Category: Nutrition

There is a higher risk of premature death for those who are deficient in this vitamin.

Being deficient in vitamin D can lead to serious health issues.

Examples include bone loss, poor immune system, increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, multiple sclerosis, depression, and anxiety.

Further evidence from a University of South Australia study reveals a strong link between low vitamin D levels and increased odds of premature death from any cause including respiratory diseases, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

The study also found that the likelihood of early death reduced steeply when vitamin D concentrations increased by 50 nmol/L.

Vitamin D deficiency is identified when a person’s serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is less than 25 nmol/L.

Our skin absorbs vitamin D by exposure to sunlight — but even with its abundance in Australia, one third of Australian adults are vitamin D deficient.

Mr Joshua Sutherland, the study’s first author, said:

“While severe vitamin D deficiency is rarer in Australia than elsewhere in the world, it can still affect those who have health vulnerabilities, the elderly, and those who do not acquire enough vitamin D from healthy sun exposure and dietary sources.

Our study provides strong evidence for the connection between low levels of vitamin D and mortality, and this is the first study of its kind to also include respiratory disease related mortality as an outcome.

We used a new genetic method to explore and affirm the non-linear relationships that we’ve seen in observational settings, and through this we’ve been able give strong evidence for the connection between low vitamin D status and premature death.

Vitamin D deficiency has been connected with mortality, but as clinical trials have often failed to recruit people with low vitamin D levels — or have been prohibited from including vitamin deficient participants — it’s been challenging to establish causal relationships.”

The research used the records of 307,601 white adults in the UK Biobank study who were between 37 and 73 years old.

The average levels of vitamin D were estimated at 45 nmol/L and vitamin D deficiency was classified as concentrations below 25 nmol/L.

During the 14 years of follow-up, 18,700 of the participants died.

The risk of premature death was increased by 25 percent for those with vitamin D deficiency.

However, when vitamin D concentrations increased to 50 nmol/L, the odds of dying were reduced, especially among people who were severely deficient.

Professor Elina Hyppönen, the study’s senior author, said:

“The take-home message here is simple — the key is in the prevention.

It is not good enough to think about vitamin D deficiency when already facing life-challenging situations, when early action could make all the difference.

It is very important to continue public health efforts to ensure the vulnerable and elderly maintain sufficient vitamin D levels throughout the year.”

Signs of vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency exhibits various signs and symptoms.

Sleepiness and fatigue during the day, weight gain, and muscle weakness have all been reported among those who suffer from vitamin D deficiency.

However, all of these symptoms are general and could be related to other conditions.

That is why, if you are worried, it is important to get checked out by a healthcare provider.

Vitamin D is vital for regulating the levels of phosphate and calcium in the body.

These are essential to the bones, teeth and muscles.

The study was published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine (Sutherland et al., 2022).

Up to one-in-eight people may have this vitamin deficiency.

Thinking and memory problems can be signs of vitamin B12 deficiency, research finds.

Deficiency in the vitamin has been linked to brain shrinkage with age and even dementia.

Vitamin B12 is crucial to the production of red blood cells and the healthy functioning of brain cells.

Its effect on cognitive decline is likely down to its involvement in in the production of myelin.

Myelin is a material that surrounds neurons (brain cells) and also the connections between them, known as axons.

Fortunately, vitamin B12 deficiency is easy to correct either with supplementation or a change in diet.

Foods high in vitamin B12 include dairy, beef, salmon, eggs and low-fat milk.

Fortified breakfast cereals also contain vitamin B12.

Reviewing the methods of detecting levels of B12 in the body, Dr Georgios Tsiminis and colleagues write:

“Increased levels of vitamin B12 have been shown to reduce the likelihood of older adults transitioning from mild cognitive impairment to dementia and in at least one case may help reverse the symptoms of frontotemporal dementia, as previously shown in a B12 recovery treatment program.

The growing number of studies indicating the significance of the relationship between vitamin B12 and cognitive health cannot be ignored.”

People who may have difficulty getting enough vitamin B12 include vegetarians, older people and those with some digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s disease.

Dr Georgios Tsiminis, the study’s first author, said:

“Vitamin B12 deficiency has been shown to be a potential modifiable risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and is associated with cognitive decline.

Older adults are particularly at risk of B12 deficiency due to age-related reduction in absorbing vitamin B12 received through their diet.

The study was published in the journal Applied Spectroscopy Reviews (Tsiminis et al., 2019).

Lack of omega-3 fatty acids in the body might be the reason why we are vulnerable to this disease.

Inflammation can be a sign of omega-3 deficiency, research finds.

Consuming oily fish like salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel, herring and fish oil supplements can lower inflammation.

Previous studies have suggested that a high intake of oily fish (fatty fish) can reduce several disorders.

Researchers from the Norwegian University are adding more weight to the importance of omega-3.

They show that omega-3 fatty acids can lower dangerous inflammatory responses in our body.

Our immune system produces inflammation to protect the body from infections like the common cold, throat, ear infections and so on.

But when the inflammation is too strong, this can lead to developing inflammation-related diseases and autoimmune disorders.

Prolonged inflammation results in life-threatening conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease and diabetes-related injuries.

Omega-3 fatty acids are healthy fats that have anti-inflammatory properties, consequently they are able to dampen inflammatory responses in the body.

White blood cells are an important part of our immune system as they can locate foreign particles such as microbes and cancer cells and eat them.

These cells monitor everything in our body and use the information that they gain from different receptors or sensors in order to stimulate inflammatory responses.

The white blood cells ability to manage inflammatory reactions relies on different processes and one is “self-eating”.

Autophagy or “self-eating” is vital for whether a white blood cell is too active or not since it is cleaning out the cells that are damaged and dysfunctional.

