02-06-07 05:39 PM - Post#263487    

I heard a short piece on the radio this morning about Vitamin D as an anti-cancer agent. 1000IUs i supposed to significantly cut colon and certain other cancer risks in men, with women befitting from 2000IUs. 4000IUs is suppose to cut the risk of breast cancer in women in half!

Anyone know about this? I kinda had one eye focused in the rear view mirror at the time watching for CHiPpies and can't find where the news report came from.

As significant as this sounds, I can't say I've ever seen Vitamin D sold by itself (but it is apparently pretty cheap). The daily RDA for men and women, I think, is 400UIs.

If I'm not in I'm probably hiking somewhere in Southern California... ...or digging in the garden getting in touch with my inner dog. mramirez@socal.rr.com

02-06-07 05:43 PM - Post#263489    

The standard RDA's used by our governments are only slightly evolved from the industrial revolution.
Those RDA's are designed only to keep us alive and working.
The average RDA for vitamin C (this varies for each government) is around 64mg.
Independent health officials are recommending 1000-2000mg a day.
You figure it out.
I just try to get as many and as much vitamins as I can.

Of all the things ive lost,I miss my mind the most. http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals .html?Owner=jamie%28IRL%29

Vitamin D and Cancer
02-06-07 05:53 PM - Post#263495    

• Jamie(IRL) Said:

I hear you, but there are some vitamins that can result in toxicity from too much of a good thing, particularly if they are fat soluable, as they can build up in the body. I think "A" is one of those, if I'm not mistaken (or maybe I'm thinking of "K").

I guess my excitement is over the idea that D can be taken to help prevent breast cancer as it runs in my wife's family.

If this is for real, it's big, BIG, DEAL.

I suspect we'll be hearing a lot about this in the coming days.

Vitamin D and Cancer
02-06-07 06:34 PM - Post#263505    

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA365824

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA400024

"The world is best viewed through the ears of a horse." Author Unknown

Re: Vitamin D and Cancer
02-06-07 06:59 PM - Post#263521    

• Mike Ramirez Said:

Chippies......you kinda look like ponch from the old Chips series But them maybe I'm just old!!!

Lfe is good:D Mexico in March Wahooooo!!!

02-06-07 08:00 PM - Post#263535    

Hey, Mike:

http://www.lef.org/newsletter/2007/2007_ 02_06.htm#exc

I'm a little confused, though. I thought we knew this a couple of years ago. I've been taking it during the winter for several years.

Re: Vitamin D and Cancer
02-06-07 08:29 PM - Post#263540    

02-06-07 08:31 PM - Post#263542    

• Laree Said:

First time I had heard of it, Laree.

Thanks for the links, peoples. I'll check them out.

02-06-07 08:38 PM - Post#263545    

I take more more during winter as well.

"The world is best viewed through the ears of a horse." Author Unknown

Vitamin D
02-07-07 02:04 AM - Post#263610    

Here's a video and slide presentation from 2005 that presented and started a lot of the current vitamin D3 rethink:

http://www.insinc.com/onlinetv/directms13oc t2005/softvnetplayer.htm

It's about an hour, informative.

Trance

02-07-07 08:27 AM - Post#263638    

• Jamie(IRL) Said:

Some 'independent health officials' are more reliable than others and some are just plain hucksters.

'Everyone is your Brother. Until the rent comes due.' (Vincent) "Ronin" 1998

Re: Vitamin D and Cancer
02-07-07 09:15 AM - Post#263649    

I use to think that there were many things that you could do to avoid getting cancer. However, since Laurie's death, I think that life is just a crap shoot.

Peace ~ Bear

02-07-07 09:49 AM - Post#263655    

Stick with the natural stuff to avoid toxicity concerns -- cod liver oil and sunshine. It is my belief that staying indoors all day is much more hazardous to your health than moderate sun exposure.

"When [defeat] comes, I won't even notice. I'll be too busy looking good."

02-07-07 12:19 PM - Post#263730    

Thanks, Trance. I'll listen to it over the weekend. Nice to see you dropping by, bud.

02-07-07 12:56 PM - Post#263746    

• Jamie(IRL) Said:

That was frickin' priceless.

02-07-07 06:26 PM - Post#263934    

Thanks, Trance. It looks interesting.

