Vitamin D for Athletic Performance: What You Should Know

When we were infants, our parents would take us outside our homes to get some sunlight. This helped synthesize vitamin D to absorb calcium from the milk we drank in order to grow strong bones and muscles. As we grow older, being under the sun without sunscreen is often discouraged due to the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation such as skin aging.

While that may be true, that only applies when you’re under the sun for too long without sunscreen and proper skin moisturization. But there are also significant dangers to having vitamin D deficiency. And unfortunately, according to a study, there is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among athletes.

This deficiency often leads to poor athletic performance and sports-related injuries. To avoid this from happening to you, let’s discuss more about vitamin D, it’s importance in pro cheerleading, and how to get it.

What Is Vitamin D?

Calciferol or vitamin D is a fat-soluble micronutrient that regulates the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. This vitamin is synthesized when our skin is exposed to UV radiation such as sunlight.

When the body is low on vitamin D, it can experience muscle weakness, fatigue, and a bone condition called “osteomalacia” - pain in the bones. This is due to low levels of calcium and phosphate in the body.

If our bodies have too much calcium and phosphate due to the lack of vitamin D as a micronutrient regulator, we can experience headaches, psychological problems, loss of appetite, kidney damage, heart problems, and frequent thirst.

What Is The Role of Vitamin D In Athletes?

Vitamin D helps in keeping muscles, teeth, and bones healthy. For athletes like aspiring and current pro cheerleaders, getting your recommended dose of vitamin D is essential. Why? Because this micronutrient improves muscle function by adding muscle contraction.

This, in turn, gives you the increased and long-lasting muscle strength to perform physically demanding activities such as arena dancing, squad dance rehearsals, and workouts without being tired easily.

For your bones and teeth, vitamin D helps in absorbing more calcium and phosphate which strengthen your bones for stunts and tumbles as well as your teeth for a beautiful pro cheerleader’s smile. Not only that, vitamin D increases your oxygen intake so that you have high levels of stamina for pro cheerleading.

How to Get Vitamin D

1. Bask in the sunlight

For athletes, you’re required to receive at least 2000 IU (international units) of vitamin D for everyday maintenance. Since staying at home is still a necessity during this pandemic season, you’ll need 5000 IU every day.

If you have a darker skin tone, you’ll need at least 40 minutes of sunlight without sunscreen to get 5000 IU. If you have fair skin, 10 to 30 minutes without sunscreen should be enough. It’s also advisable to get sun exposure during noon while wearing tan-through clothing.

2. Supplements

In winter months where there is less sunlight or if you just don’t want sun exposure, you can take vitamin D supplements of 125 micrograms to achieve your 5000 IU needs.

3. Seafood

Fatty fish like mackerel, tuna, salmon, trout, anchovy, and pilchards are some of the richest food sources of vitamin D. That includes more kinds of seafood like lobsters, crabs, shrimps, and mollusks.

4. Mushrooms

For your plant-based food source of vitamin D, wild maitake mushrooms are your best choice. Even if wild mushrooms have higher vitamin D content, you can still opt to go for commercially grown mushrooms that are treated with UV light. Just remember to buy from a trusted supplier to avoid poisonous varieties.

5. Egg yolks

Like commercially-grown vs wild mushrooms, hens that have more outdoor freedom lay eggs with more vitamin D content than the conventionally-raised ones. Their feeds also contribute to the vitamin D content in their eggs. Ask your supplier if the eggs were laid by a free-range hen fed by vitamin D-enriched grains.

Remember, too much and too little vitamin D in your body is bad for your health and your pro cheer career. So follow your recommended daily intake by exposing yourself to sunlight depending on your skin tone. If you don’t like being under the sun, compensate for your lack of sun exposure by eating vitamin D-rich foods to receive your daily 5000 IU needs.

Want more articles for an athlete’s proper nutrition? Check the ones below!

Need a Great Workout Routine for Your Pro Cheer Audition Prep?

Pro cheerleaders stay fit, flexible, and strong so they can give out their best performance in the arena. However, achieving that wow-worthy, toned physique doesn’t happen overnight. You need to arm yourself with the right daily workouts.

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