Omega-3 appears to change autophagy in white blood cells and can reduce activation of inflammatory reactions.

Omega-3 also reduces the responses related to proteins that are involved in regulating immune system activities.

Therefore, supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids can help patients with different forms of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, meningitis, Alzheimer’s, infectious disease or even jaundice.

The study was published in the journal of Autophagy (Mildenberger et al., 2017).

The study found that 68% were vitamin D deficient.

Chronic headaches could be a sign of vitamin D deficiency, research suggests.

People with low levels of vitamin D are at twice the risk of chronic headaches.

These headaches are also twice as likely to occur in the winter months, when vitamin D levels are at their lowest in the body.

During the winter, less sunshine striking the skin means the body is not able to produce enough vitamin D.

The conclusions come from a Finnish study of 2,601 men.

It found that 68% had deficient vitamin D levels.

The current medications for migraine — painkillers — could be doing more harm than good in some cases.

People are frequently taking the wrong medication, or too much of it, the study’s authors write:

“Primary headaches, including migraine, are among the leading health problems and causes of disability in the modern working population.

Currently, there is a global trend in chronification of migraine and a growing number of cases of medication overuse headache due to improper use and/or overuse of painkillers.”

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Virtanen et al., 2017).

Levels are typically lower in the body through the winter months in northern latitudes.

Depression symptoms like energy loss, concentration problems and lack of pleasure can be signs of vitamin D deficiency, research finds.

Around half of the world’s population is deficient in vitamin D.

Most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.

That is why levels are typically lower in the body through the winter months in northern latitudes.

The study included 1,282 older people, some of whom were depressed.

The results showed that blood vitamin D levels were 14% lower in those with both minor and major depression.

The study’s authors write:

“Underlying causes of vitamin D deficiency such as less sun exposure as a result of decreased outdoor activity, different housing or clothing habits and decreased vitamin intake may be secondary to depression, but depression may also be the consequence of poor vitamin D status.

Moreover, poor vitamin D status causes an increase in serum parathyroid hormone levels.”

The scientists found that almost half the people in the study were deficient in vitamin D.

The authors write:

“…38.8 percent of men and 56.9 percent of women in our community-based cohort had an insufficient vitamin D status.”

Vitamin D is found in oily fish, egg yolks, fortified cereals and some margarine spreads.

Most people need around 10 micrograms per day, which can also be obtained from supplements.

The study was published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry (Hoogendijk et al., 2008).

Up to one-quarter of people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Anxiety and hallucinations can be signs of a serious vitamin B12 deficiency.

These are not the only psychological symptoms that have been linked to vitamin B12 deficiency.

Depression and memory problems have also been linked to a deficiency in this vital vitamin.

Among older adults, up to one-quarter of people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency.

However, the level of deficiency among the general population is probably closer to one-in-ten.

Along with seniors, other people who may have difficulty getting enough vitamin B12 include vegetarians and those with some digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s disease.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is easy to rectify with supplements or by dietary changes.

The body uses vitamin B12 to make red blood cells and to keep the nervous system healthy.

Vitamin B12 levels can be boosted through supplementation or by eating foods such as dairy, liver, salmon and eggs.

Fortified breakfast cereals also contain vitamin B12.

The conclusions come from a study of 1,079 seniors in Germany.

The researchers found that 27 percent had a vitamin B12 deficiency.

It also found that more than half were deficient in vitamin D.

Dr. Barbara Thorand, study co-author, said:

“Our study also shows that regular intake of vitamin-containing supplements goes along with improved levels of the respective vitamins.

However, vitamin-containing supplements are not a universal remedy, and particularly older people should watch out for maintaining a healthy and nutritious diet.”

The study was published in the journal Nutrients (Conzade et al., 2017).

Over 1 billion people worldwide have a vitamin D deficiency.

Difficulties with memory and learning are signs of vitamin D deficiency, research finds.

Vitamin D deficiency is even linked to disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.

Deficiency in the vitamin affects critical structures in the hippocampus, an area of the brain important in memory and learning.

Dr Thomas Burne, study co-author, said:

“Over a billion people worldwide are affected by vitamin D deficiency, and there is a well-established link between vitamin D deficiency and impaired cognition.

Unfortunately, exactly how vitamin D influences brain structure and function is not well understood, so it has remained unclear why deficiency causes problems.”

For the study, researchers removed vitamin D from the diets of mice for 20 weeks.

The mice clearly showed problems with learning and memory compared to a control group, who were fed sufficient levels of vitamin D.

The researchers found that vitamin D is important in keeping perineuronal nets in the hippocampus stable.

Dr Burne explained:

“These nets form a strong, supportive mesh around certain neurons, and in doing so they stabilise the contacts these cells make with other neurons.

As neurons in the hippocampus lose their supportive perineuronal nets, they have trouble maintaining connections, and this ultimately leads to a loss of cognitive function.”

The hippocampus is a particularly active part of the brain, which may be why it is affected by vitamin D deficiency early on, said Dr Burne:

“It’s like the canary in the coalmine—it might fail first because its high energy requirement makes it more sensitive to the depletion of essential nutrients like vitamin D.

Intriguingly, the right side of the hippocampus was more affected by vitamin D deficiency than the left side.”

The damage to these perineuronal nets may help to explain the memory problems that are a symptom of schizophrenia.

Dr Burne said:

“The next step is to test this new hypothesis on the link between vitamin D deficiency, perineuronal nets and cognition.

We are also particularly excited to have discovered these nets can change in adult mice.

I’m hoping that because they’re dynamic there is a chance that we can rebuild them, and that could set the stage for new treatments.”

The study was published in the journal Brain Structure and Function (Al-Amin et al., 2019).