Pill to avoid dementia

Doctor says everyone should take 4c pill from age of 8 every day to avoid dementia…

Health experts have recommended that everyone should be taking a daily supplement from the age of eight, costing just 4c a pop, to boost bone strength and reduce dementia risk. One expert has explained how sunshine turns cholesterol under our skin into vitamin D, but the weather climate means we don’t always get enough – even in the summer, as recent weather shows.

The cheap supplement in question contains vitamin D, which many people in Ireland are lacking despite sunshine being a natural source. Dr Jenny Goodman, a medical doctor and member of the British Society of Ecological Medicine, explained to the Guardian: “I go outdoors with my legs and upper arms exposed in summer, which, I’ve found, gives me enough vitamin D to last until December (it is fat soluble so can be stored).”

Dr Goodman added that she takes a 2,000 IU dose of vitamin D every evening between October and April for “brain health, reducing the risk of dementia [as shown by an Exeter University study] and supporting the immune system”.

While the government recommends taking a daily supplement containing 400 IU of vitamin D during autumn and winter, Dr Amina Hersi, a GP, explained why some need more. “Like 85% of people with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), I am deficient in vitamin D. I also have darker skin so I need more because melanin blocks out the sun’s UV rays.”

Dr Hersi added that she personally supplements with 1,000 IU daily in winter, reports Gloucestershire Live.

Dr Lavan Baskaran, an expert in ADHD care, is a firm believer that everyone aged eight and above should be popping vitamin D daily. He shared, “Unless I’m on a summer holiday, I take 1,000 IU daily. If I forget, I’ll feel low, anxious and tired with achy joints.”

Groundbreaking research has shown that mice with a vitamin D-rich diet had stronger immune systems against cancer transplants and responded better to immunotherapy. Caetano Reis e Sousa, who leads the Immunobiology Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute and is the study’s senior author, remarked: “What we’ve shown here came as a surprise vitamin D can regulate the gut microbiome to favour a type of bacteria which gives mice better immunity to cancer.”

He also added: “This could one day be important for cancer treatment in humans, but we don’t know how and why vitamin D has this effect via the microbiome. More work is needed before we can conclusively say that correcting a vitamin D deficiency has benefits for cancer prevention or treatment.”

Vitamin D supplements don’t cost too much money. You can purchase tablets in supermarkets for as low as €5, making them cost just 4c each per day, and they’re touted as an excellent source. As well as that, there are suggestions that vitamin D might fend off dementia, and even the NHS recommends taking supplements.

A French study revealed that folks with vitamin D levels under 50 nmol/L were almost triple as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

It is recommended that everyone should consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement during the autumn and winter. Those at high risk of vitamin D deficiency, all children aged 1 to 4, and all babies (unless they’re consuming more than 500ml of infant formula a day) should take a daily supplement all year round.