As we get older, processes like oxidative stress and aging organs and systems can manifest as cognitive function that’s not as acute and ripe as our earlier years, but according to assistant professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine Nicole Avena, Ph.D., vitamin D helps buffer against these processes.*
In a 2019 Journal of Aging Research meta-analysis of vitamin D’s effects, a clear connection was identified between vitamin D levels (i.e., how healthy your vitamin D status is) and age-related cognitive function.* The study authors found that insufficient and deficient levels of vitamin D are tied to less optimal global (aka overall) cognitive health parameters, while vitamin D sufficiency was linked to a protective decrease in key brain biomarkers.*
Adding to the list of ways vitamin D supports the aging population, Avena previously told mbg that vitamin D receptors can be found in the area of the brain that forms new memories, “which may be compelling evidence that vitamin D is related to the proper creation of new memories.”*
