Not getting enough of a common vitamin could hamper your weight loss, research has revealed.
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient the body produces when skin is exposed to direct sunlight. It’s also found in fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, egg yolks and fortified foods such as milk, yogurt and orange juice.
The vitamin is crucial for helping the gut absorb calcium and phosphorus, which maintain bone strength.
This means not getting enough vitamin D starves cells and muscles of energy, leading to fatigue, pain and weakness.
At just about $4 to $25 for a month’s supply – as little as 13 cents a pill – vitamin D has also been linked to hair growth, smoother skin and protection from dementia-causing inflammation.
But nearly two-thirds of Americans don’t get the recommended intake of vitamin D, leaving them vulnerable to lasting complications like muscle weakness, heart disease and osteoporosis.
Now, resurfaced research suggests vitamin D deficiency may also lead to trouble losing weight.
In a study, scientists looked at more than 200 overweight or obese women who had been through menopause, a process that makes it more difficult to lose weight due to dips in metabolism and estrogen levels.
Recent research shows not getting enough vitamin D in a day may hamper your weight loss goals
Over the course of a year, the women were given a goal to lose 10 percent of their body weight. Each one received a high-dose vitamin D supplement or a placebo.
The team found women who took the daily supplement lost more weight, body fat and waist circumference than those whose blood levels did not show an increase in vitamin D intake.
The exact relationship between vitamin D and weight loss is unclear, but experts believe deficiency in the nutrient may trigger imbalances in hormones like leptin, which help the brain tell the body it’s full.
Low intake may also increase levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium, promoting fat storage and preventing the body from breaking down excess fat.
Vitamin D can also get caught in excess body fat, which makes it unavailable to the rest of the body and can create a state of chronic inflammation.
The research, originally published in 2014, resurfaces as data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that the average adult only gets about 192IUs (international units) of vitamin D per day from food and beverages, which falls drastically short of the 600 to 800IUs recommended daily.
In the study, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle recruited 218 overweight or obese women between ages 50 and 75 and gave them either a 2,000IU daily vitamin D supplement or a placebo, alongside a weight loss program involving exercises like walking and bicycling.
Experts believe vitamin D deficiency may trigger imbalances in hormones like leptin, which help the brain tell the body it’s full
All of the women had low vitamin D levels in their blood, with an average level between 10 and 32 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter). A healthy level ranges from 30 to 60 ng/mL.
Women in the vitamin D group increased their blood vitamin D levels by 13.6ng/mL. The placebo group, meanwhile, lost 1.3ng/mL on average.
The researchers found that women with vitamin D levels above 32 ng/mL lost about an average of 19lbs compared to an average of 12lbs for those whose levels remained below that threshold.
Their waist circumference also dropped 6.6cm compared to 2.5cm in those who still had low levels, and people with higher vitamin D lost 4.7 percent of their body fat compared to 2.6 percent.
Based on the results, lead study author Dr Anne McTiernan, professor emeritus in epidemiology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, told Women’s World last year: ‘We found that the women given vitamin D whose blood vitamin D levels increased into a normal level had greater reductions in weight, body fat and waist circumference than women whose blood levels did not increase to that level.’
And she said at the time of the study’s publication: ‘This suggests women trying to lose weight might want to have their D levels checked by their provider and replenish their vitamin D levels either through supplements or sun and then have their D levels rechecked after a few months to make sure they’ve risen to a healthy level.’
In addition to supplements, people deficient in vitamin D can increase their levels by eating more fatty fish, eggs yolks and fortified dairy and by spending about five to 15 minutes outside in the midday sun.
