A new study, published in Neurology last week, has linked vitamin D to brain health.
The study was actually a comprehensive review of 37 previous studies that all examined vitamin D levels and cognition in primarily older patients (most were 65 years or older).
The results of the review showed a positive link between vitamin D concentration in patients and their level of cognitive ability. In addition, patients with Alzheimer’s disease had lower vitamin D concentrations than those without the disease.
This further strengthens the importance of vitamin D and also highlights the fact that many people aren’t getting enough of it. Humans gain vitamin D from exposure to the sun, but many do not get enough. You may want to consider taking vitamin D supplements, to counter balance this.
“Vitamin D is clearly good for bones – we have known this for a while,” says Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Lance Silverman. “Now we know vitamin D is good for your brain as well. It is eye-opening to understand how important vitamin D is to overall health. This explains why fractures in elderly patients have been increasing as we’ve been less exposed to the sun and also shows why Alzheimer’s disease is more common.”
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