D Won’t Stand for Dementia

Two remarkable recent studies have established the case for vitamin D as a nutrient that fights dementia. The first looked at the association of levels of vitamin D with dementia; the second looked at supplementing vitamin D.

In a first of its kind study of vitamin D and brain health, researchers were able to look, not only at the association of vitamin D with brain health and dementia, but at the causal effect of increasing vitamin D. They found that low vitamin D is associated with increased risk of dementia. People with vitamin D levels of 25 nmol/L (deficient) had 54% higher odds of dementia compared to people with levels of 50 nmol/L (optimal). The remarkable practical implication of this study is that it shows that up to 17% of dementias could be prevented by increasing vitamin D to optimal levels of 50 nmol/L (Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2022;nqac107).

So, what if you raised your vitamin D levels by supplementing vitamin D? That’s exactly what the second study looked at.

This study included 12,388 people who did not have dementia at the start of the study. Their average age was 71. The ones who supplemented vitamin D lived significantly longer free of dementia. While 68.4% the control group lived 5 dementia free years, 83.6% of people who supplemented vitamin D did. Most impressively, people who took vitamin D were a significant 40% less likely to get dementia. In people with normal cognition the risk was reduced by 56%. But even in people with mild cognitive impairment, the risk was reduced by a significant 33% (Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. March 2023;15(1):e12404.

These two studies suggest that low levels of vitamin D are associated with higher risk of dementia and that supplementing vitamin D may significantly decrease that risk.

 

Pine Bark Extract Beats Conventional Treatment of Chronic Venous Insufficiency in Diabetics

Chronic venous insufficiency is a vascular disorder characterized by severely compromised blood return and venous hypertension. It very commonly occurs in diabetics. The powerful flavonoid antioxidant pine bark extract not only helps, it may help more than conventional treatment.

Compression stockings are a common treatment for chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). This study wanted to see if pine bark extract worked as well as compression in diabetics with CVI.

Fifty-eight people treated their CVI either with standard management plus elastic compression stockings or standard management plus 150mg a day of pine bark extract as Pycnogenol for eight weeks.

Blood flow through the skin while resting (skin resting flux) and rate of ankle swelling improved significantly more in the Pycnogenol group. Microcirculation of oxygenated blood (microcirculatory perfusion) was significantly more improved in the Pycnogenol group.

That the improvement in scores was significantly better for Pycnogenol on the Composite Symptom Score, the venous Clinical severity Score, and the Venous Disability Score indicates a superior clinical effect than for compression.

The pine bark extract was safe, and compliance was greater than compression. Only 73% of people could tolerate the stockings, while 98.5% of the Pycnogenol capsules were taken correctly.

This study suggests that pine bark may be a more effective, easier to use part of chronic venous insufficiency treatmetn in diabetics than compression stockings.

Minerva Surg. 2024 Sep 11. doi:10.23736/S2724-5691.24.10444-3.

 

Maca Boost Immunity After Exercise

Exercise is good for you. But within a couple of hours of engaging in prolonged intense exercise, your immune system becomes suppressed. New research shows that the Peruvian herb Maca might help.

The double-blind study gave either 2.25g of maca or a placebo twice a day to 20 healthy men who were performing exhaustive endurance exercise. The study lasted 12 weeks.

Interferon-γ levels were significantly higher in the maca group both immediately after exercise and 24 hours later. Interferon-γ induces and modulates immune response.

This study suggests that supplementing maca can support and modulate immunity in people who engage in intense exercise.

Int J Med Sci. 2025 Jan 1;22(2):398–408.