Vitamin D may prevent cancer

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new analysis suggests that vitamin D may help prevent breast and colorectal cancer.
Previous research has suggested that vitamin D can help in the prevention of cancer. Now there is fresh evidence from an analysis from the University of California. They looked at the risk of breast cancer among two large clinical studies and found those women with the lowest levels of vitamin D in their blood had the highest risk of cancer. They believe that taking 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 and, when the weather permits, spending ten to 15 minutes a day in the sun would afford women significant protection against breast cancer.

Meanwhile, a second study from the same team shows that vitamin D may also protect against colorectal cancer. The analysis involved nearly 1,500 individuals followed up for 25 years and also showed that those with the lowest levels of vitamin D had the highest cancer risk. The researchers think that the above vitamin D recommendations could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by two thirds. However, sun exposure should be limited - the skin should not burn and those with darker skin may need up to 25 minutes exposure to get the vitamin D benefits. The research included data from the Women's Health Initiative, which did suggest that vitamin D does not protect against colorectal cancer. The researchers believe that higher levels of the vitamin do, in fact, afford some protection.

Source
Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology online and American Journal of Preventive Medicine online 6th February 2007

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