Vitamin supplementation in athletes - what does the evidence actually say? 💊🔍
Do we need to supplement?
Vitamin Supplementation in Sports: A Decade of Evidence-Based Insights
Study Details
This new review analysed 10+ years of research on vitamins A, B, C, D, E & K in sport 📚
Here are the key takeaways ⬇️
Key Findings
VITAMIN D
🧪 40 - 70% of athletes are deficient, especially indoor sports and winter
🦴 Strong links to bone health and injury risk (stress fractures, muscle strains)
📈 Supplementation helps if deficient, little benefit if already sufficient
⚖️ Performance effects are mixed
🎯 Test first. Target ~75 - 125 nmol/L
VITAMIN C
🍊 Reduces muscle soreness, oxidative stress and cortisol
🔁 Supports recovery and immune function
⚠️ High doses around training may blunt adaptations
🎯 Moderate doses (200 - 500 mg/day), food-first approach
VITAMIN E
🛡️ Acts as a cell membrane antioxidant
🧬 Can reduce short-term muscle damage
🚫 High doses may impair mitochondrial and training adaptations
🎯 Avoid chronic high-dose use, diet > supplements
B-COMPLEX VITAMINS
⚡ Essential for energy metabolism, red blood cells and nervous system
😮💨 Deficiency = fatigue, poor endurance, slower recovery
❌ Supplementation only helps if intake is low
🥗 Vegans, females and heavy trainers are higher risk
🎯 Sufficiency matters, excess does not equal performance
VITAMIN A
🦠 Supports immune function, metabolism and mitochondrial regulation
🧪 Mechanistic benefits suggested, very limited athlete trials
⚠️ High doses may be harmful
🎯 Focus on dietary adequacy, not supplementation
VITAMIN K
🦴 Emerging evidence for bone health and inflammation control
🔗 Possible synergy with vitamin D
❓ No direct performance data in athletes yet
🎯 Promising, but more evidence required
Conclusion
More vitamins does not mean better performance, the important thing to consider is that deficiencies (and correcting deficiencies) matter far more than supplementation 🚨
Antioxidants may help recovery but may blunt adaptation highlighting the need for nutrition to be individualised, phase-specific and food-first ✅
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41599826/
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