Woodsman, 'tis interesting that you should make a link between nutritional patterns and injury rates. Here is some info that should interest you pertaining to deficiency rates of lowly vitamin D: "
When assuming an optimal level of 75 nmol/L, one study in NFL players noted that up to 64% of athletes had deficient Vitamin D levels, with a correlation existing between players getting injured having less Vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency appears to be correlated with increased risk of illness and injury among athletes, especially in regards to stress fractures (
Vitamin D - Scientific Review on Usage, Dosage, Side Effects | Examine.com). Of course, most NFL players and college football players, for that matter, are African-American and their darker skin predisposes them to greater risk for vitamin D deficiency, simply because a high concentration of melanin acts as a natural sunscreen and reduces skin's ability to synthesize vitamin D from sun exposure. Without supplementation for vitamin D, serum levels will naturally decline during the late fall, winter and early spring, which would predispose athletes to greater injury risk during those periods, based on the research study cited above.
