Health Update: Vit. D, Brain Health, and Dementia Risk

RVAchironeuro • June 30, 2022

July 4, 2022   

 

Hello and Happy Independence Day to everyone:

Yes, it is so good to be independent…and if we want to stay that way and not be put into a memory care facility as we age then we need to keep our Vitamin D levels up. This research article that was recently published revealed that those with Vitamin D deficiency had a significantly increased risk of dementia. First, we already know that Vitamin D has known beneficial effects on brain health, immune function and keeping inflammation in check. Second, does this have any effect on our risk of dementia?

Conclusions

Low vitamin D status was associated with neuroimaging outcomes and the risks of dementia and stroke even after extensive covariate adjustment. MR analyses support a causal effect of vitamin D deficiency on dementia but not on stroke risk.

Bottom Line:

  Make sure that your Vitamin D status is checked at least every 6 months and that you aim to keep your levels at around 60. This level of Vitamin D sufficiency appears to be optimal for overall health. It is best to get most of your Vitamin D from being outdoors and getting adequate sunshine on our skin in a safe and measured way. However, if that is not possible, Vitamin D supplementation along with Vitamin K2 as MK7 and Magnesium should keep your levels up to the good range. Just make sure that you get your levels checked with a blood test to make sure that you are not under or overdosing. Warning: if you are taking prescription blood thinners (this includes daily 81 mg. aspirin), check with your prescribing physician before taking Vitamin K2 (or any form of Vitamin K as there are several) as it may interfere with the blood thinning medication. It does appear that Vitamin K2 in the form of Vit. K2 MK-7 does not adversely affect those medications at a daily dose of 90 mcg. per day and supplements that pair the D3 and K2 as MK-7 do not usually exceed that dosage.

 

By Mark Smith March 23, 2026
Health News Update: How To Fight Inflammation and Chronic Disease 3.23.26 Hello again everyone: You might wonder why I keep focusing on food…so here are some of the reasons: food choices are the leading cause of death in the U.S. and spreading around the world. Poor food choices lead to inflammation which slowly destroy health. It is that simple, plain, and clear and backed by research. The next question: how do we fight back? Introduction The positive impact of food on health was postulated by the ancient Hippocrates, father of modern medicine with his famous quote: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” [1]. In the 21st century, scientists have focused on the effect of nutritional habits in diseases. Nowadays, it is well documented that food plays a noteworthy role in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases namely cardiovascular diseases (CVD), metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus type II, and cancer [2–5], as it correlates with others with the lipid pattern, the blood pressure, and the endothelial function. The scientists examine the effect of nutritional habits on disease emergence and progression in both individual nutrient intake and dietary patterns models. Worldwide, two dietary patterns are usually compared—the Mediterranean diet (MD) and the Western diet (WD) [3,6]. The Mediterranean diet reflects the food culture of most Mediterranean countries based on olive oil consumption, seasonal fresh vegetables, cereals, and plants in balance with low consumption of meat [7]. The Western diet, on the contrary, is dominated by high-fat dairy products processed and red meat [8]. However, discordance in the different MD patterns and consumed food doses had been recognized. Without any doubt, those discrepancies could confine and restrict our knowledge on the health benefit mechanisms of the MD [9]. Due to the above, the medical community along with nutritionists and dieticians take a keen interest in MD and its traits [7]. https://www.academia.edu/45378994/biomedicines_Mediterranean_Diet_as_a_Tool_to_Combat_Inflammation_and_Chronic_Diseases_An_Overview?email_work_card=view-paper food choices can fight inflammation and chronic disease Bottom Line: This is a 2020 paper and since then literally hundreds of papers on the MD have emerged showing how the food plan lowers inflammation and the risk for developing multiple chronic illnesses. Even still, lots of research needs to be done to elucidate the many mechanisms of how food impacts our system and how to optimally individualize dietary recommendations. At this point, our best strategy to prevent and/or recover from any chronic condition is to eat as clean and natural as possible. It has become rather obvious that the further away from a natural diet we get, the sicker we become. On top of that, I have yet to see a full recovery from any health issue without the foundation of a predominantly plant-based, unprocessed, whole foods approach…which is why I keep posting about this subject. All the best to you and yours!
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