#102 Why Vitamin D Deficiency Accelerates Brain Aging
Rhonda Patrick
May 21, 2025
Mindsip insights from this episode:
Boost brain health by enhancing amyloid beta clearance with vitamin D
One way vitamin D supports brain health is by enhancing the removal of amyloid beta, a protein linked to Alzheimer's disease, from the brain.
Boost Vitamin D levels as aging reduces production
A 70-year-old person makes four times less Vitamin D from sun exposure than a 20-year-old.
Recognize vitamin D as a steroid hormone for genomic regulation
Vitamin D is not just a vitamin but a steroid hormone that gets converted to regulate nearly 5% of the protein-encoding human genome.
Check vitamin D levels to ensure optimal health
The target range for 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood levels is between 30 to 60 nanograms per milliliter, which can be checked with a simple blood test.
Supplement with vitamin D to reduce dementia risk from mild cognitive impairment
Having mild cognitive impairment can increase dementia risk by over 600% in those not supplementing with vitamin D.
Supplement vitamin D to reduce dementia risk for ApoE4 carriers
For people with the ApoE4 gene, a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's, vitamin D supplementation reduced dementia incidence by around 33%.
Prioritize vitamin D supplementation to reduce dementia risk in women
Women who supplemented with vitamin D experienced an almost 50% lower incidence of dementia, a significantly greater benefit compared to men.
Address low vitamin D levels to reduce dementia risk
Studies using genetic analysis show that genetically determined low vitamin D levels can increase dementia risk by up to 54%, strengthening the causal link.
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