Several major forms of muscular dystrophy can affect teens, each of which weakens different muscle groups in various ways:
Someone with MD might start having muscle problems as a baby or the symptoms might start later. MD weakens muscles over time, so children, teens, and adults who have the disease can gradually lose the ability to do the things most people take for granted, like walking or sitting up. Because MD is genetic, people are born with the problem - it’s not contagious and you can’t catch it from someone who has it. People with MD have incorrect or missing information in their genes, which prevents them from making the proteins they need for healthy muscles. Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a genetic disorder that weakens the muscles that help the body move. Yet a quarter of a million kids and adults are living with the disease, so chances are you may know someone who has it. Plus, along with vitamin D, milk is a good source of calcium and high-quality protein – two nutrients vital to help teens maintain bone density and lean muscle.Aside from seeing the telethon on Labor Day weekend, many people don’t know much about muscular dystrophy.
Milk remains the leading source of vitamin D in the American diet – it’s one of the few food sources of the super nutrient.
#Teen girls with muscle free
The recommended three glasses of lowfat or fat free milk a day delivers 75 percent of the vitamin D that’s needed each day. The Academy estimates that up to half of adolescents have low vitamin D levels. In fact, current deficiency levels prompted the American Academy of Pediatrics to double the vitamin D recommendations for children and teens to 400 IU daily. Even in this study with demonstrated muscle benefits, overall, the girls’ vitamin D levels were far less than ideal – a finding consistent with numerous studies indicating a resurgence in vitamin D deficiencies in adolescence. Yet despite a potential upside of boosting vitamin D levels, Americans of all ages still fall short of their vitamin D needs. It may also support a healthy immune system to ward off infections, and some preliminary evidence suggests it may affect longevity. Emerging science suggests vitamin D may also help protect against diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and certain cancers. Well known for its role in keeping bones strong, vitamin D is now being hailed for so much more. This potential muscle advantage adds to the growing list of evidence positioning vitamin D as a super nutrient. After controlling for differences in the girls’ body weight, the girls with the highest vitamin D levels had the highest jump speeds, jump height, power and force. To test the girls’ muscle function, the girls were instructed to jump as high as possible while researchers used a device designed to measure power and performance called jumping mechanography. UK researchers collected vitamin D levels for 99 girls, ages 12 to 14. Not only does vitamin D work with calcium to keep bones strong, but researchers now found that teenage girls with higher vitamin D levels may be able to jump higher and faster than their peers with lower levels, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Young female athletes could have yet another reason to grab a glass of vitamin D-rich milk.