Performance improvement in sport through vitamin D – a narrative review

K. Weiss, A. Devrim-Lanpir, Z. Jastrzębski, P.T. Nikolaidis, L. Hill, B. Knechtle

Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. beat.knechtle@hispeed.ch

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• Endocrinology
• Sports Medicine

OBJECTIVE: It is well known that vitamin D deficiency can lead to various health problems. However, it is not common knowledge among athletes and doctors that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in sports. This deficiency can severely impact performance, while vitamin D supplementation can alleviate this effect and potentially improve performance.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This narrative review aims to compile the current state of knowledge about the importance of vitamin D in increasing performance for active people. To this end, we searched the ‘Scopus’ and ‘PubMed’ databases for the terms ‘vitamin D – athlete – performance’ with an end date of 30 June 2022.

RESULTS: Study results indicated that the therapeutic impact of vitamin D on aerobic capacity, recovery, strength and sprint performance remains controversial.

CONCLUSIONS: Based on the previous findings on recovery, strength and performance, 4,000-5,000 IU of vitamin D per day may be a safe dose that can improve athletic performance.

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