Vitamin D, also known as the "Sunshine Vitamin" because it's activated by sunlight, has been found to help prevent Alzheimer's disease and other form of dementia.

A new study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Neurology, confirms older adults that don't get enough of Vitamin D could double their risk of acquiring dementia such as Alzheimer's disease.

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Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that cause long term loss of the ability to think and reason. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for three-fourths of all dementia.

Other forms include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia.

The study found a link between dementia and both vitamin D deficiency and depression.

It examined blood tests from 1,658 volunteers over the age of 65, none of whom had dementia. After some six years, 171 of these volunteers developed dementia while 102 were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Compared to people with normal levels of vitamin D, those with low levels of the Sunshine Vitamin had a 53 percent increased risk for dementia. They were also 70 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer's.

Volunteers that were severely deficient in vitamin D had a 125 percent greater risk for dementia and were more than 120 percent more likely to get Alzheimer's.

The results were unchanged after researchers adjusted their numbers to take other risk factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption into account.

"We expected to find an association between low vitamin D levels and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but the results were surprising - we actually found that the association was twice as strong as we anticipated," said Dr. David Llewellyn of the University of Exeter Medical School in the U.K., who authored the study.

Llewellyn said more clinical trials should be conducted to determine if eating foods high in Vitamin D or taking Vitamin D supplements could delay or even prevent dementia and Alzheimer's.

There are currently no disease modifying treatments for dementia.

Dr. Llewellyn said the study's findings does not demonstrate that low vitamin D levels cause dementia but does link the two conditions.

"Even if a small number of people could benefit, this would have enormous public health implications given the devastating and costly nature of dementia," he said.

Llewellyn said it's too early to know if boosting vitamin D levels could delay or prevent dementia.

Previous trials have shown that Vitamin D is effective in other health issues such as preventing bone fractures.

He recommends people should eat a balanced diet that includes oily fish and regularly venture outdoors into the sunlight as part of an active lifestyle.

Vitamin D is important and comes mostly from fish and regular exposure of the skin to moderate sunlight

The best evidence of benefit derived from Vitamin D is for bone health. The most important compounds in Vitamin D are Vitamin D3 (also known as cholecalciferol) and vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol).