Skip to content
Wellness Blog
9 Vital Functions Of Vitamin D
Vitamin D, which is technically a hormone rather than a vitamin, is a crucial nutrient. Unfortunately, many Americans – even those who eat a good diet – are vitamin D deficient. Typically, we get a vitamin D boost from the sun, but because we are wearing more sunscreen and spending more time INSIDE our levels are falling, putting us at greater health risks. In fact, there is research linking vitamin D deficiency to over 200 diseases. Although most people think of vitamin D as just the “sunshine vitamin”, they often do not fully understand the significant ways that vitamin D affects your brain, body and overall health. Here are 9 Vital Functions of Vitamin D Immunity Vitamin D receptors are found all over the body, including the immune cells. Research has clearly shown that vitamin D deficiency is part of the seasonal nature of cold and flu outbreaks – less sunlight means less vitamin D, which leads to lower immunity and more illness. Bones It’s well-documented that vitamin D is essential for the proper absorption of calcium, and it’s been shown to greatly reduce fracture risk in two ways. First, it helps with the formation of stronger bones; second, Vitamin D helps improve balance and prevent falls by enhancing muscle contraction. Muscles One of the byproducts of vitamin D’s breakdown, called 1,25(OH)2D, enters muscle cells and affects the nucleus. Once there, the vitamin D metabolite enhances the cell’s contraction ability. Since muscles work by contraction and relaxation, a muscle’s ability to contract is essential to its strength and response to outside forces. Vitamin D, then, makes muscles stronger in a very direct way. Lungs As many studies indicate, vitamin D plays a role in keeping our lungs healthy due to vitamin D possessing a range of anti-inflammatory properties – with greater concentrations of vitamin D resulting in greater lung health benefits. Heart Research has demonstrated an inverse relationship between vitamin D levels in the blood and high blood pressure (HBP or hypertension). In other words, the lower the vitamin D, the higher the blood pressure. The excess strain and resulting damage from high blood pressure causes the coronary arteries serving the heart to slowly narrow and harden, greatly increasing the risk of a heart attack. Kidneys Because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, it helps to regulate kidney function and plays a very beneficial role in treating kidney disease. Mood When it comes to being happy, the scientific evidence is clear. The lower your vitamin D levels, the more likely you are to feel blue rather than happy. Low levels of vitamin D have long been associated with a higher incidence of depression. Interestingly, when vitamin D3 supplements were compared to anti-depressants in a 2014 study, the positive effect of vitamin D3 on mood was comparable to the effects of the anti-depressants. Weight Loss When you don’t have enough vitamin D, you feel hungry all the time, no matter how much you eat. That is because low levels of vitamin D interfere with the effectiveness of leptin, the appetite hormone that tells you when you are full. When vitamin D is replenished and back to normal levels, leptin’s actions are restored, thus creating feelings of satiety and aiding in weight loss. Cognitive Function In the past few years, many studies have linked shortage of vitamin D with cognitive impairment in older men and women. Research has demonstrated that vitamin D has a variety of neuroprotective roles, including helping to rid the brain of beta-amyloid, an abnormal protein that is believed to be a major cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, an international study (the largest to date) shows that seniors with very low levels of vitamin D are at twice the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Learn more
Focus on Choline: Improve Focus & Memory
Believe it or not, summer is coming to an end. It is the back-to-school and, for a lot of people, back-to-work, time of year – a time requiring focus, concentration, and memory. Plenty of people struggle with those…and if you are one of those, it is time to pay attention to choline. Choline? Many have never even heard of it before, let alone been aware they needed to pay attention to it. So what is choline? Although not technically a vitamin by strict definition, it is an essential nutrient required for many functions of the body, especially for brain function. It is also involved in healthy liver function, nerve function, and muscle movement, as well as supporting energy levels and maintaining a healthy metabolism. One of the primary functions of choline is helping brain cells in the production of acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter for mental focus and learning. A choline deficiency can result in poor concentration, poor memory, mood changes and other cognitive impairments, especially as someone ages. Additionally, choline plays an important role in maintaining the structural integrity of cell membranes and for cholinergic neurotransmission, which is responsible for memory, mental clarity, focus and concentration. Choline has been shown in research to be helpful in improving cognitive performance in a young, cognitively healthy, community-based population of 1,391 subjects. Furthermore, choline is a major dietary source of methyl groups, which the brain needs for making the neurotransmitter epinephrine, the sleep hormone melatonin, and the myelin insulation of its nerve cells. Our neurons and all our other cells also require methyl to make and maintain their DNA, to manage their healthy gene activity (epigenetics), for growth and maintenance, regulation of potentially toxic homocysteine, and for numerous other life functions. While our bodies are able to make a small amount of choline on their own, we must obtain the rest from food sources. Choline can be found in foods including egg yolks, liver, beef, salmon, cod, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, and peanut butter. You may have heard eggs referred to as “brain food” because they are so rich in choline. Research indicates that a large percentage of women, children, and older men are not receiving adequate choline in their diets. Choline is especially present in animal products, so vegetarians and vegans are more prone to experiencing a deficiency in choline. Although eating a varied diet increases the likelihood that you are consuming enough choline, you may want to consider trying a supplement that contains choline – especially if you find yourself struggling with memory, focus, attention, or learning. The nutritional ingredients in our BrainMD products are specifically designed for the health of the organ that controls everything we do, think and feel—the brain. Focus & Energy and Attention Support both contain Choline for improved focus. Read more about these two different products on the BrainMD website to better understand how they may benefit you.
Learn more
6 Ingredients to Increase Your Focus
Is it hard for you to sit still? Do you have trouble concentrating? Are you finding it difficult to focus when you need to? If so, you are not alone! Disturbing new research reports that humans lose their concentration after about 8 seconds, while the simple goldfish loses its focus after about 9 seconds. It seems like evolution may be going in the wrong direction. In 2000, the average human attention span was estimated at 12 seconds, which is not great; but losing a third of our attention span in 15 years is alarming! This rapid rise of attention problems is due to many factors, including low-fat, low-fiber, high-glycemic diets, increased use of electronics, decreased exercise, and diminished sleep. While supplements can’t take the place of important health-supporting habits such as eating right, exercising, and sleeping, BrainMD Health’s Attention Support can help mind the gap. Watch this short video where Dr. Amen and BrainMD Health’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Parris Kidd tell you all about Attention Support and how its winning combination of clinically researched ingredients can help our distractible brains stay on track! “I’ve seen the attention of my patients go down over the last 30 years with the constant distractions we all face from the Internet and multiple gadgets. I designed Attention Support to give children and adults something natural that would actually help support their attention in multiple ways.” – Daniel G. Amen, MD Here’s what you get with Attention Support: PhosphatidylSerine – a natural building block for cell membranes that supports healthy cognitive function Pycnogenol® – a powerful antioxidant that promotes delivery of blood to the brain demonstrated to help with attention through over 100 clinical trials Choline – vitamin-like nutrient that supports the brain’s production of acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter for mental focus Zinc – an essential mineral clinically proven to benefit attention in kids Magnesium – the most bioavailable form of this critical mineral that helps assure a calm, even mood and good mental focus Vitamin B6 – involved in the metabolism of all of the neurotransmitters that have to do with attention In order to be successful in today’s world, you need to be able to focus and pay attention. Support your maximum potential through multiple mechanisms with BrainMD Health’s Attention Support.
Learn more