Modest dose of vitamin D increases lean body mass
If healthy, normal and non-sporty people take a modest dose of vitamin D3 every day for a year, their lean body mass increases by half a kilo. Chinese researchers from Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center come to this conclusion in a real human study - which is not sponsored by a supplement manufacturer.
Study
The researchers gave a group of 40 healthy subjects aged 20-69 years a placebo every day for one year, and gave another but comparable group a supplement of 420 IU of vitamin D3 every day for a year. That dose amounts to 10.5 micrograms of vitamin D3 per day. That is approximately the dose that the Dutch Nutrition Center recommends to healthy people who rarely go outside.
Results
After one year of supplementation, the concentration of hydroxy-vitamin D3 and dihydroxy-vitamin D3 in the blood of the subjects in the supplementation group was significantly higher than in the placebo group.
When, after a year of supplementation, the researchers measured the subjects' blood pressure, fat mass, strength and endurance, they saw no differences between the placebo group and the experimental group.
The researchers didfind a significant difference between the groups when they looked at the fat-free mass. The fat-free mass, which mainly consists of skeletal muscle tissue, remained constant in the placebo group. In the subjects who had received vitamin D, the fat-free mass had increased by half a kilo.
Conclusion
"The present study showed that treatment with 420 IU/day vitamin D for 1 year does not seem to affect body fat, muscle strength or cardiorespiratory fitness, while lean body mass was improved", the researchers write.
Source: Ann Nutr Metab. 2019;1-7. doi:10.1159/000504873.
If healthy, normal and non-sporty people take a modest dose of vitamin D3 every day for a year, their lean body mass increases by half a kilo. Chinese researchers from Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center come to this conclusion in a real human study - which is not sponsored by a supplement manufacturer.
Study
The researchers gave a group of 40 healthy subjects aged 20-69 years a placebo every day for one year, and gave another but comparable group a supplement of 420 IU of vitamin D3 every day for a year. That dose amounts to 10.5 micrograms of vitamin D3 per day. That is approximately the dose that the Dutch Nutrition Center recommends to healthy people who rarely go outside.
Results
After one year of supplementation, the concentration of hydroxy-vitamin D3 and dihydroxy-vitamin D3 in the blood of the subjects in the supplementation group was significantly higher than in the placebo group.
When, after a year of supplementation, the researchers measured the subjects' blood pressure, fat mass, strength and endurance, they saw no differences between the placebo group and the experimental group.
The researchers didfind a significant difference between the groups when they looked at the fat-free mass. The fat-free mass, which mainly consists of skeletal muscle tissue, remained constant in the placebo group. In the subjects who had received vitamin D, the fat-free mass had increased by half a kilo.
Conclusion
"The present study showed that treatment with 420 IU/day vitamin D for 1 year does not seem to affect body fat, muscle strength or cardiorespiratory fitness, while lean body mass was improved", the researchers write.
Source: Ann Nutr Metab. 2019;1-7. doi:10.1159/000504873.