vitamin d is getting a lot of good press lately as a vitamin that benefits the body in ways we didn’t imagine 10 years ago. well add boosting brain function to that list of benefits according to research from the jean mayer usda human nutrition research center on aging at tufts university. how might vitamin d be related to brain function and the thought process? metabolic pathways for vitamin d have been found in the hippocampus and cerebellum areas of the brain — involved in planning processing and forming new memories. what happened in the tufts study? more than 1 000 participants ages 65 to 99 years were grouped by whether their vitamin d status was deficient insufficient or sufficient. the 35% of participants that had sufficient vitamin d levels had higher cognitive performance on the brain function tests compared to those in the deficient and insufficient categories — even after considering other variables that could also affect cognitive performance. where do you get vitamin d (other than sunlight exposure and supplements)? natural food sources: cod liver oil 1 tb—1360 iu oysters pacific 3. 5 oz—640 iu mackerel 3. 5 oz—360 iu fish (most types) 3. 5 oz—88 iu (average) eggs 1—26 iu beef chicken turkey pork 3. 5 oz—12 iu butter 1 tablespoon—8 iu cheese 2 ounces—8 iu yogurt 1 cup (if fortified milk is used)—4 iu fortified foods (various brands of each): milk soy milk breakfast cereals yogurt yogurt smoothies and drinks margarine no more than 10 000 iu each day is considered the maximum presently advised by professionals for the reason that quantity not to go over unless your doctor approved. the food and nutrition board's maximum of 2 000 iu every day is not really quite enough for some people to see the maximum benefit from vitamin d neither is it sufficient to maintain enough vitamin d amounts mainly in the wintertime since there is a lot less sunlight. using vitamin d supplements will help you get rid of vitamin d deficit.
why is vitamin d good for me?