Older adults with low vitamin D levels – which accounts for a vast majority of older adults – may lose memory and critical thinking ability faster than those with normal vitamin D levels.

Low vitamin D levels are also associated with significantly more difficulty remembering general information (semantic memory), seeing the relationship between objects (visuospatial ability) and managing overall thinking processes (executive function). The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is 600 IU/day.

How to get your daily vitamin D:

• Spend 20 to 25 minutes on a sun exposure without sunscreen
• Eat fatty fish
• Eat canned tuna fish
• Eat of vitamin D rich mushrooms
• Drink some types of orange juice
• Take supplements
• Eat egg yolks
• Eat beef liver
• Take cod liver oil
• Use ultraviolet lamps and bolts

Vitamin D is also essential for bone health and protecting against colds and in fighting depression.

Did you know? Vitamin D supplementation combined with resistance training help decrease your waist to hip ratio – a measurement that is far better at determining your risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease than body mass index BMI alone.

Talk to a Fitness Professional at Innovative Health & Fitness about how increasing your intake of vitamin D can help you lose weight and improve your training performance.