{"id":493241,"date":"2026-05-20T00:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T00:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/493241\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T00:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T00:05:18","slug":"four-micronutrients-to-prioritise-in-midlife-to-protect-your-brain-and-bones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/493241\/","title":{"rendered":"Four micronutrients to prioritise in midlife to protect your brain and bones"},"content":{"rendered":"

While vitamin D has been traditionally known for its role in bone and muscle health<\/a>, recent studies have connected it to other areas such as immune function as well as mood and metabolic health. Common signs of a deficiency include tiredness<\/a>, sensations of muscle weakness, brain fog or low mood.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor says the Tilda study found that older adults with vitamin D deficiencies<\/a> had a 75 per cent increased risk of developing depression over four years and a 62 per cent increased risk of pre-diabetes.<\/p>\n

While we can get vitamin D from our diet, including foods such as egg yolks and oily fish, the main source is sunlight, which triggers the synthesis of vitamin D via a chemical reaction in our skin. Studies have found that 10 to 30 minutes of midday sun exposure several times a week is sufficient to meet our needs.<\/p>\n

Many people in the UK, however, either fail to get enough vitamin D during the summer months or carry genetic variants that inhibit their body\u2019s ability to synthesise and make use of it.<\/p>\n

How to fix it<\/p>\n

The best way to meet your vitamin D requirements is via supplements. Avni Vyas, a senior lecturer in nutrition and dietetics at Manchester Metropolitan University, recommends opting for vitamin D3. \u201cThis is the form which is much more easily metabolised and absorbed through the intestines,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

You should also prioritise foods rich in vitamin D such as oily fish, eggs, dairy, and fortified breads and cereals.<\/p>\n

While vitamin D is now often being offered in high-dose infusions, scientists advise staying clear of these options. This is because it is possible to overdose \u2013 something that can lead to kidney injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cA standard over-the-counter dose is about 10 micrograms per day, or you can get slightly higher doses of 25 micrograms per day,\u201d says Vyas.<\/p>\n

2. Vitamin B12<\/p>\n

Vitamin B12 deficiencies<\/a> can lead to damage of the gut lining and accelerate the shrinkage and deterioration of various brain regions.<\/p>\n

\u201cB12 is also involved in your red blood cell turnover,\u201d says Bradley Elliott, a researcher at the University of Westminster who is a trustee for the British Society for Research in Ageing. \u201cSo when people are B12 deficient, they tend to feel weak and fatigued a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

We get vitamin B12 from various animal foods such as fish, poultry, eggs, beef and organ meats, as well as fortified breakfast cereals. But past the age of 50, our ability to absorb it from food can decline.<\/p>\n

\u201cB12 is released from food in the stomach, from stomach acid,\u201d says O\u2019Connor. \u201cAnd stomach acid declines with age, while the use of common medications such as proton pump inhibitors and metformin can also affect its absorption. It\u2019s a silent deficiency; it creeps up.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to fix it<\/p>\n

For older adults with B12 deficiencies not caused by their diet, the NHS recommends supplementing with one or two 1,000-microgram tablets each day. Vegans are also encouraged to supplement vitamin B12 because of the lack of meat and dairy in their diets.<\/p>\n

Oral sprays are an alternative, while people with severe deficiencies can be recommended to receive injections.<\/p>\n

3. Folate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While vitamin D has been traditionally known for its role in bone and muscle health, recent studies have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[277],"tags":[25137,215077,13317,26508,18,135,8547,19,17,508,1702,172075,11699],"class_list":["post-493241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-bone-health","tag-bones-amp-joints","tag-brain-health","tag-conditions","tag-eire","tag-health","tag-health-and-fitness","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-nutrition","tag-standard","tag-us-content","tag-vitamin-d"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116603986013562950","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}