According to new research, low levels of a particular form of vitamin D could be linked with Alzheimer’s disease.
A team from London’s Kingston University collaborated with researchers from Brighton and Sussex Medical School and the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation, and analysed blood samples from patients with Alzheimer’s over a six-month period.
They compared the results of individuals who were taking medication with those who were not being treated with any drugs and also a further group who did not have the condition. The results showed that Alzheimer’s patients who were not taking medication had very low levels of vitamin D2 – the type originating from food such as oily fish, rather than that obtained from exposure to the sun.
Those individuals who were either being treated with drugs to control their Alzheimer’s or who didn’t have the condition at all showed far higher levels of vitamin D2. Lead researcher Professor Declan Naughton commented: “Further investigations are now needed to determine whether simple dietary advice or giving a specific supplement could restore beneficial levels in Alzheimer’s patients.” The results were published in Current Alzheimer Research.
It was my understanding that Vitamin D2 was a manufactured form of Vitamin D, and that Vitamin D3 was the natural form and the one people should be taking for absorbability and effectiveness. Why do doctors, and you, continue to refer to, and prescribe D2 instead of the preferable D3. I haven’t seen such confusion in your column before this reference. Or am I wrong?
I take Vitamin D3 and have been advising all my family and friends to do the same. But many doctors still prescribe D2 unless the patient specifically asks for D3. Why is this?
Wallace,
I only use and formulate with natural D3 and if you see a typo anywhere please let me know. I always need extra eyes to find these things.
Thank you for your feedback
Robert Redfern
http://www.GoodHealthHelpDesk.com