Workout Anytime
Doug Maurer
The short answer is yes – vitamin D levels impact nearly every aspect of your physiology including your ability to build and maintain muscle mass and strength. Multiple studies and meta-analyses have shown that vitamin D supplementation produces a significant increase in overall muscles’ strength – particularly in aging individuals and those with low baseline levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with reduced muscle mass.
Mechanisms of Action
Vitamin D suppresses myostatin to assist in muscle growth. Myostatin puts the brakes on muscle growth.
Vitamin D shifts calorie allocation toward muscle – which is also one of the key effects of anabolic steroids which also redirect excess energy away from fat to muscle.
Vitamin D boosts metabolic rate and fat metabolism.
Vitamin D stimulates skeletal growth like anabolic steroids.
Take home message – get your Vitamin D levels checked and get them in the optimal range through safe sun exposure or supplementation if you are interested in building muscle and losing fat! For more information on how to use safe sun exposure to optimize Vitamin D levels – check out this previous blog post: https://workoutanytime.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-facts-on-safe-sun-exposure-and.html For information on how to test and supplement to optimize Vitamin D levels check out this article: https://www.grassrootshealth.net/blog/finding-right-dose-vitamin-d/