Key TakeawaysA new study finds that vitamin D deficiency may cause muscle impairment.Many people do not get enough vitamin D in their diets, leading to a deficiency.There are several ways people can increase their vitamin D levels—from eating more vitamin D-rich foods to supplementation and sunlight exposure.

Key Takeaways

A new study finds that vitamin D deficiency may cause muscle impairment.Many people do not get enough vitamin D in their diets, leading to a deficiency.There are several ways people can increase their vitamin D levels—from eating more vitamin D-rich foods to supplementation and sunlight exposure.

Vitamin D is a well-known supporter of bone health and calcium absorption. And a new study shows it’s likely important for muscle function as well.

Researchers from Australia and the United Kingdom conducted a study in mice that suggests inadequate amounts of dietary vitamin D may impair muscle function. The study will be published in theJournal of Endocrinologyin May.

Why We Need Vitamin D

“Vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining skeletal health and even body composition,” Heather Hanks, MS, a nutritionist in Michigan, tells Verywell. “However, vitamin D is needed for so much more than this. It’s imperative for a properly functioning immune system, which is so important to maintain now more than ever.”

As important as the nutrient is for us, vitamin D deficiency is common. According to a 2011 study published in the journalNutrition Research,around 40% of participants in a survey in the U.S. were deficient in vitamin D.

How Much Vitamin D You Need

How much vitamin D you should aim to get per day depends on your age:

The body needs vitamin D to function properly—not getting enough can cause a host of health problems. “No vitamin requires more whole-body participation than vitamin D, the skin, bloodstream, kidneys, and liver all contribute to the formation of fully active vitamin D known as D3,“Dave Coast, a Los Angeles-based registered holistic nutritionist, tells Verywell. “I’m not too surprised to see that a lack of vitamin D resulted in reduced lean muscle tissue since it directly affects bone health.”

An Overview of Vitamin D

Energy Levels and Muscle Function Were Impacted

The researchers used a mouse model to compare the effects of the two diets. All of the mice were weighed at the beginning of the study, then put into two groups: one that would have a diet with enough vitamin D, and the other on a vitamin D-deficient diet.

What Happens If You Don’t Get Enough Vitamin D?

However, there were other measurements that did not change between the two groups of mice. For example, the researchers wrote that there was no difference between the “vitamin D-replete and -deplete groups in body weight, lean mass, fat mass or food intake at the 3-month time point.”

Vitamin D and COVIDSome early research has suggested that vitamin D might play a role inhow you fare if you get COVID-19. A 2020 study published in theJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolismfound that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely to be vitamin D deficient than people in the general population.But experts say more research is needed to examine this potential link.

Vitamin D and COVID

Some early research has suggested that vitamin D might play a role inhow you fare if you get COVID-19. A 2020 study published in theJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolismfound that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely to be vitamin D deficient than people in the general population.But experts say more research is needed to examine this potential link.

How to Get More Vitamin D

If your vitamin D levels are low, you aren’t alone. Luckily, there are several ways toincrease your levels of vitamin D.

Supplements

If you have certain chronic conditions, Coast adds that “vitamin D is sometimes recommended with vitamin A for the treatment of asthma, muscle spasms, and arthritis.”

Diet

According toSusan Bowerman, MS, RD,the senior director of Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training at Herbalife Nutrition, vitamin D deficiency is usually related to a person’s diet, and that “most people in the U.S. consume less vitamin D than they should, in part because not many foods naturally contain this important nutrient.”

Bowerman tells Verywell you should consider consuming more of the following foods and drinks, since all are good sources of vitamin D:

Sunshine

What This Means For YouYour healthcare provider can use ablood test to determine if you are deficient in vitamin D. There are many ways you increase your vitamin D levels, like getting more sunlight and adding vitamin D-rich foods like fatty fish and fortified milk to your diet. If needed, you can also take supplements.

What This Means For You

Your healthcare provider can use ablood test to determine if you are deficient in vitamin D. There are many ways you increase your vitamin D levels, like getting more sunlight and adding vitamin D-rich foods like fatty fish and fortified milk to your diet. If needed, you can also take supplements.

4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ashcroft SP, Fletcher G, Philp AM, et al.Diet-induced vitamin D deficiency reduces skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration.J Endocrinol. 2021 May;249(2):113-124. doi:10.1530/joe-20-0233Forrest KYZ, Stuhldreher WL.Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults.Nutr Res. 2011 Jan;31(1):48-54. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2010.12.001National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.Vitamin D.Hernández JL, Nan D, Fernandez-Ayala M, et al.Vitamin D status in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Mar;106(3):e1343-e1353. doi:10.1210/clinem/dgaa733

4 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ashcroft SP, Fletcher G, Philp AM, et al.Diet-induced vitamin D deficiency reduces skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration.J Endocrinol. 2021 May;249(2):113-124. doi:10.1530/joe-20-0233Forrest KYZ, Stuhldreher WL.Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults.Nutr Res. 2011 Jan;31(1):48-54. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2010.12.001National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.Vitamin D.Hernández JL, Nan D, Fernandez-Ayala M, et al.Vitamin D status in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Mar;106(3):e1343-e1353. doi:10.1210/clinem/dgaa733

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Ashcroft SP, Fletcher G, Philp AM, et al.Diet-induced vitamin D deficiency reduces skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration.J Endocrinol. 2021 May;249(2):113-124. doi:10.1530/joe-20-0233Forrest KYZ, Stuhldreher WL.Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults.Nutr Res. 2011 Jan;31(1):48-54. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2010.12.001National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.Vitamin D.Hernández JL, Nan D, Fernandez-Ayala M, et al.Vitamin D status in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Mar;106(3):e1343-e1353. doi:10.1210/clinem/dgaa733

Ashcroft SP, Fletcher G, Philp AM, et al.Diet-induced vitamin D deficiency reduces skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration.J Endocrinol. 2021 May;249(2):113-124. doi:10.1530/joe-20-0233

Forrest KYZ, Stuhldreher WL.Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults.Nutr Res. 2011 Jan;31(1):48-54. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2010.12.001

National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.Vitamin D.

Hernández JL, Nan D, Fernandez-Ayala M, et al.Vitamin D status in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Mar;106(3):e1343-e1353. doi:10.1210/clinem/dgaa733

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