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Lack of Vitamin D Weakens and Injures Muscles



If you suffer muscle weakness, pain or injuries:
• These people may benefit from exposure to sunlight.


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Dear Dr. Mirkin: Last week you told us about the dangers of sitting for long periods; what can I do when my job requires this?

I received many emails from readers frightened by my article reporting that prolonged sitting shortens lives . I tried to show that this data apply primarily to people who do not exercise intensely. A high rise in blood sugar damages cells throughout your body. Casual exercise controls blood sugar levels for up to 17 hours. However, intense exercise may be more effective than less intense exercise in controlling high rises in blood sugar levels.

The latest literature show that intense exercise is more effective in promoting health than casual exercise; several references are listed in the last question of the July 18, 2101 eZine. You can counteract the effects of sitting if you are a competitive athlete or an intense exerciser. Sitting helps you recover faster from intense workouts than walking. Take a hard workout which damages your muscles, feel sore on the next day, and then get off your feet as much as possible. Exercise at a low intensity level for as many days as it takes for the soreness to go away, and then take your next intense workout. Try to exercise intensely three times a week. When you are training at that level, you need to get off your feet as much as possible just to recover from your intense workouts. However your muscles will be stronger if you exercise at very low intensity the other four days.

I believe that people who exercise intensely have to spend a lot of time sitting or lying down just to recover from their intense exercise. Sitting after intense exercise hastens recovery so they can take their next intense workout sooner. Not getting off their feet and not sitting for prolonged periods will increase their chances for injury. This means that you can use your sedentary job to your advantage for your training program. Caution: Intense exercise can cause heart attacks in people who already have blocked arteries.


Dear Dr. Mirkin: How do you treat muscle pain from statin pills?

Statins are drugs to lower cholesterol. More than ten percent of people who take them suffer muscle pain, and they can also decrease muscle strength and endurance. The more and the harder you exercise, the more likely you are to suffer muscle pain from taking statin drugs. You increase risk for muscle pain with higher doses and taking other drugs with statins. Coenzyme Q10 and vitamin D have been used to prevent and treat statin muscle pain, but most people taking these pills still have muscle pain.

The people most likely to suffer statin-induced muscle pain have vitamin D3 levels below 32ng/ml (Translational Research, January 2009). The most effective treatments are to stop the medication, use lower doses, use them every other day or twice a week, and raise low vitamin D3 levels to at least 30 ng/ml, equal to 75 nmol/L (Current Atherosclerosis Reports, published online July 14, 2010). Check with your doctor.


Recipe of the Week:

Cuban Mango Salad


June 21st, 2013
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About the Author: Gabe Mirkin, MD

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