Studies Suggest Vitamin D Benefits May Include Cancer Prevention
by RA Butters
Studies on "sunshine vitamin" deficiencies indicate that the list of vitamin D benefits may well include preventing various forms of cancer.
For nearly a decade San Francisco's Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center has been reviewing ecological studies of solar ultraviolet B (the sunshine component that stimulates the body to manufacture D vitamin) and cancer. According to the Center, colon and breast cancers show the strongest correlations to a lack of sun exposure leading to deficiency of the vitamin, but links have also been found with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ovarian cancer and kidney cancer.
Center Director William B. Grant said the findings provide strong evidence that levels of the vitamin are important in controlling the outcome of cancer. He also said he believes the support for UVB-vitamin D-cancer theory is scientifically strong enough to warrant use of vitamin D as a component of treatment in cancer prevention.
Low sun exposure and sunshine vitamin deficiencies tied to incidence of certain cancers around the world
Using information from the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) literally mapped the incidences of various forms of cancer throughout the world. The results showed that the areas with the lowest exposure to the sun's UV rays (and therefore, lowest levels of vitamin D) have the highest incidence of several forms of cancer.
The researchers stressed that even after correcting for environmental variables such as diet, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, weight, and fertility, the association between low D vitamin levels and the incidence of breast, kidney, and other cancers remained strong.
Sunlight exposure a crucial factor
D vitamin is available through some foods, including salmon, fortified milk, and eggs, but experts say the average diet yields only a fraction of the amount that the body requires. Exposure to sunlight triggers the body to manufacture the vitamin, and the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center says even brief, casual sun exposure can maximize vitamin D benefits. As little as five to 10 minutes of exposure to the midday sun can produce up to 4,000 IU of the vitamin, according to the center.
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