Vitamin D
05-02-07 10:59 AM - Post#293633    

For you sunworshippers - leave the sunscreen at home.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070428.wxvitamin28/BNStory/speci alScienceandHealth/home


Article reports gov't will be publishing a report in June that there is a strong link between D deficiency and cancer and other problems.

jej

05-02-07 11:17 AM - Post#293640    

Nothing new there. Milk is a pretty poor source with synthetic D2. Anyone who's a vampire would benefit from taking cod liver oil or eating sardines regularly.

"When [defeat] comes, I won't even notice. I'll be too busy looking good."

05-02-07 12:37 PM - Post#293661    

Let's not forget that too much sunshine is not a good idea--melanoma for example.

05-02-07 01:59 PM - Post#293722    

Informative vitamin D video & slide show:

http://www.insinc.com/onlinetv/directms13oc t2005/softvnetplayer.htm

05-02-07 02:14 PM - Post#293730    

Regarding Vitamin D and the skin, you need a whole lot less exposure than you think to obtain the Vitamin D benefits. If I remember correctly from my reading, you need only expose a two square inch patch of skin to sunlight for 5 minutes to synthesize 25 I.U. of Vitamin D.

Wicked

"I'm in good shape for the shape I'm in." "Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me." John 14:6

Vitamin D
05-02-07 02:29 PM - Post#293736    

Here are some other ideas on how much sunlight is enough, no idea how reliable this source is:

http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/artic les/120/1/Simple-Facts-Ab out-Vitamin-D

Edit: actually the presentation linked in Trance's post is very long but much more detailed. In the winter months, it doesn't look like people in North America (or similar latitudes) are going to get their vitamin D from the sun.

The most important test a lifter has to pass is the test of time. -Jon Cole

Edited by ccrow on 05-02-07 02:59 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Vitamin D: Deficiency and health
10-15-07 07:21 PM - Post#361061    

Over in my EOY Challenge thread, I mentioned that my new doc (he's Dave's chelation doc) went over some of my old blood tests and after some questioning about joint pain in particular, recommended I up my Vitamin D intake substantially.

It's made a difference already. I got a Vitamin D test (you can order that through Life Extension, $63), and it was off-the-charts low. After taking 1,000 IU of Vitamin D for most of the past year, this doc had me up that to 10,000 IU for a month, then we'll retest. I've been at that level for about two, nearly three weeks and already my shoulder, elbow and wrist feel better.

Since I haven't changed anything else yet, I'm pretty sure there's something to this if the Vitamin D level is too low. Joint sufferers could give it a test. If it works, it'll happen fast, and it's not expensive, either.

This just posted in Newswise Medical News: Vitamin D Inadequacy May Exacerbate Chronic Pain

It has long been known that inadequate levels of vitamin D can cause pain and muscle weakness, according to the study author, W. Michael Hooten, M.D., medical director, and anesthesiologist at Mayo Comprehensive Pain Rehabilitation Center, Rochester, Minnesota. Previous studies also have suggested that pain-related symptoms of vitamin D inadequacy respond poorly to pain medications.

Funny, first we even heard of Vitamin D was over the last few years, primarily as a relief for low-grade depression in the winter months. Most people don't even take it.

I think we may see the same pattern with Vitamin K over the next year or two.

Anyway, I highly recommend a month-long high-dose test for some of you who are suffering joint pain. Feels like magic to me!

Re: Vitamin D and Joint Pain
10-15-07 09:02 PM - Post#361126    

Don't forget this video presentation:

http://wildhorse.insinc.com/directms13oct2005/sof tvnetplayer.htm

10-15-07 10:05 PM - Post#361144    

Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption, I wonder if all this is related?

-- JMac's Web Design

10-15-07 11:50 PM - Post#361213    

have they done a bone density test as well laree
cause as Jmac mentioned Vit D does help with calcium absorption and low intakes of either are risk factors for osteoporosis.

Jenny Life is like a hot bath. It feels good while you’re in it, but the longer you stay in, the more wrinkled you get facebook

10-15-07 11:57 PM - Post#361221    

Wow, Laree, that's really interesting. I have joint pain all over but with all the Vitamin fortified milk and the multi I take, it's hard to think I have a deficiency. Do you feel your Vitamin D intake from food is adequate? I will follow your progress closely. Please keep us up to date.

Judge John "You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." - Abraham Lincoln "I live, I lift, I ache, I am." - Dave Draper "Moderation assures mediocrity -- nice, safe. Mediocrity is for the mediocre -- simple, okay. The intense rule; the mediocre follow." - Dave Draper Every day innocent plants are killed by vegetarians. Help stop the slaughter. EAT MEAT!

