Last Friday, the Canadian Cancer Society took a major step and said that all adults should start taking vitamin D every day. It is the first time that a significant health organization has fully endorsed the use of this nutrient in cancer prevention. A large number of studies have investigated this ability of vitamin D, yet the Society’s advice is likely spurred by new findings out of the U.S.
Researchers there have discovered that vitamin D supplements slash your risk of cancer by as much as 60%. That, all experts agree, is a huge number.
Doctors Health Press has been on top of all the research into the vitamin D/cancer link. Supplements have shown to offer a great deal of protection against a variety of tumors. People with low levels of vitamin D have been far more likely to develop cancer. But this new development outdoes them all in terms of significance. The news was reported Friday on the front page of Canada’s national newspaper, “The Globe and Mail.” And it is quite likely U.S. organizations will follow suit.
What isn’t known is just how many cancer cases could be prevented, but the link with vitamin D is too strong now to ignore. Because vitamin D is naturally obtained from the sun through absorbtion in our skin, the Society has broken its recommendations down according to skin color.
— Those with fair should take supplements with 1,000 IU (international units) a day in the fall and winter. In sunny seasons, they need to get about 10 to 15 minutes of direct sun exposure on their skin — without the aid of sunscreen. (After 15 minutes, apply the screen.)
— Those with darker skin should take 1,000 IU all year round. Their skin contains pigments that lowers the amount of vitamin D produced.
The best part of all this is that vitamin D is very inexpensive. A year’s supply for supplements is just $15. This means that a truly effective anticancer therapy is extremely cost effective.
The new study out of the U.S. found that women taking supplements had dramatically lower levels of cancer incidence than women receiving placebo. Measuring blood, researchers found that the protected women had more than double the levels of what’s typical in the middle of winter. Nearly every type of cancer monitored proved lower in those taking vitamin D.
It may be time to allow ourselves to get excited over vitamin D’s possibilities.