Is this everyday vitamin the key to keeping your brain sharp?
It’s the ‘Big D’ we all fear as we get older — dementia.
But it looks like we might be able to stave it off with the help of another Big D.
That’s right, I’m talking about vitamin D.
As an eAlert reader you no doubt know that I’ve told you a lot about the sunshine vitamin over the years. But it seems that the good news about vitamin D just keeps coming in.
And the latest study could be some of the best news of all — especially if you’re a senior looking to keep your brain sharp.
For a while now, scientists have believed that the risk of cognitive decline in seniors was linked to vitamin D deficiencies, based on research done in both Europe and North America.
Now, a follow-up study has also found that vitamin D can play a huge role in helping seniors keep their minds in tip-top shape as they age.
An international team of researchers from the Duke/NUS Medical School, working with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, recruited over 1,000 seniors who had taken part in the Chinese survey on health and longevity. (China is a country where an exceptional number of people live to be 100 or older.)
The results, published in the Journals of Gerontology, not only backed up the previous findings, but found that people who were not getting enough vitamin D were twice as likely to start going downhill and have problems with their memory, language, thinking and judgement.
Not only that, but those with low baseline amounts of vitamin D in their system were found to be two to three times more likely to develop cognitive impairment in the future. And it made no difference whether they were male or female, or even how old they were.
But keeping up your ability to play along with Jeopardy isn’t the only reason why you should be making sure you’re getting adequate vitamin D intake.
Last December I told you how researchers at the University of Sheffield had discovered that 80 percent of IBS patients they tested were deficient in vitamin D. And many of those people who suffered from the condition reported getting major relief from their symptoms just by taking daily D3 supplements as high as 10,000 IUs.
While that amount may seem high, it’s about the same as what your body generates during a short walk on a sunny afternoon.
Even the mainstream media can’t ignore the benefits of vitamin D any longer. CBS News reported that getting inadequate amounts could increase the risk of death from heart disease, cancer and severe asthma in kids as well as cognitive impairment in older adults.
And the best part is that a vitamin D deficiency is really a cinch to correct. Even when you can’t get out in the sun (around 10 minutes a day is said to be all you need in the summer months), fatty fish such as wild-caught salmon, sardines canned in oil, tuna canned in spring water, and herring are all good sources, as are egg yolks, milk, and yogurt.
And vitamin D-3 supplement are also widely available, and one of the cheapest vitamins out there. For most people, 800-1,000 IUs daily is considered the right amount.
Things don’t get much easier than that!
Sources:
“Vitamin D levels predict risk of brain decline in Chinese elderly” Duke-NUS Medical School, July 27, 2016, ScienceDaily, sciencedaily.com
