According to a new study, taking daily vitamin D supplements may help protect against dementia.
Researchers found that individuals with higher levels of this vitamin in middle age had lower levels of an important protein called tau in their brains years later, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Tau protein is closely linked to this condition, and it is believed that the accumulation of this protein in the brain plays a key role in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
According to researcher Martin David Mulligan from the University of Galway, the findings are promising, as they show that higher vitamin D levels in middle age are associated with lower tau levels 16 years later. Middle age is a period when modifying risk factors can have a greater impact.
Low levels of vitamin D may potentially be a modifiable risk factor, meaning that improving it could help reduce the risk of dementia.
The study included 793 participants with an average age of 39, none of whom had dementia. At the beginning of the study, vitamin D levels in their blood were measured. Approximately 16 years later, brain scans were conducted to assess levels of tau and amyloid beta proteins, which are key indicators of Alzheimer’s disease.
Higher vitamin D levels were defined as more than 30 nanograms per milliliter, which most experts consider sufficient for bone and overall health. About one-third of the participants had levels below this threshold, and only 5 percent were regularly taking supplements.
Often called the “sunshine vitamin,” vitamin D is unique because the body can produce it through exposure to sunlight. It acts more like a hormone than a typical vitamin and influences many processes in the body.
Health experts recommend that individuals over the age of 65 take 10 micrograms of vitamin D daily, especially if they are frail, spend most of their time indoors, or have limited exposure to sunlight.
As people age, cells become damaged and release chemicals that increase inflammation, while the body’s ability to repair itself declines. This increases the risk of cancer, dementia, and heart disease.
Scientists are now studying whether this biological aging process can be slowed or even stopped. A recent study found that taking a daily multivitamin may slow the body’s biological aging. According to researchers, older adults who took these supplements daily for two years showed a slower rate of aging at the cellular level, equivalent to about four months less biological age.
This research report was published in the medical journal Nature Medicine, which stated that individuals taking multivitamins showed slower progression in five DNA based measures of aging compared to those taking a placebo.
The study was conducted by scientists from Massachusetts General Brigham, using data from the COSMOS trial, a large study in the United States examining the effects of supplements on health.
Scientists say these findings suggest that multivitamins may be a simple and accessible way to support healthy aging, although their benefits are limited.
