Vitamin D and cancer

[Guest guest]

16 June 2008At what point do they throw in the towel and just admit that a vitamin supplement (specifically, vitamin D) might help you avoid becoming a cancer victim? By "they" I mean those mainstream medical wonks who always pipe up with a comment like this: "On the basis of this study, I would not recommend vitamin D supplementation." That quote comes from an academic with an expertise in cancer prevention. He also told US TV programme ABC News, "There have been far too many examples in the past where preliminary studies of this type led to recommendations for supplementation that later we found to be either not helpful or harmful." Right. Well, if you want to dig in with a stubbornly myopic view of just one single study, then sure - withhold your recommendation. Meanwhile, those of us who are interested in preventing cancer right NOW will

look at recent research, combined with plenty of past research, and conclude that vitamin D supplementation is a signed/sealed/delivered no-brainer. Especially when it comes to "supplementing" with a few rays of sunshine whenever possible. Very receptive The academic's comment above refers to a new study that every woman needs to know about. Here's why: Lead researcher, Professor Pamela Goodwin (of the University of Toronto) told ABC: "Previous research has shown that breast cancer cells have vitamin D receptors, and we can slow down the growth of these cancer cells and take away some of their aggressiveness with vitamin D." That's a very encouraging insight! So Prof. Goodwin and her team tested blood samples for more than 500 breast cancer patients. Each sample was taken at the time of cancer diagnosis. Health

records were followed for 10 to 15 years. Results: * About 75 percent of the subjects were vitamin D deficient at the time of diagnosis * Those who were vitamin D deficient were nearly 95 percent more likely to later find their cancer had spread compared to the patients with adequate vitamin D levels * Almost 75 percent of the vitamin D deficient women were more likely to die from their cancer compared to women with adequate D levels Given that these revealing results confirm previous research, and given Prof.. Goodwin's note about slowing down cancer cell growth with vitamin D, would you like to guess what she has to say about supplementation? It's just too predictable. She tells ABC that she wouldn't encourage cancer-free women to begin taking vitamin D supplements as a preventive measure. Give the sun just

10 minutes. Give ABC points for balancing out the supplement negativity with some positive commentary from Dr Stefan Glück, Ph.D., - the director of a breast cancer institute at the University of Miami in the US. Dr. Glück: "All my patients are on vitamin D. They should [take one vitamin D supplement] per day, or prior to sun exposure, put your sunscreen on 10 minutes after you are exposed." And Dr. Glück offers this important guide: You'll pick up about 12,000 IU of vitamin D with just 10 minutes of direct sunlight exposure. That's an important recommendation. But Dr. Glück lives in Miami where year-round sun exposure is a way of life. The next time you visit your doctor, ask him about testing your vitamin D level with a "25-hydroxy vitamin D" blood test - the most accurate test for determining vitamin D deficiency.

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