#102 Why Vitamin D Deficiency Accelerates Brain Aging

Discover my premium podcast, The Aliquot Vitamin D is far more than just a vitamin—it's a potent steroid hormone regulating nearly 5% of our genome. Yet, remarkably, up to 70% of Americans aren't getting enough, placing them at increased risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. In this episode, I explore compelling new evidence from a study involving over 12,000 participants, demonstrating that vitamin D supplementation can reduce dementia risk by an impressive 40%, protecting even adults with genetic Alzheimer's risk (ApoE4 carriers). Timestamps: (00:00) Can vitamin D supplements reduce dementia risk? (00:46) How common is vitamin D deficiency? (03:31) What studies reveal about genes, vitamin D, and dementia (05:44) Does deficiency accelerate brain aging? (06:45) Can vitamin D supplementation enhance cognitive function? (08:15) Dementia risk reduction insights from 12,388 adults (09:58) Why women may benefit most (10:49) Normal vs. impaired cognition—who benefits more from vitamin D? (11:21) Do ApoE4 carriers get dementia protection from vitamin D? (13:00) How mild cognitive impairment affects dementia risk (13:41) Does the form of vitamin D matter? (14:11) What are the optimal vitamin D blood levels? (15:07) What dose corrects deficiency? (15:33) How vitamin D directly supports brain function Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes are available by clicking here The study discussed: Vitamin D supplementation and incident dementia: Effects of sex, APOE, and baseline cognitive status