Jeff Cassman

The deficiency is linked to depression and poorer brain function, lower verbal fluency and even dementia.

Vitamin D deficiency is linked to depressive symptoms and more negative thoughts, research finds.

Vitamin D deficiency is also linked to cognitive impairments in young people.

Foods that have high levels of vitamin D include oily fish and eggs but most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.

That is why levels are typically lower in the body through the winter months in more Northern climes.

The research was carried out on 225 patients being treated for psychotic disorders and 159 well people.

Among people with psychosis, higher levels of negative symptoms and depression were found in those with low vitamin D levels.

Problems with processing speed and verbal fluency were also found among young people with low levels of vitamin D.

The findings fit in with previous research that low vitamin D levels are linked to depression.

The vitamin is also thought to play a role in regulating serotonin, a neurotransmitter important for mood.

Vitamin D deficiency has even been linked to dementia.

The study’s authors conclude:

“In a clinical setting, this could support vitamin D as adjuvant therapy in treating co-morbid depressions in psychotic disorders

The associations between low vitamin D levels and increased negative and depressive symptoms, and decreased processing speed and verbal fluency are good arguments for planning large scale randomised controlled studies in target populations, in order to reach conclusions about vitamin D’s potential beneficial effect in psychotic disorders.”

The study was published in the journal Schizophrenia Research (Nerhus et al., 2016).

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The right amount of fruit and vegetables for long-life and a lower risk of heart disease and cancer.

People who eat high amounts of fruits and vegetables every day are more likely to be protected from cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and many other long-term illnesses.

Despite this, barely one-in-10 people consume an adequate amount of fruits or vegetables regularly.

According to a study, eating 3 servings of vegetables and two of fruits a day is the right ratio for your five-a-day recommended intake to optimise lifespan.

Dr Dong Wang, the study’s first author, said:

“While groups like the American Heart Association recommend four to five servings each of fruits and vegetables daily, consumers likely get inconsistent messages about what defines optimal daily intake of fruits and vegetables such as the recommended amount, and which foods to include and avoid.”

The study analysed data regarding fruit and vegetable intake which was obtained from 2 million adults in 29 countries.

They found that:

• Five servings of fruits and vegetables per day was linked to reduced death risk.
• Eating three servings of vegetable and two servings of fruits every day was linked to the utmost longevity.
• Participants who had five servings of fruits and vegetable a day were 13 percent less likely to die from any illnesses than those who had two servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
• Also, they had a 35 percent reduced risk of dying from lung conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a 12 percent reduced risk of dying from heart disease, and a 10 percent reduced risk of dying from cancer.
• Not all fruits and vegetables are equal: Vitamin C-rich and beta carotene-rich fruit and vegetables such as berries, citrus fruits, and carrots, and green leafy and cruciferous vegetables such as lettuce, spinach and kale showed benefits, while starchy vegetables such as corn and peas, potatoes, and fruit juices didn’t show any benefits in terms of lowering death risk or increasing longevity.

Dr Wang said:

“People should ideally consume five servings of fruit and vegetable each day.

This amount likely offers the most benefit in terms of prevention of major chronic disease and is a relatively achievable intake for the general public.

We also found that not all fruits and vegetables offer the same degree of benefit, even though current dietary recommendations generally treat all types of fruits and vegetables, including starchy vegetables, fruit juices and potatoes, the same.”

Dr Anne Thorndike from Harvard Medical School in Boston and chair of the American Heart Association’s nutrition committee, said:

“The American Heart Association recommends filling at least half your plate with fruits and vegetables at each meal.

This research provides strong evidence for the lifelong benefits of eating fruits and vegetables and suggests a goal amount to consume daily for ideal health.

Fruits and vegetables are naturally packaged sources of nutrients that can be included in most meals and snacks, and they are essential for keeping our hearts and bodies healthy.”

The study was published in the journal Circulation (Wang et al., 2021).

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People with this trait tend to have larger brain volumes in critical areas, a study finds.

Conscientious people tend to have larger brain volumes in critical areas, research reveals.

People who are careful, efficient and self-disciplined, have more gray matter in their frontal and medial temporal brain regions.

These areas are critical for many functions, including reasoning, taking action and controlling the emotions.

The link could be explained by conscientious people being more likely to look after their health: so, their brains shrink less with age.

In contrast, neurotic people — those who tend to get nervous or sad — have smaller brain volumes in these regions.

This link may be due to chronic stress causing brain shrinkage.

The conclusions come from a study including 79 people aged 44 – 88 who were given personality tests and brain scans.

Dr Denise Head, study co-author, explained the results:

“Our data clearly show an association between personality and brain volume, particularly in brain regions associated with emotional and social processing.

This could be interpreted that personality may influence the rate of brain aging.”

One of the ways being neurotic may affect brain volume is through stress.

Chronic stress does all sorts of damage to the brain over the years.

Dr Jonathan Jackson, the study’s first author, explained:

“We assumed that neuroticism would be negatively related to structural volume.

We really focused on the prefrontal and medial temporal regions because they are the regions where you see the greatest age changes, and they are also seats of attention, emotion and memory.

We found that more neurotic individuals had smaller volumes in certain prefrontal and medial temporal parts of the brain than those who were less neurotic, and the opposite pattern was found with conscientiousness.”

It is not clear from this study that being neurotic, or lacking conscientious, causes reduced brain volume.

One theory is that the early stages of Alzheimer’s may prompt a change in personality.

Dr Jackson said:

“It might be that changes in personality track onto those people more likely to develop Alzheimer’s.

We know that there are degenerative processes going on before the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.

We want to be able to see if the subtle personality changes might be particular to an early clinical picture and possibly see if one can predict who will become demented based on personality changes.”

The study was published in the journal Neurobiology in Aging (Jackson et al., 2012).

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