Effect of vitamin D intake on the gut health of the military submariners

Abstract

PURPOSE: The association of vitamin D supplementation and the gut health was examined on the military submariners whose vitamin D biosynthesis might be deficient due to life in a submarine. METHODS: Twenty-eight men were divided into the Placebo group (n=14) and the Vitamin D supplementation group (n=14) and took either placebo or vitamin D tablet for 4 weeks in a submarine. Questionnaires related to bowel movements and the general gut health were conducted before and after boarding on the submarine. RESULTS: When comparing before and after boarding, there were decreases in the number of bowel movements with an increase in the time required for bowel movements per week in the control group. In addition, there were decreases of stool size to change in the hardness of the stool. However, there was no significant change in the vitamin D supplementation group before and after boarding. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that vitamin D intake or supplementation might help the bowel movements and the general gut health when the alternative way to biosynthesize vitamin D from sunlight is blocked.