Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

The Benefits of Vitamin D Supplementation for Athletes: Better Performance and Reduced Risk of COVID-19

Show simple item record

dc.contributor Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise
dc.contributor Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
dc.creator Grant, William B.
dc.creator Lahore, Henry
dc.creator Rockwell, Michelle S.
dc.date 2020-12-10T19:45:14Z
dc.date 2020-12-10T19:45:14Z
dc.date 2020-12-04
dc.date 2020-12-10T14:11:40Z
dc.date.accessioned 2023-03-01T18:51:32Z
dc.date.available 2023-03-01T18:51:32Z
dc.identifier Grant, W.B.; Lahore, H.; Rockwell, M.S. The Benefits of Vitamin D Supplementation for Athletes: Better Performance and Reduced Risk of COVID-19. Nutrients 2020, 12, 3741.
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10919/101072
dc.identifier https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12123741
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/281520
dc.description The COVID-19 pandemic is having major economic and personal consequences for collegiate and professional sports. Sporting events have been canceled or postponed, and even when baseball and basketball seasons resumed in the United States recently, no fans were in attendance. As play resumed, several players developed COVID-19, disrupting some of the schedules. A hypothesis now under scientific consideration is that taking vitamin supplements to raise serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations could quickly reduce the risk and/or severity of COVID-19. Several mechanisms have been identified through which vitamin D could reduce the risks of infection and severity, death, and long-haul effects of COVID-19: (1) inducing production of cathelicidin and defensins to reduce the survival and replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus; (2) reducing inflammation and the production of proinflammatory cytokines and risk of the “cytokine storm” that damages the epithelial layer of the lungs, heart, vascular system, and other organs; and (3) increasing production of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, thus limiting the amount of angiotensin II available to the virus to cause damage. Clinical trials have confirmed that vitamin D supplementation reduces risk of acute respiratory tract infections, and approximately 30 observational studies have shown that incidence, severity, and death from COVID-19 are inversely correlated with serum 25(OH)D concentrations. Vitamin D supplementation is already familiar to many athletes and sports teams because it improves athletic performance and increases playing longevity. Thus, athletes should consider vitamin D supplementation to serve as an additional means by which to reduce risk of COVID-19 and its consequences.
dc.description Published version
dc.format application/pdf
dc.format application/pdf
dc.language en
dc.publisher MDPI
dc.rights Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
dc.rights http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject athletic performance
dc.subject COVID-19
dc.subject acute respiratory tract infections
dc.subject immunity
dc.subject team sports
dc.subject vitamin D
dc.subject 25-hydroxyvitamin D
dc.title The Benefits of Vitamin D Supplementation for Athletes: Better Performance and Reduced Risk of COVID-19
dc.title Nutrients
dc.type Article - Refereed
dc.type Text


Files in this item

Files Size Format View
nutrients-12-03741.pdf 287.8Kb application/pdf View/Open

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

Search DSpace


Advanced Search

Browse