VITAMIN D: OPTIMIZED WITH EXERCISE

-

 VITAMIN D: OPTIMIZED WITH EXERCISE





As summer brings more sunlight and boosts vitamin D, it’s easy to forget how scarce both can be in winter. However, research from the University of Bath and collaborators shows that regular exercise is a simple way to protect vitamin D when the days get short.

In a study published in Advanced Science, researchers followed overweight and obese adults through the winter months, having some participants participate in a 10-week indoor exercise program. The routine included four weekly sessions: treadmill walking, steady-state cycling, and high-intensity interval bike training. Everyone’s weight stayed stable, and no one took vitamin D supplements. The research ran from October to April, when sunlight-driven vitamin D production is minimal in the UK.

The results? Those who exercised saw their overall vitamin D levels drop only about 15% over winter. In contrast, the number of people who didn’t exercise declined by around 25%. More striking: exercise fully preserved levels of the body’s active vitamin D form (1,25(OH)₂D₃), which is crucial for bone health, the immune system, and organ function. In the group that skipped exercise, these active vitamin D levels fell by 15%.

Previous studies suggested supplements alone don’t keep this active form of vitamin D steady. This research is the first to show that regular exercise—without any weight loss—can help prevent the seasonal dip.

Lead author Dr. Oly Perkin sums it up: “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 lots to learn about how exercise benefits our health.”

The takeaway: if you want to maintain healthy vitamin D levels in winter, regular moderate-intensity cardio could be just as important as what you eat or take in pill form.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BACK PAIN: TREATMENTS AND PREVENTION

-
Image
  BACK PAIN: TREATMENTS  AND PREVENTION Your back hurts. Join the club — you're one of millions dealing with this frustrating condition. Maybe it started after a long day at your desk or crept up slowly over the years. Either way, you're looking for answers. Let's cut through the noise and talk about what works. Why Your Back Might Be Complaining Think of your back as that friend who's always trying to tell you something. Sometimes, it's screaming for attention because you've been slouching at your desk for twelve hours straight. Other times, it's protesting your new workout routine without warming up. The usual suspects? Extra weight is significant — every pound you carry stresses your spine. Then there's how we live now: hunched over phones, slumped on couches, sitting for hours on end. Our bodies weren't built for this. But something that might surprise you: your mind has a more significant role in back pain than you'd think. Stress, anxiety, ...
Read more

DEPRESSION: CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS

-
Image
  DEPRESSION: CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS We've all had bad days, but depression is different. It's like wearing a heavy coat that weighs you down, even on the warmest days. And while we've come a long way in understanding this complex condition, there's still so much to learn. What Causes Depression? Your brain is like an incredibly complex orchestra. When everything's in harmony, it's beautiful. But sometimes, things get out of tune. Depression can stem from your genes, brain chemistry, life experiences, or, often, a mix of all three. Think of it this way: Some people inherit a tendency toward depression, just like they might inherit their grandmother's curly hair. But that's just part of the story. Your brain's chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) play their part, too, along with things like chronic stress, trauma, or even ongoing health issues. Modern Treatment: Finding What Works for You Here's the good news: depression is treatable. The trick i...
Read more

KETAMINE OPTIMIZED TO WORK LONGER

-
Image
  KETAMINE OPTIMIZED TO WORK LONGER For the millions of people living with major depressive disorder (MDD), standard treatments often fall short. About one in ten Americans deals with MDD at any given time, and up to a fifth will experience it at some point. The usual antidepressants don’t work for roughly 30 percent of patients, leaving a massive gap in care. Ketamine has been a rare bright spot. Given at low doses, it can lift depression within hours, even for people who haven’t responded to anything else. The catch? Its effects fade quickly, so patients need regular infusions. That means more trips to the clinic, a higher risk of side effects like dissociation, and the looming possibility of addiction or relapse if treatments stop. Now, a research team at Vanderbilt University may have found a way to stretch out ketamine’s benefits. In experiments led by neuroscientists Lisa Monteggia and Ege Kavalali, they figured out how to push a single dose’s antidepressant action from about...
Read more