Vitamin D and Joint Pain
10-16-07 09:49 AM - Post#361350    

Fairer-skinned people better absorb vitamin D from the sun, and it's said that minimal sun exposure is needed to obtain the RDA. However, I think there's a large gap between avoiding acute deficiency and getting optimal levels. Sunbathing may not be viable for a lot of people, or in certain areas.

10,000 IU seems a little excessive. How much of that is actually absorbed? Are you eating fatty meals with the supplement? If the supplement is ergocalciferol (D2), which is the synthetic stuff added to milk, I would highly advise switching to a quality fish liver oil.

"When [defeat] comes, I won't even notice. I'll be too busy looking good."

Edited by Yeti on 10-16-07 09:55 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Re: Vitamin D and Joint Pain
10-16-07 11:35 AM - Post#361388    

Laree,

I'm partial to drinking Tropicana Orange Juice (Blue-Label) with Vitamin D & Calcium (because it has a good amount of Potassium as well).

Milk is also a source of Vitamin D (& Chocolate-Flavored Milk includes a good amount of Potassium as well... increased potassium intake is necessary to prevent cramping whenever going on a high-protein diet).

2009 Motto: Thinking Positive, Being Positive "Start out easy & don't compete against anyone but yourself." -- Steve Reeves "...work up to the number of repetitions that you feel necessary to do the trick. Don't hold yourself down to any hidebound number of repetitions." -- George F. Jowett "Weight training is successful when you perservere." -- Mike Dayton

Edited by Marooned Mike on 10-16-07 11:36 AM. Reason for edit: grammar

10-16-07 01:33 PM - Post#361464    

It may be that milk is a very poor form of clacium, as it's hard for the body to extract it from the milk. Had a bone spur years ago, the Doc said forget the milk, eat more greens, and take some vitamine D, problem cleared up in two weeks.

What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach.

Re: Vitamin D and Joint Pain
10-16-07 01:51 PM - Post#361475    

Good catch -- I'd forgotten about that video. I'll watch it, hopefully today, for sure this week.

Jenny, I had a bone density test about ten years ago, just after hysterectomy and its accompanying hormone changes. At the time, the level was "normal for a 25-year-old." The re-test, done a couple of months ago, showed osteopenia, the step before osteoporosis. My new doc thinks that decrease was possibly due to not taking progesterone -- most docs believe progesterone isn't needed when the uterus is removed because its primary purpose has to do with uterine wall cells and protecting against endometriosis.

As it turns out, bone health is another major function of progesterone, as is energy, mood and joint pain, all things I've had growing problems with over the past ten years since the surgery. Honestly, I can hardly wait to get started on it; we're waiting for a final blood test, which will hopefully be in this week.

• Yeti Said:

Alex, as I wrote in the initial post, my Vitamin D level was quite low. The plan, suggested by a doctor, is to stay at this level for a month (I'm at week three now), then re-test. If the Vitamin D levels have normalized, I'll back off to 2,000 IU.

The one I'm using is cholecaldiferol (D3), and I do already use fish oil as well. I started this a couple weeks before making any other changes, and the joint pain was diminishing for the first time after increasing steadily over the past couple of years.

Mike, more power to ya, getting high of levels of Vitamin D through fruit juice. I can't handle the calories it would take. :~)

10-16-07 02:08 PM - Post#361480    

• sweatn Said:

Had the same experince.

It don't matter

10-17-07 10:14 AM - Post#361849    

• cajinjohn Said:

I remember talking to you guys briefly about this back in April at the Bash. It makes sense. Our ancestors probably relied on greens (and bones) for the bulk of their calcium needs. It's interesting because only dark greens are a reliable source of vitamin K, now thought to be critical to bone density. Also, only in the past few thousand years have dairy and grains become staples, and the latter, while high in minerals, may not trek well through intestines designed primarily for flesh and roughage.

"When [defeat] comes, I won't even notice. I'll be too busy looking good."

10-17-07 12:27 PM - Post#361925    

For reference, my Vitamin D level was 19.1, with a reference range of 32-100 at this particular lab (don't know if this is one that varies from lab to lab).

My doc called last night to suggest starting the back-off phase; I'm at 8,000 IU for a couple of weeks to see how I feel. If the pain relief is steady, I'll back off again and repeat toward the eventual goal of 2,000 IU.

The point remains, low Vitamin D could absolutely be the source of some of the pain we gripe about. In fact, the doc was pleased, but not the slightest bit surprised when he heard the good results.

