A study shows: Even moderate exercise can naturally boost the “sunshine vitamin” D. We’ll show you how exercise keeps your vitamin D levels stable and why it’s essential at any time of the year.
Autumn is coming: the days are getting shorter, the evenings are getting cooler and the comfortable sofa is becoming more and more tempting. Quite understandable. But especially now, when daylight is dwindling and we are getting less natural sunlight, exercise remains an important key to keeping our health resilient – and it can help stabilize our vitamin D stores.
Why is vitamin D also important in winter?
In many ways, vitamin D is more than just a vitamin. Our body converts it into a hormone-like substance that is crucial for bone metabolism, the immune system and the regulation of inflammatory processes as well as muscle and cell functions. A vitamin D deficiency can not only increase the risk of osteoporosis or rickets, but also promote infections and chronic inflammation.
When we think of vitamin D, we often think of summer and the sun, as it is mainly formed via the skin under the influence of UV-B rays and is activated in the body in two steps: first it becomes calcidiol in the liver and then in the kidneys it becomes the active form calcitriol, which acts as a hormone in metabolism. But the body’s own production remains important even in winter. Especially in the dark months, when we spend more time indoors and the hours of sunshine decrease, vitamin D levels drop noticeably and we risk a deficiency.
In northern regions, such as large parts of Germany, sunlight from October to March is usually not enough to produce enough vitamin D. Many people therefore start the winter with values that are too low, which puts additional strain on the natural storage systems.
Exercise keeps vitamin D levels stable in winter
According to a recent study in Advanced Science, regular exercise can significantly influence how much our vitamin D metabolism drops in winter.
In the study, adult participants were observed over a period of ten weeks: The group that completed endurance or cardio sessions four times a week (e.g. walking on the treadmill, cycling, interval training) maintained significantly better and stable levels of the active form of vitamin D over the winter weeks.
The study does mention that vitamin D is stored in fatty tissue and people who are overweight or obese are more likely to have low vitamin D levels. However, the positive effects of exercise were independent of weight changes. The advantage could not simply be explained by fat loss, but is directly anchored in the metabolism through exercise.
So if you don’t want to supplement vitamin D in the form of tablets or drops, you can rely on exercise to replenish your vitamin stores – for example through regular winter walks.
Which gentle sport boosts your health in winter?
What kind of exercise is good for us and our vitamin D stores in the cold season? Here are a few gentle but effective sports that can be easily integrated into everyday life:
-
Walks at a brisk pace: Walking for 30 minutes a day in the park or through the city gets your circulation going, promotes blood circulation and metabolism and is also mentally beneficial. You can find out what benefits a walk in November brings here: Going for a walk: Why it can help you, especially in November.
-
Nordic Walking: The sticks also activate your arms and torso during Nordic Walking.
-
Cycling (e.g. on the way home or on weekend excursions): Even in cooler weather, cycling can be a pleasant and effective form of exercise with warm clothing and good lighting.
-
Jogging / easy running: If you’re used to it, go jogging a bit even in winter.
-
Winter hikes or walks in the forest: The combination of nature, fresh air and exercise strengthens body and mind in equal measure.
Read more on Techzle\.com:
- Ice bathing: is it healthy or dangerous?
- Vitamins – everything you should know about them
- Red meat can increase the risk of dementia
** marked with ** or orange underlined Links to sources of supply are partly partner links: If you buy here, you are actively supporting Techzle\.com, because we then receive a small part of the sales proceeds. More info.