Vitamin D is strongly associated with bone health due to the role of its active form, calcitriol, in the remodeling of bone. However, new research has linked vitamin D with improving immune support—it’s shown to have a role in activating the innate and dampening the adaptive immune system—as well as highlighting its anti-inflammatory properties. Exploring these new avenues for vitamin D could potentially benefit research and product development into brain health related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. 
 
Vitamin D Increasingly Used in Brain Health-Positioned Products
Brain health and memory diseases are increasingly public health concerns as we live in an aging population. In addition, deaths from mental and behavioral disorders have risen from 592.1 per 100,000 people in 2000 to 814.5 per 100,000 people in 2012.
 
A study published a year ago in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease suggested that omega 3 DHA and vitamin D3 helped to optimize the immune system’s amyloid plaque clearance rate. Omega 3 and vitamin D fortified foods are already popular, and a strengthening of the brain health connection will only boost sales.
 
In January 2013, Nutricia (acquired by Danone in 2007) launched Souvenaid on the U.K. market. Souvenaid is a medical nutrition drink aimed at people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, available over-the-counter in pharmacies in both strawberry and vanilla flavors. It contains a cocktail of nutrients, including choline, DHA & EPA omega 3s, vitamins E, C, D, B12, B6, folic acid, selenium and UMP (uridine monophosphate, a nucleotide found in cellular RNA).
 
As dementia becomes an ever more momentous public health problem fuelled by global population aging, foods and beverages which are either naturally rich in some of the substances featured in products like Souvenaid and Axona, or which are fortified with them, will rise in popularity.
 
Low Vitamin Levels Fuel Inflammation
In November 2011, researchers at the renowned Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that patients with low vitamin D levels were significantly more likely to develop a condition called recurrent inflammatory spinal cord disease. The researchers considered this finding to strengthen the evidence base of an existent link between low vitamin D levels and immunologic dysregulation. After all, it is the immune system which regulates the body’s inflammatory response.
 
Furthermore, in March 2013, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism published a study involving a traditional Middle Eastern type of drinkable yogurt called “doogh,” fortified with vitamin D. At the end of the 12-week trial, the study subjects who had consumed the yogurt had significantly lower levels of a number of inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein, and an increased level of adiponectin, a hormone known to exert an anti-inflammatory effect.
 
Besides highlighting the fact that more human studies were needed in this area, the researchers expressed concern about the relatively few food sources rich in vitamin D, with most of the population relying on absorption from sunlight. Therefore, an increased drive toward more widespread fortification of foods and beverages with vitamin D is something we are likely to witness in the long-term as the link between low vitamin D levels and inflammation becomes more firmly established.
 
For further insight, contact Diana Cowland, Health and Wellness Analyst at Euromonitor International, at [email protected].