In fact, research throughout the last few decades has identified that vitamin D impacts everything from fertility and mood to gut function and blood sugar regulation.* And that’s not all, either: We now know that the sunshine vitamin not only influences brain development3 but also everyday brain function4, too; it even works to protect our noggin as we age4.* As if vitamin D wasn’t impressive enough already! The importance of the sunshine micronutrient certainly doesn’t decline as we age. “Vitamin D plays a role in helping the body ward off oxidation,”* explains Nicole Avena, Ph.D., an assistant professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and visiting professor of health psychology at Princeton University. As a result, she explains that vitamin D deficiency can mean suboptimal cognitive health. In fact, one meta-analysis 7conducted in 2019 that reviewed 11 studies on a total of 21,784 participants, concluded that there is, in fact, a connection between vitamin D status and age-related cognitive function.* Why this link between the sunshine vitamin and cognition? It seems that adequate vitamin D levels are associated with a reduction in amyloid beta and phosphorylated tau,* two hallmark proteins that inform brain aging, according to Avena. However, more research needs to be done to further solidify the link and the mechanisms at play. Plus, vitamin D receptors often appear in the area of the brain responsible for the formation of new memories, “which may be compelling evidence that vitamin D is related to the proper creation of new memories,”* Avena adds. Clearly, there’s more investigation to be done here, but it seems plausible that we can add brain health to the already long list of reasons to make sure we’re getting ample vitamin D.* The issue here, though, folks, is that it can be hard (like really, really hard) to get ample vitamin D from sun exposure and diet alone, Avena says. Case in point: You need a minimum of 3,000 IU daily to avoid vitamin D deficiency and a serving of salmon8 provides about one-sixth of that. “I suggest that people take a supplement, especially if you live in a northern climate and don’t get outside in the sun too often,” she continues, adding that she recommends supplements that provide vitamin D3 instead of D2, since D3 is better at improving vitamin D levels in the body.
Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