Vitamin D and Joint Pain
10-17-07 01:18 PM - Post#361944    

Alright you guys & gals have convinced me to break-down & buy some Vitamin D* (I'll do so before this week ends, if I don't space-out & forget when I'm at the store).

* I hadn't considered the amount of Vit D (or the calories) in the OJ I've been drinking -- just the amount of potassium which I was in sore need of (in non-supplement form)

2009 Motto: Thinking Positive, Being Positive "Start out easy & don't compete against anyone but yourself." -- Steve Reeves "...work up to the number of repetitions that you feel necessary to do the trick. Don't hold yourself down to any hidebound number of repetitions." -- George F. Jowett "Weight training is successful when you perservere." -- Mike Dayton

Edited by Marooned Mike on 10-17-07 01:20 PM. Reason for edit: clarification

10-19-07 01:38 PM - Post#363004    

Dr. Gabe Mirkin talks about Vitamin D in yesterday's blog post:
How Vitamin D Helps to Prevent Cancer.

10-19-07 05:18 PM - Post#363090    

Here's another article about Vitamin D and joint pain, as well as other benefits. Keep in mind this was posted at Vitacost, a firm that sells vitamins so it has a sales pitch or two. Still interesting and with all my joint pains, I think I may add more Vitamin D to my supplements to give it a try. The article purports that D3 is the better type and many supplements use the cheaper D2.





Are You Taking the Correct Form of Vitamin D?
By Dr. Allen S. Josephs
Co-Founder & Chairman, Vitacost.com
10/19/2007

Vitamin D is like an aged wine. It just seems to get better over time. We all know that vitamin D helps build strong bones. In recent years, researchers have found that vitamin D seems to enhance immunity, improve balance and cardiovascular function and can even help with certain neurologic health concerns. However, there is yet another benefit that seems to be coming to light on vitamin D; that being in regard to pain reduction.

A study was recently presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting in San Francisco and found that one in every four patients who suffers from chronic pain also had inadequate blood levels of vitamin D1. This study indicated that the median intake of vitamin D for adults in the United States was only 230 IU while researchers are recommending 2,000 IU per day. The study involved 267 adults undergoing treatment for chronic pain at the Mayo Clinic. It was found that of these patients, 26% of them had vitamin D inadequacy and, interestingly, needed almost twice the amount of morphine of the group that had more normal levels of vitamin D. The lead author of the study, Dr. Michael Hooten, anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic indicated, "This is the first time that we have established the prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy among a diverse group of chronic pain patients."

In a follow up to this recently reported study, there was an article published in the November 2007 edition of the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology. The article reported on a study that involved 60 female patients complaining of low back pain lasting more than three months. These patients were studied both from a rheumatologic and neurological standpoint. It was found that these patients had significantly lower vitamin D levels compared to controls.

There was another study out of Turkey published in the November 2007 journal Quality Life Research2. The researchers noted that vitamin D deficiency is known to cause muscle weakness, impair bone formation and neuromuscular coordination leading to increase in fracture risk. They note that there were very few studies, however, investigating association between vitamin D status and actual quality of life. Two hundred fifty nine Turkish women with known osteoporosis were evaluated with a series of testing including vitamin D blood levels. It was found that there was a direct correlation between vitamin D blood levels and quality of life. They concluded that vitamin D insufficiency appears to effect physical, social, mental functions of osteoporosis patients and impairs quality of life. Obviously, this is not the only factor controlling quality of life, but was noted to be one of the factors.

This data blew me away. It seems like vitamin D is turning out to be snake oil, except that it's for real. I strongly urge you to look at your multi-vitamin. If it does not contain at least 700 IU to 2000 IU of vitamin D3, you are shortchanging yourself. Keep in mind that many vitamin companies use a cheaper and less effective form of vitamin D called vitamin D2, otherwise known as ergocalciferol. Vitamin D3 is cholecalciferol, clearly, the desired form to consume. Nutraceutical Sciences Institute® (NSI®) has been a leader in adding larger amounts of vitamin D3 to our Synergy line of products. My recollection is that we actually started increasing the vitamin D level to 700 IU back in the late 1990s, after a very favorable study came out in The New England Journal of Medicine3 in 1997, indicating that 700 IU of vitamin D and 500 mg of calcium citrate malate in an elderly population decreased fracture rate by approximately 60%, also improving bone density compared to a placebo group.

