“Summertime and the livin’ is easy.” Great lyrics from Louis Armstrong. Love the version Sublime put out in the 90’s, too. I think we can all begin to feel summer vibes. Kids are out of school, graduations are happening, pools are open, and the weather is heating up. With summer comes more time outdoors and more sunshine. As the sun gets higher in the sky, its rays intensify. Good for tans, true, but also good for vitamin D production. This month, I wanted to talk about the importance of vitamin D for musculoskeletal health.
Vitamin D is a generic term used for about 50 molecules in the human body. Most of what you see in foods fortified with vitamin D are the metabolites vitamin D2 and D3. D2 is synthesized by plants while D3 comes from fish, beef, liver and eggs. Despite a push to fortify foods with vitamin D, many people are still vitamin D deficient. Furthermore, disorders of the liver, kidney, obesity, and malabsorption disorders can all lead to decreased vitamin D uptake and synthesis. Another way we get vitamin D is through sunlight on our skin. However, with less time outdoors, sunscreen, living in the northern hemisphere, most of us do not produce enough vitamin D through our skin either.
Why is vitamin D so important? Vitamin D is essential for helping us absorb calcium in our gut. Vitamin D deficiency can therefore lead to decreased calcium in our blood which then affects bone density, muscle mass and balance. Historically, vitamin D deficiency was a much larger problem. Rickets is a disease in children that was more prevalent before the routine fortification of milk with vitamin D. Rickets presented with bowing of the legs, delayed growth, brittle bones and dental enamel. In adults, low calcium levels can lead to osteoporosis, putting patients at higher risk for fracture.
Today, vitamin D deficiency is still an issue, however. Even in the NFL, where a recent study showed 30% of the players were deficient and 50% had levels consistent with vitamin D insufficiency. This same study showed that players with low levels of vitamin D were more prone to muscle injuries, particularly hamstring strains.
Vitamin D supplementation has shown to decrease the risk of stress fractures in young athletes as well.
So, as you enjoy the summer sun, don’t forget about the importance of vitamin D. Adults should take 600 IU of vitamin D daily, up to 1000 IUs if at risk for deficiency. A daily calcium supplement of 1000-1300 mg is also recommended.
As always, we are here at Adventist Orthopedics to enjoy your summer to the fullest! For more information, contact our orthopedic clinic at 818-863-4446 and schedule an appointment today!