importance of vitamin D

[sarah]

saw this on yahoo news:

Vitamin D may help slow breast cancer -study

By Patricia ReaneyMon Oct 16, 7:06 PM ET


High levels of vitamin D may help slow the progression of breast cancer, researchers suggested on Tuesday.

In a small study of women with the illness they found that patients with early breast cancer had higher levels of the vitamin than those with more advanced disease.

"Vitamin D levels are lower in women with advanced breast cancer than in early breast cancer," said Dr Carlo Palmieri, of Imperial College London.

"It lends support to the idea that vitamin D has a role in the progression of breast cancer," he told Reuters.

The researchers measured the amount of vitamin D in blood samples from 279 women with breast cancer. In 204 women, the disease was in its early stages. It was more advanced in the other 75.

"We know from previous studies that breast cancer incidence is higher in women who live in higher latitudes and have less sun exposure," said Palmieri.

Vitamin D, the so-called sunshine vitamin, is found in fortified milk and dairy products, cod liver oil and some fatty fish.

The body produces vitamin D in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight. Laboratory tests have also shown that vitamin D can stop cancer cells from dividing.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with more than a million cases detected worldwide each year, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France. The earlier the cancer is detected and treated, the greater the chances of survival.

Although the scientists do not know whether the low levels of vitamin D are a cause or a consequence of the cancer, their findings and the results of other studies suggest that low levels of vitamin D may be involved in the progression of early breast cancer to more advanced stages.

"The next thing in this research is to try and understand the potential causes and mechanisms underlying these differences and the precise consequences at a molecular level," said Palmieri, who reported the finding in the Journal of Clinical Pathology.

"We also need to look at the potential clinical implications of monitoring and maintaining high circulating vitamin D levels in breast cancer patients," he added in a statement.

Breast cancer is treated with surgery and radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone treatment, or a combination of them, depending on the cancer and stage of the illness.

Factors which can increase a woman's risk of breast cancer include having a mother or close relative with the disease, inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, an early puberty, late menopause and not having any children.

[AlaskaAngel]

Hi Sarah. Here's another. I'm fanatical about putting as much of my skin as possible in the sunshine for at least 20 minutes if there is any sunshine at all, even in very cold weather....



Cancer survival tied to season of diagnosis, sunlight exposure

Reuters Health
Posting Date: October 18, 2006

Last Updated: 2006-10-18 11:55:05 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The season in which cancer is diagnosed appears to affect survival, as does sunlight exposure to some extent, according to a study published in the October issue of the International Journal of Cancer.

"Sunlight is essential for the production of vitamin D in the body," Dr. Hyun-Sook Lim, of King's College London, UK, and colleagues write. "Evidence exists to suggest that vitamin D metabolites may have a role in tumor growth suppression."

The researchers used data from the Thames Cancer Registry to assess survival for cancers of the breast, colorectum, lung, prostate, and all sites combined, in relation to season of diagnosis and sunlight exposure.

Patients who were diagnosed with cancer in summer and autumn had better survival compared to those diagnosed in winter. This was especially true in female breast cancer patients and both male and female lung cancer patients. The beneficial effect on survival was also observed for cancers at all sites combined in both sexes.

Cumulative sunlight exposure in the months preceding cancer diagnosis also predicted subsequent survival. However, season of diagnosis was a stronger predictor.

"Our results add to a growing body of evidence that vitamin D may play an important role in cancer survival," the investigators conclude.

Int J Cancer 2006;119:1530-1536.

[RobinP]

HI AA, thanks for reminding us of the value of vit D. It's also great for bone health and prevention of colon cancer.

[heblaj01]

When supplementing with vitamin D pills for any reason, check that the pills (or liquid) contains preferably vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) instead of vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) which has to be converted in the body into D3 the active form.
So taking D2 is likely to result in less bioavailable D3,
D2 is often used in fortified processed foods like milk.

D3 is the form used in medical studies. Since D3 is fat soluble it is better absorbed as an oil containing solftgel (or with a fatty meal) compared to dry powder caplets.

[heblaj01]

Since we are entering the flu season I thought this article might interest those susceptible to seasonal infections.
While a definitive scientific proof of the probable effectiveness of vitamin D3 in fighting various infections is not provided the evidence based data & the epidemiology observations described in the article are quite convincing.

The high doses of vitamin D3 used in some studies are now considered as normal by some MD's (such as Dr Vieh in other publications) at least for otherwise healthy people.
There is however a risk in taking extremely high doses for extended periods of time related to initiation or agravation of osteoporosis.
Since absorption of vitamin D3 varies from person to person, monitoring blood levels is advisable when taking high doses.
By the way, I read somewhere that a relatively moderate exposure to sun can cause blood levels to rise to the equivalent of 20000 IU of ingested D3.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=51913

Epidemic Influenza And Vitamin D

[heblaj01]

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/84/4/694
The case against ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) as a vitamin supplement1,2

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition