Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Vitamin D and Breast Cancer

I've been singing the praises for vitamin D for a long time now, and even made it the feature subject in a recent newsletter. I even made a high quality vitamin D product the free giveaway for the month of April. Now it's back in the news again, this time for it's connection to breast cancer.

In this study, conducted by Pamela Goodwin, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and her associates, women with vitamin D deficiency at the time of breast cancer diagnosis were 94% more likely to experience cancer spread and 73% more likely to die over the next 10 years compared to women with adequate vitamin D levels.

Of course, the usual predictable cautions come from the researchers- "it's too early to recommend vitamin D supplements", "more research is needed" and all the other stuff you could probably write in your sleep. (These people would probably tell you "More research is needed" to determine if water truly puts out fire.) But I digress.

Current research, according to the vitamin D council, indicates that vitamin D deficiency plays a role in causing seventeen varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, and periodontal disease

And vitamin D deficiency is absolutely rampant. The current "RDI" level of 400 IU's per day is ridiculously low and out of date. My friends in clinical practice who measure these things tell me it's rare to not see a patient who is vitamin D deficient. And if you're trying to prevent osteoporosis by taking a ton of calcium, remember that the calcium isn't going to get into the bone without vitamin D. So add a vitamin D supplement to your regimine. It's cheap, tiny, and good insurance against a host of things you don't want to have. I recommend 1000 IU's every day.

Blogger Ryan W. said...

This blog makes an interesting argument that some of the studies showing lower Vit. D linked to increased mortality in osteoporosis and autoimmune disease are showing an effect of infection and Vit. D receptor disregulation rather than simple deficiency.


Many people with low 25D have high 1,25D which is a product of 25D
That argues against deficiency in some cases.

bacteriality.com/2007/09/15/vitamind/

They say high levels of 25D deactivates the Vitamin D receptor based on molecular modeling, though... But how much D3 supplementation does it take to maximize cathelidicin production?l

June 27, 2008 12:00 PM  

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