Consume more Vitamin D for stronger skeletal muscles, study states
| Oct 25, 2019, 11:08 IST
As we grow older, so do your bodies. This means your skin will start to sag and your bones will start to become more fragile. But just because you're growing older doesn't mean you shouldn't do anything to keep your bones as healthy as possible. A new study has found that people often have weak skeletal muscles due to vitamin deficiencies. And as you grow older it becomes all the more important to have a strong skeletal structure so that you have better mobility, more independence to be able to do things, a better quality of life, and reduction in falls as well as frailty.
While exercise can certainly help you out to a certain extent, evidence also claims that getting adequate vitamin D can help even more. “Our results show that vitamin D deficiency increased the likelihood of poor muscle function in older adults and confirms the protective effect of physical activity,” said one of the study authors Maria O’Sullivan, Associate Professor in Nutrition. “Maintaining muscle function is incredibly important, and often overlooked, in promoting healthy ageing. Addressing this through multimodal approaches that incorporate physical activity, reversing vitamin D deficiency and other modifiable diet and lifestyle components require further investigation,” O’Sullivan said.
Data was collected from over 4,000 adults aged 60 years and over, from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) and analysed. The analysis showed that older adults who had less vitamin D in their bodies had a skeletal structure that was two times weaker as compared to older adults who had an adequate amount of vitamin D in their bodies. In fact, that wasn't all. The older adults with vitamin D deficiency showed three times impaired muscle performance as compared to older adults with adequate vitamin D levels in their bodies.
While exercise can certainly help you out to a certain extent, evidence also claims that getting adequate vitamin D can help even more. “Our results show that vitamin D deficiency increased the likelihood of poor muscle function in older adults and confirms the protective effect of physical activity,” said one of the study authors Maria O’Sullivan, Associate Professor in Nutrition. “Maintaining muscle function is incredibly important, and often overlooked, in promoting healthy ageing. Addressing this through multimodal approaches that incorporate physical activity, reversing vitamin D deficiency and other modifiable diet and lifestyle components require further investigation,” O’Sullivan said.
Data was collected from over 4,000 adults aged 60 years and over, from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) and analysed. The analysis showed that older adults who had less vitamin D in their bodies had a skeletal structure that was two times weaker as compared to older adults who had an adequate amount of vitamin D in their bodies. In fact, that wasn't all. The older adults with vitamin D deficiency showed three times impaired muscle performance as compared to older adults with adequate vitamin D levels in their bodies.