Work

Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Haematological Values and Muscle Recovery in Elite Male Traditional Rowers

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Deficient levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) (<30 ng/mL) may compromise health and athletic performance. Supplementation with oral vitamin D can favor the state of iron metabolism, and testosterone and cortisol as an indicator of muscle recovery of the athlete with a deficiency. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of eight weeks of supplementation with 3000 IU/day of vitamin D on the hematological and iron metabolism profile, as well as on the analytical values of testosterone and cortisol on elite male traditional rowers. The secondary aim was to examine if serum 25(OH)D is a predictor of testosterone and cortisol levels. MATERIAL AND METHODS: = 18, height: 179.70 ± 9.07 cm and body mass: 76.19 ± 10.07 kg). The rowers were subjected to blood tests at the beginning of the study (T1) and after eight weeks of treatment (T2), for the analysis of hematological and hormonal values. Repeated-measures ANOVA with group factor (GC and GVD3) were used to examine if the interaction of the different values was the same or different between the groups throughout the study (time × group) after vitamin D3 treatment. To analyze if 25(OH)D was a good predictor of testosterone, cortisol, and testosterone/cortisol ratio a stepwise regression model was performed. RESULTS: < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Oral supplementation with 3000 IU/day of vitamin D3 during eight weeks showed to be sufficient to prevent a decline in hematological levels of hemoglobin and hematocrit, and improve transferrin of 25(OH)D levels. However, although it was not sufficient to enhance muscle recovery observed by testosterone and cortisol responses, it was observed that serum 25(OH)D levels could be a predictor of anabolic and catabolic hormones.

Source: Nutrients

DOI: 10.3390/nu10121968