Exposure to the sun ｜Vitamin D deficiency can increase the risk of cognitive decline | at 730

Vitamin D is known to be strongly associated with bone health, but it appears that vitamin D can also affect cognitive performance. Because studies have found that the elderly who consume too little vitamin D have a higher risk of developing brain degeneration and mild cognitive impairment, while those with higher levels of vitamin D can reduce the risk of the disease by 33%.

Analysis of brain tissue samples

Tufts University in Boston analyzed brain tissue samples from 209 participants in an Alzheimer’s study, looking at vitamin D levels in four brain regions, two of which showed changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, one with brain degeneration that related to circulation and the other without cognitive decline or vascular disease.

Reduce risk by a third

They found that people with higher levels of vitamin D had almost a third less risk of developing dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Past research has shown that vitamin D receptors are widely present in the human brain and have protective effects on the brain, such as helping to clear the amyloid plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

the two may be related

Experts pointed out that this study found that vitamin D levels in certain areas of the brain could have an “interesting” correlation with a lower risk of dementia or less cognitive impairment, but stressed that because the research was observational, so it is not determined why vitamin D can reduce the risk of disease, so vitamin D supplementation is not recommended to prevent brain degeneration.

In fact, it is not difficult to absorb enough vitamin D. Fatty fish and dairy products, as well as sun exposure can help the body get enough vitamin D.