Revealed: the pill that prevents cancer

[cal04]

A daily dose of vitamin D could cut the risk of cancers of the breast, colon and ovary by up to a half, a 40-year review of research has found. The evidence for the protective effect of the "sunshine vitamin" is so overwhelming that urgent action must be taken by public health authorities to boost blood levels, say cancer specialists.

A growing body of evidence in recent years has shown that lack of vitamin D may have lethal effects. Heart disease, lung disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis are among the conditions in which it is believed to play a vital role. The vitamin is also essential for bone health and protects against rickets in children and osteoporosis in the elderly.

Vitamin D is made by the action of sunlight on the skin, which accounts for 90 per cent of the body's supply. But the increasing use of sunscreens and the reduced time spent outdoors, especially by children, has contributed to what many scientists believe is an increasing problem of vitamin D deficiency.

After assessing almost every scientific paper published on the link between vitamin D and cancer since the 1960s, US scientists say that a daily dose of 1,000 international units (25 micrograms) is needed to maintain health. " The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency combined with the discovery of increased risks of certain types of cancer in those who are deficient, suggest that vitamin D deficiency may account for several thousand premature deaths from colon, breast, ovarian and other cancers annually," they say in the online version of the American Journal of Public Health.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article335359.ece

[Rainscents]

1. I also read about cancer and Vit D in health magazines!

[eleny]

2. Vitamin D sources

Vitamin D sources:
Vitamin D is found in milk (fortified), cheese, whole eggs, liver, salmon, and fortified margarine. The skin can synthesize vitamin D if exposed to enough sunlight on a regular basis.

http://www.nutristrategy.com/nutrition/vitamind.htm

Selected food sources of vitamin D
The following lists suggests dietary sources of vitamin D. Fortified foods are a major source of vitamin D. Breakfast cereals, pastries, breads, crackers, cereal grain bars and other foods may be fortified with 10% to 15% of the recommended daily value for vitamin D. It is important to read the nutrition facts panel of the food label to determine whether a food provides vitamin D.

* Cod Liver Oil, 1 Tbs: 1,360 IU
* Salmon, cooked, 3 1/2 oz: 360 IU
* Mackerel, cooked, 3 1/2 oz: 345 IU
* Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 3 1/2 oz: 270 IU
* Milk, nonfat, reduced fat, and whole, vitamin D fortified, 1 c: 98 IU
* Margarine, fortified, 1 Tbs: 60 IU
* Pudding, 1/2 c prepared from mix and made with vitamin D fortified milk: 50 IU
* Dry cereal, Vitamin D fortified w/10% of the recommended daily value, 3/4 c: 40-50 IU (other cereals may be fortified with more or less vitamin D)
* Liver, beef, cooked, 3 1/2 oz: 30 IU
* Egg, 1 whole (vitamin D is present in the yolk): 25 IU
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/982088787.html

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

3. saw it on the BBC- careful not to overdo it-calcification of liver/kidneys

may occur if doses are too high of the D supplement.
This study at UCSD is also widely disputed.

[0007]

4. Very interesting.

[undergroundpanther]

5. Damn

BTW A vitamin D deficiency can be caused by taking certain drugs. As in Tegretol,and some Anti psychotics.

I have been recently diagnosed with a severe Vitamin. D deficiency.
Because of certain types of drugs I took years ago. (And my years ago soda habit too) this caused the Vitamin D to be leached out of my system. Sunshine could not begin to fix the depletions I was dealing with,I was told often drugs that cause photo sensitivity can interfere with the vitamin .D levels in a person.

I would tell anyone who has been on or is taking any drugs in these kinds of classes like Haldol Thorazine,etc. or Anti convulsants like Tegretol,Dilantin and lithium..Get thine arse to an endocrinologist and get YOUR vitamin D checked and your vitamin B-12 too.

When I was at the doctors she prescribed me 50,000 units or 100 times the amount you get in high potency OTC vitamin D pills to try to fix the depletion.I was on them for over 3 months. Lack of Vitamin D made me quite miserable.It can cause all sorts of stuff from depression to muscle aches to trouble with anger.

