The vitamin D is essential for bone health as well as for strengthening the immune system. It tends to fail us during the winter, because the soleil remains the best way to refuel. This is why during the winter season, many of you fall back on the supplements in vitamin D.
This habit might also be good for your brain health. A study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Exeter Biomedical Research Center, discovered that taking vitamin D might reduce the risk of dementia by 40% – for the next decade.
To be specific, dementia refers to a decline in mental abilities that will interfere with daily life. One example is memory loss. There Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia.
Alzheimer’s: you have to bet on vitamin D before the onset of cognitive decline
The study was carried out by researchers from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary in Canada and the University of Exeter in the UK over more than 12 388 participants. These latter were 71 years old and were in good brain health at the time of the study. Of the group, 37% (4,637) took vitamin D supplements.
A total of 2,696 participants developed dementia over ten years; of these, 2,017 (75%) were not exposed to vitamin D at all prior to diagnosis.
Professor Zahinoor Ismail, from the University of Calgary and University of Exeter, who led the research, said: “We know that vitamin D has effects on the brain that might fight dementia, but so far research has yielded conflicting results. Our results provide key insights into which groups might be specifically targeted for vitamin D supplementation. Overall, we found evidence to suggest thatearlier supplementation might be particularly beneficial, before the onset of cognitive decline“.
The effects of vitamin D more obvious in women
Vitamin D worked for all of the volunteers, but the team found that the effects were significantly greater in the women. Similarly, the effects were greater in people with normal cognition, compared to those who reported signs of mild cognitive impairment.
The effects of vitamin D were also significantly greater in people without the APOEe4 gene, known to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The authors suggest that people with the APOEe4 gene absorb vitamin D better from their gut, which might reduce the effect of vitamin D supplementation.
“Previous research has shown that low levels of vitamin D are linked to a higher risk of dementia, scientists add. Vitamin D is involved in the clearance of amyloid from the brain, the accumulation of which is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Studies have also shown that vitamin D can help protect the brain once morest the accumulation of tauanother protein implicated in the development of dementia.
Filling up on vitamin D can go through food. Preview in pictures. Please note that this list is not exhaustive.
