Study: Vitamin D May Prevent Some Cancers, Sun-Related Vitamin Might Prevent Many Cases Of Colon And Breast Cancer - CBS News
Study: Vitamin D May Prevent Some Cancers, Sun-Related Vitamin Might Prevent Many Cases Of Colon And Breast Cancer - CBS News
(CBS) A new study suggests the number of cases of colon and breast cancer could be cut dramatically if people got more vitamin D.
University of California researchers estimate 250,000 cases of colon cancer and 350,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented worldwide by increasing intake of vitamin D. Sunlight spurs production of vitamin D in the skin, and people who don't get much sun exposure tend to have lower levels of the vitamin.
Past research indicated that vitamin D helps slow the growth and spread of cancer cells.
"There's been a lot of evidence for a long time that vitamin D is very important, not just for bones, which everybody knows, but for all the organs in the body," Dr. Larry Norton, an oncologist at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, explained to Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Thursday.
"What's very interesting," he continued, "is that all humans really can (trace) their ancestry to just a few thousand people who walked out of Africa into what is now Yemen, just about 80,000 years ago, and populated the whole earth.
"As people moved further north, their skin got lighter. Why? So it could absorb more vitamin D from sunlight. But now, in the modern world, we wear clothes, we wear sunblock, we work indoors most of the time - so, essentially, nobody who lives outside the equator gets enough vitamin D, especially in the winter months.
"This study was interesting because it looked at sun exposure, cloud cover, as well as vitamin D levels in over 170 countries. And there's a clear association with less sun, lower vitamin D levels and higher incidences of certain cancers, particularly colon cancer and breast cancer."
(CBS) A new study suggests the number of cases of colon and breast cancer could be cut dramatically if people got more vitamin D.
University of California researchers estimate 250,000 cases of colon cancer and 350,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented worldwide by increasing intake of vitamin D. Sunlight spurs production of vitamin D in the skin, and people who don't get much sun exposure tend to have lower levels of the vitamin.
Past research indicated that vitamin D helps slow the growth and spread of cancer cells.
"There's been a lot of evidence for a long time that vitamin D is very important, not just for bones, which everybody knows, but for all the organs in the body," Dr. Larry Norton, an oncologist at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, explained to Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Thursday.
"What's very interesting," he continued, "is that all humans really can (trace) their ancestry to just a few thousand people who walked out of Africa into what is now Yemen, just about 80,000 years ago, and populated the whole earth.
"As people moved further north, their skin got lighter. Why? So it could absorb more vitamin D from sunlight. But now, in the modern world, we wear clothes, we wear sunblock, we work indoors most of the time - so, essentially, nobody who lives outside the equator gets enough vitamin D, especially in the winter months.
"This study was interesting because it looked at sun exposure, cloud cover, as well as vitamin D levels in over 170 countries. And there's a clear association with less sun, lower vitamin D levels and higher incidences of certain cancers, particularly colon cancer and breast cancer."
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