Vitamin D and Cancer: 9 Facts You Need to Know

Vitamin D can not only fight many common illnesses, but can also prevent and reverse cancer, recent research suggests.

If something so powerful is actually available for everyone, why wouldn't someone take advantage of it?

The recent discovery that the body, with the help of vitamin D, possesses the capacity to fight many chronic illnesses has spurred the interest of many researchers - especially on the possibilities the sunshine vitamin can offer with regard to the prevention and reversal of diseases like cancer. A brief rundown of some facts, revealed by recent studies, can give us a perspective on how vitamin D can help.

1. Vitamin D slashes cancer risk by 77 percent.

A study was conducted involving 1, 179 healthy Nebraskan women who were divided into a control group and a placebo group. In the four years the study was conducted, the group who was receiving vitamin D and calcium supplements revealed a 60 percent decrease in cancers as compared to the placebo group. Read more

Vitamin D "Triggers and Arms" the Immune System

Vitamin D is crucial to the fending off of infections, claims new research.

The so-called sunshine vitamin, which can be obtained from food or manufactured by human skin exposed to the sun, plays a key role in boosting the immune system, researchers believe.

In particular it triggers and arms the body's T cells, the cells in the body that seek out and destroy any invading bacteria and viruses.

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that Vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defences and that without sufficient intake of the vitamin, the killer cells of the immune system – T cells – will not be able to react to and fight off serious infections in the body. Read more

Vitamin D Cuts Cancer Risk by 40%

Cut cancer risk by 40%? It's vitamin D to the rescue again.

Having a higher level of vitamin D in your blood means you are less like to develop bowel cancer than those with low levels, according to scientists.

A study published in the British Medical Journal has concluded that those with the highest levels of the vitamin were at 40 per cent lower risk of developing the disease compared with those with the lowest levels. Read more

How do you keep your children and yourself from getting sick? Be proactive with Vitamin D, probiotics, and immune boosters, says Margaret Durst.

‘How do I keep my kids from getting sick?’ is a question I get asked a lot this time of year. I think it is an important question for adults as well as kids – especially as we head into the holidays. It always seems to me that some of the worst cold and flu outbreaks occur right after the holidays.

I have several theories. The first is about exchanging bugs (virus and bacteria) with our cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, etc. The second theory is our exposure to extremely rich food, upsetting our digestive tract which holds a significant part of our immunity. The third theory is about cold cloudy days without enough sunlight which reduces our daily vitamin D levels.

I don’t get very concerned about my first theory. It is a necessary part of family life which I wouldn’t want to be without. So see if you can have the biggest Christmas ever and make sure you see everyone you are even remotely kin to. Follow the advice below to keep your immune system tuned up so that the virus and bacteria do not take hold in your system. Read more

Protect Your Breasts with Vitamin D

To protect our breasts, Dr. Christiane Northrup recommends that every woman check her vitamin D level regularly and keep it in the optimal range.

There's a paradigm shift going on in medicine as new research reveals a far greater role for vitamin D. Vitamin D is not just for kids -- or the prevention of rickets. Optimal levels of Vitamin D (40-80 ng/ml) enhance the creation and functioning of healthy cells throughout the body. In addition to protecting the bones and boosting the immune system, studies show that Vitamin D helps prevent certain cancers, including breast, ovarian, prostate, and colorectal.Exciting new research shows that in the U.S. alone, thousands of new cases of breast cancer could be prevented every year if more women had optimal levels of vitamin D.

A study conducted by Cedric Garland and other prominent vitamin D researchers determined that women with vitamin D levels above 52 ng/ml have half the risk of developing breast cancer as those with 13 ng/ml! Garland (et al) estimates that 58,000 new cases of breast cancer in the U.S. could be prevented per year by raising vitamin D levels to 52 ng/ml. Imagine what the global impact could be! Read more

Vitamin D Fuels Muscle Power in Teen Girls

Vitamin D is not only a remedy for rickets and osteoporosis, but is important for muscle power, force, velocity, and jump height.

Although vitamin D is naturally produced in the body through exposure to direct sunlight, vitamin D deficiency is now common in the U.S. The result can be a host of health ills, including severe conditions such as bone thinning osteoporosis and bone deforming rickets. Although a lack of vitamin D has long been known to weaken both the muscular and the skeletal systems of the human body, little has been known about how vitamin D contributes to muscle power and force --- until now. For the first time, scientists have found that vitamin D is important for muscle power, force, velocity and jump height. Read more

Vitamin D Can Help You Live Longer

Australian researchers found that people with normal levels of vitamin D in their body are more likely to live longer than those with a deficiency.

People with normal levels of vitamin D in their body are more likely to live longer than those with a deficiency, researchers have discovered.

The vitamin, produced when the skin is exposed to sunlight, helps the body absorb calcium and is considered important for bone health. Read more

Vitamin D Supplements Dangerous - Sunshine UV Good

Vitamin D is protective against heart disease and cancer, but supplements may not be the answer to raising levels of the vitamin. In fact, they may possibly be dangerous, according to new research. Apparently, the best way to get your vitamin D is the natural way - sunshine.

Low blood levels of vitamin D have long been associated with disease, and the assumption has been that vitamin D supplements may protect against disease. However, this new research demonstrates that ingested vitamin D is immunosuppressive and that low blood levels of vitamin D may be actually a result of the disease process. Supplementation may make the disease worse. Read more

Slow Aging with Vitamin D

Vitamin D has been recognized as protective against heart disease and cancer, but it may also slow down aging.

Vitamin D could help slow down the ageing of cells and tissues, according to British researchers.

A study of 2,160 women aged between 18 and 79 by researchers of King's College London published Thursday found those with higher vitamin D levels showed fewer ageing-related changes in their DNA.

The shortening of these strands of DNA called telomeres is one way of examining the ageing process at a cellular level.

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"These results are exciting because they demonstrate for the first time that people who have higher levels of vitamin D may age more slowly than people with lower levels of vitamin D. This could help to explain how vitamin D has a protective effect on many ageing-related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer," Brent Richards, who led the study, was quoted as saying. Read more