I would venture to say that many multi-vitamins contain only 400 IU of vitamin D clearly an inadequate amount and even worse many contain the inferior D2 form. It appears that vitamin D deficiency is found throughout all age groups. Although Rickets has long been considered a disease of the past, in point of fact, there are many active cases of Rickets currently being reported in children, especially in higher latitude geographic areas. Vitamin D deficiency is very prevalent in those people over the age of 60, especially the elderly in nursing homes. I do not believe that researchers still fully understand the incredible impact that vitamin D has on various tissues on our bodies. For those of you who are interested in taking extra vitamin D, NSI® offers stand-alone products containing 1000 IU and 2000 IU of vitamin D3.

As we start to move into the fall and winter months with less sun exposure, the risk of vtitamin D deficiency certainly increases. Guard yourself and your family against this. The best way to promote your good health is to exercise, consume a healthy diet and take a NSI® Synergy multi-nutrient supplement everyday. Many of the nutrients such as selenium, zinc and vitamin D3 in Synergy have been proven to promote a healthy immune system. Synergy is also loaded with powerful antioxidants such as quercetin, standardized green tea (EGCG), grape seed and alpha lipoic acid. This is a powerful combination when combined with the B-complex vitamins for excellent health, anti-aging and longevity. There are over 22 versions of Synergy including new vegetarian caplet versions in stock with same day shipping.

Also as winter approaches it is impossible for many of us to have outdoor vegetable, fruit and herb gardens. Vitacost.com has solved that problem by partnering with AeroGarden to offer their new state of the art in door automated growing machine. The stainless steel is the top of the line model with adaptive intelligence and is very attractive in design. The customer reviews on this are five stars, they tell me it works just like the pictures show. You can now grow tomatoes, lettuces, herbs and many other healthy food items in the convenience of your home with ZERO pesticides and chemicals year round. Kids also love to participate in the planting of the seed pods and watching them grow. What a great way to get kids interested in growing and eating healthy fruits, herbs and vegetables. These also make great gift ideas for holidays, weddings, birthdays, baby showers, etc. Vitacost.com has arranged for free shipping and a total of $85 dollars in free gifts including an herb seed kit as a special offer.

I would like to close with a very important product warning about products that are killing our children. Shockingly, over 120 infants and children have died because they were given OTC cough and cold medications. Thousands more have been taken to emergency rooms and/or hospitalized. These drugs are dangerous and do not prevent, shorten duration or cure the cold or flu. In fact studies indicate they may actually lengthen the duration of colds or flu. The FDA announced plans to hold a hearing on this subject. I recommend you feed your children a healthy diet with a lot of water/tea, berries, vegetables, baked/grilled salmon and trout, whole grain bread/pasta and other healthy foods. The biggest enemy to all of our immune systems is fried foods and excess sugar. In fact, one study noted that 100 grams of sugar per day can seriously impair immune system. Another study indicated highest sugar intake doubles the risk of pancreatic cancer. I also recommend a good children's chewable vitamin such as NSI®'s Synergy PediaPower®. It is all natural and has far more nutrients per serving when compared to other kids chewable or gummy bear vitamins.

1. Hooten WM, Lack of Vitamin D May Worsen Chronic Pain, American Society of Anesthesiologists 2007 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California, October 13-17, 2007.
2. Basaran S, Guzel R, Coskun-Benlidayi I and Guler-Uysal F, Vitamin D Status: Effects on Quality of Life in Osteoporosis among Turkish Women, Quality of Life Research, pages 1491-1499.
3 .Lyles KW, Colón-Emeric CS, Magaziner JS, Zoledronic Acid and Clinical Fractures and Mortality after Hip Fracture, New England Journal of Medicine, online, September 17, 2007.

Judge John "You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." - Abraham Lincoln "I live, I lift, I ache, I am." - Dave Draper "Moderation assures mediocrity -- nice, safe. Mediocrity is for the mediocre -- simple, okay. The intense rule; the mediocre follow." - Dave Draper Every day innocent plants are killed by vegetarians. Help stop the slaughter. EAT MEAT!

Vitamin D - again!
10-19-07 07:51 PM - Post#363134    

I just received a report of a study that demonstrates a positive effect by Vitamin D on protecting women from breast cancer. Man, this vitamin D is certainly in the news lately.



Vitamin D likely responsible for decreased risk of advanced breast cancer in women with greater sun exposure

An article published online on October 12, 2007 the American Journal of Epidemiology revealed the finding of researchers from the Northern California Cancer Center, the University of Southern California, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine that increased levels of vitamin D in the body which are found among those with greater sunlight exposure are associated with a reduced risk of developing advanced breast cancer, defined as disease that has spread beyond the breast.

