I’m rolling up my sleeves, getting outdoors, and enjoying the sun! So far I got some petunias, pansies, violets, tomatoes, and lavendar to plant. I’m cleaning out old beds, and working on the mower to get it started. Before I had enough energy to do these things, and it was still cold but sunny, I tried to sit out in the sun for 20 minutes a day.
When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, one doctor checked my Vitamin D levels and found out they were very low. He recommended that I take 2,000 units of Vitamin D3 each day and I have been taking that amount for a year now. I had my levels checked a month ago and they were on the low side of normal, so I am continuing to take the same amount, as well as spending time working outdoors in the sunlight.
Last year I read about a study done in Nebraska that said women with low levels of Vitamin D had a higher rate of breast cancer.
Today I read this:
Research now links vitamin D deficiency with a significantly elevated risk of breast cancer. So why isn’t there public outcry to continue funding this breakthrough science?
The research on vitamin D and breast cancer prevention to date is impressive:• A 2006 paper published in Anticancer Research established that women with higher vitamin D levels are 50 to 70 percent less likely to develop breast cancer.• A 2007 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that women with high sun exposure levels – the most natural and abundant source of vitamin D – had half the risk of developing advanced breast cancer.• A 2002 paper in Occupational and Environmental Medicine established that women who received regular sun exposure were less likely to die from breast cancer.
The National Academies of Sciences currently recommends 200 international units (IU) of vitamin D for children and adults up to age 50 and 400 to 600 IU for adults older than age 50. However, researchers now question whether these levels are adequate for optimal health.
So, how much vitamin D is enough? There’s still much debate about what the recommendations should be. But most researchers agree that a daily intake of 800 to 1,000 IU would benefit many people . . .
One article says the benefits of Vitamin D in preventing breast cancer may be found more in younger women. On the other hand, an April 2008 article in Science Daily says
Genetic variations in the body’s receptor for vitamin D could increase the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, according to a new study.
and this in another Science Daily article
The result of the study involving 1,394 breast cancer patients and an equal number of healthy women after menopause was surprisingly clear: Women with a very low blood level of 25(OH)D have a considerably increased breast cancer risk. The effect was found to be strongest in women who were not taking hormones for relief of menopausal symptoms. However, the authors note that, in this retrospective study, diagnosis-related factors such as chemotherapy or lack of sunlight after prolonged hospital stays might have contributed to low vitamin levels of breast cancer patients.
On the other hand. . . . .
ScienceDaily 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.
So who knows? If the last article is right, then sunshine is okay and supplements are not. That makes sense. In a workshop on nutrion for cancer patients, we learned about getting what we need from what we eat, rather than looking to supplements. We may not be able to get enough Vitamin D from what we eat, but we can get it from sunlight.
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