Cardiovascular Exercise and Vitamin D
New study finds a relationship between aerobic exercise and vitamin D levels.
Regular indoor training helps maintain healthy vitamin D levels during winter, even without supplements or fat loss, as noted in Advanced Science. With winter approaching, this adds another important evidence-backed reason to keep up an exercise program. “This is the first study to show that exercise alone can protect against the winter dip in vitamin D. It’s a powerful reminder that we still have a lot to learn about how exercise benefits our health,” says lead study other Oly Perkin, PhD, lecturer, department for health, Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism at the University of Bath in Bath, United Kingdom.
Researchers from the University of Bath studied 41 adults with overweight or obesity during winter (October to April), when vitamin D production from sunlight is minimal. Participants were not allowed to take supplements. One group completed a 10-week supervised exercise program with four indoor sessions weekly including treadmill walking, steady-state cycling and HIIT while the control group remained sedentary.
Despite no change in body weight, the exercise group experienced only a 15% drop in overall vitamin D, versus a 25% drop in the control group. Critically, the exercisers fully preserved levels of 1,25(OH)₂D₃, the active form of vitamin D that supports immunity, bone health and multiple organ systems; something supplements alone often fail to do. Winter workouts may play a critical causal role in Vitamin D metabolism, particularly among those who with overweight or obesity as supplements are less successful among these people.
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. You can’t do it without being open to each other.”
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
