Taking a certain cheap pill daily could help lower your risk of a devastating condition, an expert has revealed.
People who keep their vitamin D levels up are less likely to have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, he said.
Speaking to Dr Michael Mosely as a guest on his BBC podcast, Just One Thing, researcher Dr David Llewellyn from the University of Exeter, explained how a vitamin D deficiency “incredibly” more than doubled your risk for the conditions.
Dr Llewellyn referenced his own research in which 1,600 participants from the US were followed over a number of years.
Those who were deficient in vitamin D had a more than 50 percent greater risk of dementia, and those with a “severe deficiency” had a 125 percent increased risk.
He told Dr Mosely: “For the first time we had really high quality information about whether they developed Alzheimer’s disease or dementia over a number of years, and if you had deficiency, it was just over 50 percent higher.
“And we found actually incredibly, that the risk of developing dementia if you had severe deficiency, was more than doubled.
“It was about 125 percent higher risk, if you were severely deficient.
“So it’s the first compelling evidence to link low levels of vitamin D in the blood to an increased risk of dementia.”
Dr Llewellyn stated that the link between vitamin D deficiency was “probably causal”, as opposed to being linked to other factors.
“The best evidence that we have comes from genetics studies,” he said. “Where people whose own genetic profile leads them to have higher levels of vitamin D, they seem to have a lower risk of developing dementia so that’s quite convincing.
“But it’s not the same as a trial, showing that if you give people vitamin D supplements, for example, that that actually reduces their dementia risk.”
Dr Llewellyn said his team had just finished such a trial and were waiting on the results.
If you wanted to try adding a daily vitamin D supplement to your diet it would cost you less than 3p a day.
Holland & Barrett currently sells 120 tablets of strength 400IU for £2.99, making them 2.4p a pop.
Dr Mosely said: “Although you’ll find vitamin D in fatty fish, and to a much lesser extent in eggs, it’s really hard to get enough just through your diet – and so supplements are the way to go.
“The guidance in the UK is that everyone should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms or 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D, particularly during the winter months.”
During the podcast, they also discussed the other health benefits of taking vitamin D supplements.
“Since its discovery in the 1920s, vitamin D’s best-known role is keeping bones healthy by increasing our body’s absorption of calcium,” Dr Mosely added.
“That’s why rickets, which used to be very common, is rare now.
“Research shows that people taking vitamin D supplements are less likely to get the common cold, and it also reduces how long an infection lasts.
“Vitamin D is essential for activating your T-cells, a key part of your immune system. If your vitamin D levels are low, then your body will be less effective at fighting off infection.”
