New research out of the Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) in Washington, DC, has found yet another link between high vitamin D intake and a reduced risk of breast cancer. Presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the findings reveal that high doses of vitamin D are linked to a 50 percent reduction in tumor cases, and a 75 percent reduction in overall cancer growth among those who already have the disease.

For several years now, researchers have observed a correlation between low vitamin D levels and high rates of disease, including breast cancer. As a result, many of them have initiated various studies designed to verify whether or not a causative link exists between vitamin D deficiency and disease. So far, the results suggest that vitamin D plays a critical role in preventing and treating disease.

In the GUMC study, researchers evaluated mice with breast cancers sensitive to estrogen, which is the most common type, as well as those with breast cancers not sensitive to estrogen. In both cases, vitamin D supplementation proved to help inhibit the development and growth of breast cancers. Estrogen-sensitive breast cancers in particular, though, seemed to respond best to the vitamin D.

Earlier this year, French scientists found that getting vitamin D from both supplementation and the sun is the most effective way to prevent and treat breast cancers. A team from France’s version of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) pored through the records of over 67,000 women and found that those who lived in the sunniest areas of southern France had a 50 percent reduced risk of developing cancer compared to those living in less sunny areas. And those who got their vitamin D primarily from sunshine rather than from their diets were 32 percent less likely than others to develop breast cancer.

Currently, there are two major human trials on vitamin D being conducted in the US. These studies are meant to verify what previous studies have found concerning the effect of vitamin D on animals — mainly that high-dose vitamin D is an effective and natural intervention for preventing and treating disease in humans.

The Vitamin D Council also has an extensive compilation of scientific literature involving vitamin D and breast cancer that you can view here:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/canc…

Image via Wikipedia

Vitamin D has been in the news recently as more studies talk about the metabolic effects of the vitamin and why we need it. A new study has added to evidence for the need for vitamin D. In a study just published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, scientists report that breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D have more aggressive tumors and a higher risk of recurrence.

This is not a surprising result for many physicians working with cancer patients, as the link between vitamin D and cancer in general is a fact. There is also a growing understanding that current intake recommendations are too low.

“Many oncologists are already following vitamin D levels in their breast cancer patients and recommending supplements for low levels,” said Dr. Laurie Kirstein, a breast surgeon at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. “To link vitamin D levels to the aggressiveness of a particular type of breast cancer is an interesting finding.” Dr. Kirstein added that this evidence should be followed up with a controlled trial.

The current study expands the general knowledge of vitamin D and cancer, putting the link into a context of a particular type of cancer and a particular cancer activity. The study, which examined 155 women at the University of Rochester, also found a link between low vitamin D levels and every major biological marker that is used to indicate prognosis of the disease.

“The magnitude of the findings was quite surprising,” said Luke J. Peppone, the lead researcher and Research Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology. “Based on these results, doctors should strongly consider monitoring vitamin D levels among breast cancer patients and correcting them as needed.”

While this study still needs follow up with larger, controlled studies, it also reinforces a belief in the importance of vitamin D, or as the original publication puts it, the information here adds, “support to previous research that found decreased breast cancer survival among vitamin D deficient individuals.”

Current recommendations for vitamin D are 600 International Units (IU) per day for most people. Many researchers, however, regard this number as strangely low. Dr. Robert Heaney, who researches vitamin D at Creighton University, says that adults should be getting at least 4,000 IUs per day, still well within a safe upper limit of 10,000, and which may help protect against cancer and other diseases.

1. reverse inflammation
2. aid in weight loss
3. reduce the risk of chronic disease.

• In vitro laboratory experiments from Cornell University suggest that strawberry extracts may help inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells. 

• Studies with laboratory animals demonstrated benefits of strawberries for the aging brain.

1. Chronic inflammation blocks the hormones involved in keeping you lean. Anti-inflammatory foods like strawberries help restore normal function to weight-reducing hormones.

1. Anthocyanins actually increase the body’s production of a hormone called adiponectin, which stimulates your metabolism and suppresses your appetite.

1. Both ellagic acid and anthocyanins slow the rate of digestion of starchy foods, controlling the rise in blood sugar that follows a starchy meal. This effect is used to control blood sugar in people with adult-onset (Type 2) diabetes.