Two articles in as many weeks confirm what CANCERactive has been telling readers for more than 12 years. Vitamin D is essential to your health. And if you cannot derive enough from sunshine, you should be taking supplements.
1. The University of Washington shows benefits of vitamin D in IBS, colitis and colorectal cancer
It has long been thought that vitamin D can reduce gut inflammation and the risk of colorectal cancer.
A new study led by Dr. Lillian Maggio-Price in the Department of Comparative Medicine at the University of Washington showed that vitamin D was linked to lowering the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colon cancer. The study, “Increased Dietary Vitamin D Suppresses MAPK Signaling, Colitis, and Colon Cancer” appears in the journal Cancer Research.
Special Report: Vitamin D and Cancer; are you getting enough?
The lead author Dr. Stacy Meeker from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed that by increasing vitamin D levels in the diet one could limit inflammation, tumour formation, and colitis-associated colon cancer.
For the study, the team used genetically engineered mice fed various levels of vitamin D. Researchers found that the mice with the highest vitamin D consumption had reduced colitis, fewer immune cell problems in the gut, decreased pro-inflammatory signaling pathway activity, and lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. There was also a fourfold decrease in invasive colon cancer risk.
Foods do not provide enough vitamin D
The foods shown above contain only very small levels of vitamin D. By far the best source is the action of sunshine on the skin, which makes vitamin D from the cholesterol layers underneath. Experts recommend an hour in the sun, or 1,000 to 2,000 IUs daily for prevention of many diseases. 5,000 IUs is the recommended daily level for people with cancer. That would be 4 hours in the sun.
2. Sunshine or Supplement?
Public Health England has now accepted advice from the UK’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and stated that everyone should obtain adequate levels of daily vitamin D either through sunshine in the summer, or supplementation in the winter months. At CANCERactive, we have been absolutely consistent on this as our recommendation for more than 12 years, based on the huge volume of science available.
And, if you have no heart, blood pressure or blood clotting problems, we believe vitamin K2 is a useful additive as it helps vitamin D in its action.
If you are already thinking of buying Vitamin D you might like to look at what NATURAL SELECTION has to offer - CLICK HERE.
For CANCERactive’s definitive article: Vitamin D - are you getting enough? CLICK HERE.