cancers so many of us are now getting from excess sun exposure). By the way, so as not to be seen as minimizing or deriding the importance of those sun avoidance messages, let me tell you that a recent review in the eminent journal, the Lancet, concluded that the best ways to avoid excess sun exposure were, in order of importance, to 1) avoid going out in the sun (Duhhh!), 2 ) wear good protective clothing such as denim, polyester, wool and big hats (although I don`t really believe that too many sun gods and goddesses are going to venture onto Kits Beach in July dressed in a polyester suit, a wool sweater, and a sombrero), and 3) to lather on sunscreen, which, this article concluded, most people never apply heavily or often enough to really protect themselves.
. .. But back to vitamin D. Because so many of us are not getting enough sun exposure year-round, it should be no surprise that studies show that very many Canadians (especially the most sun-shy such as the elderly) have vitamin D levels that are low, with many Canadians actually being diagnosed as “vitamin D deficient”.
. .. Yet adequate vitamin D levels are essential for good health. Vitamin D plays many roles in human health but the two most highly-touted these days are 1) vitamin D’s essential role in the absorption of calcium (so no matter how much calcium you take in, either through your diet or through supplements, if you don’t also get enough vitamin D, your bones will “thin” as a result), and 2) vitamin D’s increasingly recognized powerful anti-oxidant effect, especially its seemingly vital role as an anti-cancer agent. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition established the first direct link between cancer prevention and viatmin D. The study concluded that women who took vitamin D supplements ended up with a whopping “60 %” lower rate of cancer than women who didn’t take the supplements. Based on this study, the Canadian Cancer Society has recently announced that it recommends adults should take 1000 iu of vitamin D daily.
. .. So that’s why, as I said at the top, everyone seems to be talking up vitamin D supplements, in part as a vital aid to help aging baby boomers avoid ending up with osteoporosis (most experts recommend that all those at middle age and beyond take 800 units of vitamin D daily along with calcium supplements), but increasingly, also as a supplement that might help “prevent” cancer. . .. And apparently, according to some experts touting the cancer-prevention properties of vitamin D, the dose you should take is significantly higher than the dose |
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