Friday June 14, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in Nutrition suggests that low vitamin D may be a risk factor for brain disorders like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.Yan Zhao, B.Sc. from Shandong University of Technology in Zibo, P. R. China and colleagues meta-analyzed data from previous studies and found patients with Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease had low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D).Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with more than 100 types of health conditions including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Included in the analysis were data from six studies of 319 Alzheimer's patients and 573 controls and five studies of 434 Parkinson’s patients and 3451 controls.The researchers found both Alzheimer's disease patients Parkinson's disease patients had lower levels of 25(OH)D than healthy controls. (reporting Jimmy Downs)