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Vitamin D Reduces Risk of Colon
Cancer Death by 72 Percent
People with higher levels of vitamin D in their bodies are 72
percent less likely to die from colorectal cancer, according to
a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute. Colorectal cancer kills approximately 50,000 people
in the United States per year.
Researchers tracked the health status of 16,818 people in a nationwide
government health survey. Participants joined between the years
of 1988 and 1994 and were followed until the year 2000. Their
blood was measured regularly to determine their bodies' levels
of vitamin D. Those with higher levels of vitamin D at the beginning
of the study were 72 percent less likely to die from colorectal
cancer than those who began the study with the lowest levels
of the nutrient.
Vitamin D is produced by the body when ultraviolet radiation from
the sun strikes the skin. This means that deficiency can be a
serious health problem in northern latitudes, particularly during
the winter. For this reason, many milk products and non-dairy
milk substitutes are fortified with the vitamin. Certain fatty
fishes, such as salmon, are naturally high in vitamin D.
Deficiency in vitamin D can lead to rickets, a condition characterized
by soft, weak bones, particularly in children.
Prior research has indicated that in addition to acting as an
essential nutrient, vitamin D may inhibit the growth of tumors
or even kill cancerous cells.
In an accompanying editorial, National Institutes of Health experts
Cindy Davis and Johanna Dwyer warned that vitamin D supplementation
is not the end-all of cancer
prevention.
"While vitamin D may well have multiple benefits beyond bone,
health professionals and the public should not, in a rush to judgment,
assume that vitamin D is a magic bullet and consume high amounts
of vitamin D," they wrote. "More definitive data on both benefits
and potential adverse effects of high doses are urgently needed."
Vitamin D can be toxic in high concentrations, but toxicity cannot
result from sunlight exposure, because the body ceases production
when the needed bodily levels have been reached.
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