Funny how there's a trend in vitamins and supplements. Vitamin C was the super star in the 1970s when Linus Pauling went to bat for it. Earlier, in the 1930s, vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, was the one that got all the attention. Babies were routinely put out in their baby carriages with just a diaper on to catch the rays to develop their bones, and that was on doctor's orders. Well, decades later, the sun became the villain. We were advised either to stay out of the sun or to get slathered in goop as a protectant.

Fast forward to now — and it's vitamin D's turn again. Study after study is looking at the D-levels of today's humans and finding that people are routinely deficient in vitamin D. One study found only 35 percent of us have sufficient levels. Some say that's because humans evolved to be outside just like most mammals, and instead we are living inside and warding off the rays with sunscreen when we do go out.

Newly discovered benefits of D

Well, now research is moving beyond the effect of vitamin D on bones to the effect of vitamin D on the brain and memory. Studies from several countries increasingly link good memory with good levels of vitamin D.

The most recent study, published this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is probably the first in the world to look at vitamin D and cognitive decline or dementia over time. This kind of research is known as a prospective study and took place over a period of six years, tracking mental agility and vitamin D levels.

The results were clear and, in the words of the researchers: “Low levels of vitamin D were associated with substantial cognitive decline”. Translation: Substantial cognitive decline means you are losing it between the ears.

What to do?

The advice, as usual, is to talk it over with your doc and look at the possibility of testing your levels of vitamin D.

The current official nutritional advice about supplements is to take vitamin D3 at a dose of 400 IU, but that recommendation is expected to increase. Some also say you should get 20 minutes of sun every day: your dermatologist would likely disagree with the sun part and recommend a supplement instead.

Though we can and do ask the experts, when they disagree, we are left to consult the wise person within. Some days my wise person is on vacation, so I wish the experts would get together. Meanwhile, what is clear? That we need some form of vitamin D for bone health and good mental function and the odds are most of us are low on D.

Something new for you … www.geezerdiary.com

Here's a heart-felt invitation: I'm writing a new website for your reading enjoyment, www.geezerdiary.com, and hope you'll come often to visit. Readers have been so enthusiastic about the Tuesday health column you're now reading that I'm expanding beyond health to include just about everything connected to growing older. In fact, the name of the site is The Geezer Dairy, Traveling on the Outskirts of Age.

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Mel Walsh is a gerontologist, author and columnist. Her book, Hot Granny, is available at The Book Seller in Grass Valley. Visit Mel at www.melwalsh.com.