Why Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is not considered by most when talking about dietary needs and so most people who have a deficiency of it are not aware of it either. Vitamin D is underrated and can play a big role in maintaining a balance in our body. It is considered a multitasker as it has a role to play from gut health to bone health and this is exactly why we should not underestimate its power and importance.
How many times have all of us sat in the sun and soaked it up saying it’s good for us and that we’re doing it to get some good Vitamin D. However most of us have a misconception that our only source of Vitamin D is the sun. Fat soluble Vitamin D is produced by our body in response to our skin being exposed to sunlight as it helps the body utilise the calcium that we get from the food we eat. Calcium can only be absorbed by our body only if Vitamin D3 and K2 are present and work together. Even though Vitamin D is required in small amounts in our body it can be difficult to meet our needs if we don’t not get regular sun exposure. A tip that helps is taking more sunlight in winters if you’re not getting enough natural sunlight.
Adequate levels of Vitamin D help regulate hormones like dopamine, serotonin, melatonin as well as endorphin levels. All of these regulate our mood and help maintain healthy brain function along with improving our memory, regulating our sleeping patterns and helping in growth and repair mechanisms. Another very important role that Vitamin D plays is that it helps in building and maintaining muscle and our bones as well. So how much Vitamin D does an average human require? For most people 1000-5000 IU/day is a good supplemental dose.
Can you save yourself from injuries with adequate Vitamin D?
Lack of vitamin D can cause back pain, muscle fatigue, cramps, spasms, joint pain, mood swings and low immunity. Phew!! That’s a long list isn’t it? Now looking at it from a shooter’s perspective there are many injuries that can be avoided if we have a sufficient amount of Vitamin D in our body. For example after a long shooting session our muscles have a tendency of spasming. Vitamin D plays an important role in relaxing the muscles and bringing it back to its normal state post your shooting session. During shooting our joints take on a lot of pressure and wear and tear. They need to be properly tended to and maintained and this where Vitamin D comes into play. Low levels of Vitamin D may delay your recovery and increase risk of injuries.
Where does Vitamin D come from?
Now that we know the importance of Vitamin D in our lives, especially as shooters, we need to know where we can get it from, its sources. The most common source of Vitamin D are fatty fishes like salmon, sardines, herring and mackerels. Other foods that can be good sources of Vitamin D are egg yolks, mushrooms, sunlight, liver, red meat, cod liver oil and canned tuna. However, we must not forget that Vitamin D is a micronutrient and that taking an abundance of it will also cause just as many problems as its deficiency. Abundance of vitamin D can cause headaches, nausea and calcification or the buildup of calcium in the heart, lungs and kidneys. All of this can be caused if you take from about 10,000 to 40,000 IU of Vitamin D per day so we must be careful to not go overboard. Keeping our body healthy and balanced is the only way to achieving consistent success especially for athletes and we at Aim Down Sight will keep bringing such articles to you so your growth never has to stop.