Don't fuck around with a Vitamin D deficiency ,it hurts literally.

[Gman]

6. Vitamin D was big in the 70's

as a cancer preventative. I knew a girl back then that was taking large amounts of Vitamin D because her doctor felt she would be prone to breast cancer. 30 years later now, I guess it worked. At least so far she hasn't gotten breast cancer. I don't know if she kept up the Vitamin D or not.

[bbinacan]

7. Great info

now I can lie in the sun and have a white russian.:woohoo:

[niallmac]

8. If you are going to read such reports, read them critically.

I have found that such reports almost always are based on a presumption or observation that has popular support. Popular assumption from general observation is not a bad way to find direction for research but it is a bad way to reach conclusions.
It is very possible that Vitamin D is a vital block in cancer prevention but it is also glaringly apparent that this article is not scientific. Garland of UC San Diego digesting 63 journals is not a reason to recommend vitamin D therapy to the planet.
Once again we are offered a magic pill to escape a disease that has befuddled the greatest minds for decades.
First do no harm. Where in this article are the warnings against Vitamin D poisoning? An article like this could very well strike a chord in those who feel that if a little bit is good a whole lot is better. The continued ingestion of 50,000IU or more daily by a person with normal vitamin D sensitivity may result in poisoning.

[undergroundpanther]

21. I took 50,000 IU

Because I had a severe Vitamin D deficiency.

The cancer article seems to be recommending 1,000 IU.

Big difference.

[goclark]

9. I thought liver was bad for people to eat?

Now they are saying it's a yes?

[Redstone]

10. Revealed: More bullshit.

There IS no "pill that prevents cancer."

This is just the latest in health-related hype, and does not belong in LBN.

So, how long ago was it that vitamin C was going to save us all, and let us all live to be 150 years old?

Redstone

[PurityOfEssence]

15. Linus Pauling lived to be 93

Not too bad, huh? He was the big guru of vitamin C, and also a winner of two Nobel Prizes.

If you're going to lash out at blanket statements, don't make them yourself. There are thousands of different diseases that are "cancers", and there are treatments that work very effectively on some of them and regimens that help prevent them.

Sure, the article's headline is hype to get people to read it, and for this it's misleading, but your ire is also a bit overblown.

People need to get over absolutes; there are things that help and things that hinder.

[jbnow]

11. If you use supplements

get D3, not D2 that is more common in vitamins.

D3, cholecalciferol, is what is synthesized when ultraviolet light hits cells of our skin. D2, ergocalciferol, is what is synthesized when ultraviolet light hits the cells of a plant.
Both can be converted by the liver into fully active vitamin D, calcitriol, but studies consistently show a higher serum level of D when D3 is used.

There are so many ways that D matters and it's especially important for those further north during cold months when the light is weaker and we are out less.

I use TWINLAB Allergy D Caps if anyone has trouble finding D3. (A very inexpensive supplement)

I make all the men in my life take selenium, doctors are even telling men with prostate cancer to use it too. Also cheap, but another story.

As long as I'm on a roll anyone taking a statin drug must take Coenzyme Q-10.

[wiley]

12. Why calcium with L-Carnitine

One supplement company forgoes the typical pantothenic acid and uses very small amounts of calcium. Why?

[FlemingsGhost]

13. Anyone ever hear of solar gazing? Drinking solar water?

Solar gazing is quite literally staring at the sun, in order to absorb Vitamin D in a more efficient manner. It's done when the sun is low in the horizon, for ten seconds at a time.

I've done it a handful of times, but have no idea if it is beneficial, or not. I didn't go blind, and actually became aclimated to the brightness after a few consecutive days. Supposedly, there is documented evidence in which an Indian yogi fasts for six months at a time on strictly solar gazing and solar water (water sitting in a clear glass jar for at least 15 hours.)

[Hekate]

16. Eventually the sun will burn a hole in your retinas

Solar gazing is not really recommended. Drink all the solar water you want.

