Vitamin D as Brain Food?

MyAchingKnees.com received a question from P.B. concerning Vitamin D: "What do you think about Viatmin D? I just read something on the internet about Vitamin D being necessary for brain health. The article said that Cod Liver Oil was a good source for Vitamin D."

P.B.....the article you probably read was from Real Age, click here to read the entire article, titled "Clear Brain Plaques with This Nutrient"

It did state that cod liver oil is rich in Vitamin D and if your mother gave it to you, she was ahead of her time.

Whenever I saw my mother reaching for the Cod Liver Oil bottle,....I ran out the back door!

The article when on to state that a new animal study from Japan suggests that vitamin D may help clear the brain of amyloid beta, a toxic protein-like compound that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. And that this animal study validates the results of a previous study done in human Alzheimer's patients. In the human study, vitamin D together with curcumin -- a chemical found in turmeric spice -- appeared to stimulate the immune system in a way that helped clear the brain of toxic amyloid beta. But this new animal research suggests that vitamin D alone may be able to do that job nicely. Even more amazing, the lab animals that received vitamin D were able to remove a significant amount of amyloid beta buildup in their brains, literally overnight. It seems the vitamin may somehow regulate production of transporter proteins that ferry amyloid beta across the blood-brain barrier and out of the brain. Pretty exciting stuff.

The RealAge article was correct in that many adults lack vitamin D. But not just in the winter months. You cannot synthesize enough Vitamin D from sunshine to provide the body with the necessary Vitamin D nutrient levels for optimal health.

The article also stated that in order to get Vitamin D, a person should try eating canned salmon that supplies a "whopping" 530 international units (IU) of vitamin D for each 3-ounce serving.....or open the canned tuna for 360 IU of vitamin D from a 3-ounce serving.

The article went on to recommend drinking orange juice that's been fortified with vitamin D and you'll add an additional 100 IU of the Vitamin D to your day with each cup you drink. I won't drink orange juice unless it is NOT from concentrate. Be careful of high glycemic fruit juices.

Vitamin D is absolutely a necessary nutrient and one to take in much higher doses than the FDA recommends in their RDA. They recently upgraded their recommendation from 400 IU to 800 IU. Many well known nutritional scientist recommend much higher doses in the minimum 2,000 IU daily range. That would be almost four cans or 12 ounces of Salmon a day. You would probably grow gills and maybe a dorsal fin or two with that.

I prefer to get my Vitamin D from pharmaceutical grade supplements. I take a minimum of 1,800 IU's a day and sometimes 3,800 IU's a day. This is to support my immune system, combat oxidative stress which impacts across the body. Vitamin D is a known nutrient to help prevent Osteporosis and other related joint pain as well.

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