In a study from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, scientists found vitamin D deficiency may impair muscle function due to a reduction in energy production in the muscles.
Vitamin D deficient mice were found to have impaired muscle mitochondrial function, which may have implications for muscle function, performance, and recovery.
This may suggest that preventing vitamin D deficiency in older adults could help maintain better muscle strength and function and reduce age-related muscle deterioration, but further studies are needed to confirm this.
Vitamin D is a hormone well known to be important for maintaining bone health and preventing rickets and osteoporosis.
In recent years, vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be as prevalent as 40% in European populations and linked to increased risk for several conditions, including COVID-19, cancer, and diabetes.
Multiple studies have also linked low vitamin D levels to poor muscle strength, particularly in older people.
In the study, the team used a mouse model to determine the effects of diet-induced vitamin D deficiency on skeletal muscle mitochondrial function in young, male mice.
Mice were either fed a diet with normal quantities of vitamin D or with no vitamin D to induce deficiency, for a period of 3 months.
The team found in vitamin D deficiency, skeletal muscle mitochondrial function was impaired by up to 37%.
The results show there is a clear link between vitamin D deficiency and oxidative capacity in skeletal muscle. They suggest that vitamin D deficiency decreases mitochondrial function, as opposed to reducing the number of mitochondria in skeletal muscle.
These findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency may impair mitochondrial function and reduce the amount of energy produced in the muscles, which may lead to poor muscle function.
Therefore, preventing vitamin D deficiency in older people may help maintain muscle performance and reduce the risk of muscle-related diseases, such as sarcopenia.
However, further studies that investigate the direct effect of vitamin D deficiency on muscle function and strength are necessary to confirm this.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies that eating protein during dieting could prevent muscle loss, and this daily vitamin is critical to cancer prevention.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about foods that could sharpen your brain, and results showing vitamin B can help reduce drug-resistant high blood pressure.
The study was conducted by Dr. Andrew Philp et al and published in the Journal of Endocrinology.
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