Hekate

edit for typo

[Dogmudgeon]

19. Don't do that. Please.

Looking at the Sun will blind you, and you won't get any more vitamin D any more efficiently. And "solar water" contains ... H2O. Solar water, under a number of names, has been promoted as a nature cure for hundreds of years. In the days when most water was contaminated, the sunlight would kill off the bacteria, and it really was wonderful. But today, exposing water to the Sun isn't likely to do anything special.

Still, exposing your water to the sunlight won't hurt it, and there is a small chance that sunlight does something beneficial to the water. Maybe there really are properties of sunlight of some sort that we have yet to discover, but just don't bet the house on it -- or your health! Sun-treated water has been tested two or three times, and it's not particularly any more wonderous than Evian or Perrier -- which are high in beneficial magnesium. The Last Word has yet to be spoken on it, but just in case, take your vitamins, and DON'T stare at the Sun, no matter where it is!

Indian yogis have cultivated a lot of interesting feats of self-control, but the feats you've described are in the "one re-born every minute" column. Unless the yogi is willing to submit to thorough medical investigation, he should confine his bragging to his pupils. Such extreme stories denigrate the real achievements of the yogis, some of whom have helped us better understand healing.

The most efficient way to get vitamin D is through food and supplements. But 20 minutes in the Sun (but NOT staring at it) is the best way. Even if it's only your face and arms that are exposed, it is usually enough.

Eating a varied diet with a lot of vegetables is the time-tested way of optimizing one's health through diet. They get a LOT of Sun, and aren't afflicted with sunburn. And with the right recipes, you can't beat the taste!

--p!

[Porcupine]

14. Sounds like a bit of daily nudism is in order.

If we took our damn clothes off and spent a half hour in the sun when it's low in the sky we would take care of this requirement. In the winter this would combine nicely with saunas or hot tubs.

It would also probably increase the sanity quotient of the general population. Imagine a nude nation every day at an hour before sunset. That would take our arrogance down a notch. It would be relaxing too.

[Hekate]

17. Sounds like fun, but I think I'll kick up my vitamin D intake

Really does sound like fun, and I looooove hot tubs.

Regrettably, Mr. Sun is not my friend -- Irish skin merely freckles, wrinkles, gets actinic keratoses, and finally skin cancer. Bummer. So I've been using sun screens and avoiding prolonged exposure for several decades now, and have so far avoided the worst of the ill effects (had a small squamous tumor removed from my hand earlier this year).

Thanks to all for the reminders about vitamin D. I've been taking a fish oil supplement for a couple of years, but the label doesn't say anything about D. Do I still have to hunt up cod liver oil capsules? If you know, do tell.

Hekate

[Warpy]

23. Same here, since I'm at that "eww, cover it up, lady!" age

[bitchkitty]

18. Damned good idea!

Nude nation - I like the sound of that. You may have just started a movement!

Seriously, though - your assertion has merit - if the population spent more time outdoors, even for a half hour or an hour a day, they would be healthier and happier, and would probably care more about the environment.

[Dogmudgeon]

20. Keep this in mind for wintertime nudism --

Ladies and Gentlemen
Take my advice
Pull down your pants
And slide on the ice.

--p!

[Warpy]

22. Fat soluble vitamins are highly toxic in high doses

so the RDA really shouldn't be exceeded long term. It's especially necessary for women to supplement with Vitamin D, calcium and magnesium to prevent osteoporosis down the road.

However, I'd be a bit leery of reading too much into this study. This is still pretty preliminary stuff, and may be contradicted like so many things have been in future, more closely controlled studies.

[philb]

24. Cancer is caused by carcinogins so avaoidance of toxic exposures prevents

cancer.

Its useful to do periodic tests such as hair element test(www.vrp.com or etc.)
to determine your exposures to toxic metals which are documented by U.S. Dept. of Health and EPA to
be the most common toxic exposures affecting large numbers of people.

But pesticides and such also affect many as well, and lots of cosmetics and household products contain toxics these days.
They are harder to test for however, and those with toxics should just be avoided to the extent possible.

But it is also possible to do periodlc detox such as colonics, Biocleanse/Ioncleanse, etc. to reduce toxic body burdens.
And nutritional measures reduce toxic effects.