Drs. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Mike Roizen
Dr. Mehmet Oz is host of the popular TV show “The Dr. Oz Show.” He is a professor in the Department of Surgery at Columbia University and directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Mike Roizen is chief medical officer at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, an award-winning author, and has been the doctor to eight Nobel Prize winners and more than 100 Fortune 500 CEOs.

Dr. Mehmet Oz,Dr. Mike Roizen

Tags: vitamin d | bone strength | immune health | dr. oz
OPINION

Indoor Athletics May Deplete Vitamin D

Dr. Mehmet Oz, M.D. and Dr. Mike Roizen, M.D. By Thursday, 07 May 2020 11:22 AM EDT Current | Bio | Archive

It's astounding that Wilt Chamberlain at least scored 50 points in 118 different games; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar racked up 38,387 points in 20 seasons; and Michael Jordan scored an average of 37.1 points per game one season.

With so much talent and stamina, it's hard to imagine that those basketball powerhouses were deficient in vitamin D, which is essential for everything from bone strength to immune system health.

But that's what researchers from the Mayo Clinic and George Mason University are suggesting. They looked at the vitamin D levels of the university's NCAA basketball team, and it turned out that those athletes were likely to have vitamin D deficiency.

How could that be? Well, because like pro players, college basketball players spend as many as 40-60 hours a week indoors practicing, reviewing films, training, and playing games – not to mention time spent in airports, buses, and hotel rooms. 

The study, published in the journal Nutrition, found that 65% of 20 university players were vitamin D deficient, especially those who were African American. And the researchers found that taking 10,000 IU of D3 a day over five months eased the deficiency, but did not (except for one player) get D up to healthy levels.

So if you are a competitive basketball player, indoor swimmer, or squash or ping pong player – or if you do hours of mall walking – ask your doctor for a blood test to check your D levels.

You want 20 ng/dL or higher, but not above 50 ng/dL. Aim to take in 600 IU of vitamin D each day through food (mushrooms, enriched cereals, low-fat dairy, and fatty fish like salmon and ocean trout), and discuss supplement levels with your doctor.

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Dr-Oz
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic and George Mason University are suggesting many indoor athletes are deficient in vitamin D
vitamin d, bone strength, immune health, dr. oz
285
2020-22-07
Thursday, 07 May 2020 11:22 AM
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