feel like your muscles need extra support. No matter where you are on your fitness journey, one factor remains constant: your body needs the right nutrients to perform at its best. One nutrient that often doesn’t get enough attention in the context of exercise is vitamin D—specifically vitamin D3.
While vitamin D is widely known for its essential role in bone health and calcium absorption, science increasingly points to its broader role in musculoskeletal health. Research has identified vitamin D receptors (VDRs) in skeletal muscle—the muscles that power movement—indicating a direct role in maintaining muscle form and function.*
Adequate vitamin D is necessary throughout life to help preserve a healthy percentage of muscle mass. Muscle mass, in turn, contributes to metabolism, mobility, longevity, and protection against age-related muscle decline.* Evidence shows that vitamin D supplementation improves muscle mass in people who are deficient or insufficient in the vitamin—29% and 41% of U.S. adults, respectively.* Supplementation has also been shown to enhance muscle function in those who are deficient.*
The reality is that most Americans consume inadequate amounts of vitamin D, and maintaining sufficient levels is a challenge for many. This makes D3 supplementation an effective and practical strategy for supporting muscle health for a wide segment of the population.*
However, according to musculoskeletal nutrition scientist Christian Wright, Ph.D., there’s an important nuance: vitamin D supplementation benefits muscle function, mass, and metabolism primarily when vitamin D status is low or deficient. Once sufficiency is achieved, additional supplementation appears to offer little to no clinically meaningful benefit.
This raises the question: what counts as “sufficient”? Serum total 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is measured via blood test, and levels above 30 ng/ml are considered sufficient. Yet many experts, including Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN, argue that 30 ng/ml should be treated as a warning threshold rather than an optimal target. The true goal, she explains, should be 50 ng/ml for optimal health and performance benefits.
Reaching and sustaining that optimal level can be difficult through food and sunlight alone, particularly in winter months or for individuals with limited sun exposure. High-quality supplementation offers a reliable way to meet the target. One example is mindbodygreen’s vitamin D3 potency+, delivering 5,000 I.U. of vitamin D3 in a formula paired with flaxseed, avocado, and olive oils to enhance absorption. One daily soft gel helps maintain vitamin D sufficiency and supports lifelong muscle health.
The takeaway: whether you’re building strength, improving endurance, or simply staying active for long-term health, your muscles rely on vitamin D3 to perform at their best. Combined with regular movement, proper recovery, and overall nutrition, ensuring optimal vitamin D levels is a smart, effective way to give your fitness goals a lasting edge—all year long.*
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