Esther John, PhD of Northern California Cancer Center and colleagues matched 1,788 Hispanic, African-American, and non-Hispanic White women with newly diagnosed breast cancer with 2,129 control subjects. To calculate sun exposure, the color of underarm skin, which is not usually directly exposed to sunlight, was classified as light, medium, or dark, and compared with the color of the forehead, which is normally exposed to the sun.

The team determined that light skinned women with the most exposure to the sun had half of the risk of developing advanced breast cancer than those whose exposure was low. Because the finding occurred in only one group of women, the researchers suggest that the effect was due to differences in vitamin D production. The effect was seen only in advanced and not localized breast cancer, which may mean that vitamin D slows the growth of breast cancer cells.

“We believe that sunlight helps to reduce women’s risk of breast cancer because the body manufactures the active form of vitamin D from exposure to sunlight,” Dr John stated. “It is possible that these effects were observed only among light- skinned women because sun exposure produces less vitamin D among women with naturally darker pigmentation.”

The authors do not recommend reducing breast cancer risk by sunbathing because the practice increases the risk of skin cancers. Rather, they suggest increasing the intake of the vitamin from fortified foods, fish, and supplements. “If future studies continue to show reductions in breast cancer risk associated with sun exposure, increasing vitamin D intake from diet and supplements may be the safest solution to achieve adequate levels of vitamin D,” stated coauthor Gary Schwartz, PhD, of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Co-researcher Sue Ingles, PhD added, “Since many risk factors for breast cancer are not modifiable, our finding that a modifiable factor, vitamin D, may reduce risk is important.”

Judge John "You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." - Abraham Lincoln "I live, I lift, I ache, I am." - Dave Draper "Moderation assures mediocrity -- nice, safe. Mediocrity is for the mediocre -- simple, okay. The intense rule; the mediocre follow." - Dave Draper Every day innocent plants are killed by vegetarians. Help stop the slaughter. EAT MEAT!

Vitamin D - again!
10-19-07 09:25 PM - Post#363182    

Life Extension had the same information out today: Vitamin D likely responsible for decreased risk of advanced breast cancer in women with greater sun exposure, and I heard the same report on the nightly news a bit ago. It originated from an article in the American Journal of Epidemiology... don't have time to track it down at the moment.

PS: Don't go out in the sun, you'll get skin cancer.

10-20-07 12:32 PM - Post#363320    

Oops -- I forgot to pick some up yesterday... will be back at the store on Monday (gotta remember: Get Smart: Get Vitamin D). Did I mention that I'm brain-dead?

2009 Motto: Thinking Positive, Being Positive "Start out easy & don't compete against anyone but yourself." -- Steve Reeves "...work up to the number of repetitions that you feel necessary to do the trick. Don't hold yourself down to any hidebound number of repetitions." -- George F. Jowett "Weight training is successful when you perservere." -- Mike Dayton

Re: Vitamin D - again!
10-23-07 02:00 PM - Post#364721    

Article in Scientific American magazine, November 2007. A bit wordy, but worth reading for those interested.

Trance

-----

Source: Scientific American; Nov2007, Vol. 297 Issue 5, p62-72, 8p

Cell Defenses and the Sunshine Vitamin

Scientists now recognize that vitamin D does much more than build strong bones and that many people are not getting enough of it. Is widespread D deficiency contributing to major illnesses?

It was called the sunshine cure, and in the early 20th century, before the era of antibiotics, it was the only effective therapy for tuberculosis known. No one knew why it worked, just that TB patients sent to rest in sunny locales were often restored to health. The same "treatment" had been discovered in 1822 for another historic scourge, rickets--a deforming childhood condition caused by an inability to make hardened bone. Rickets had been on the rise in 18th- and 19th-century Europe, coinciding with industrialization and the movement of people from the countryside to the polluted cities, when a Warsaw doctor observed that the problem was relatively rare in rural Polish children. He began experimenting with city children and found that he could cure their rickets with exposure to sunshine alone.

By 1824 German scientists found that cod-liver oil also had excellent antirickets properties, although that treatment did not catch on widely, in part because the possibility that a food might contain unseen micronutrients important to health was not yet understood by doctors. And nearly a century would pass before scientists made the connection between such dietary cures for rickets and the beneficial effects of sunshine. Early 20th-century researchers showed that irradiated skin, when fed to rats with artificially induced rickets, had the same curative properties as cod-liver oil. The critical common element in the skin and the oil was finally identified in 1922 and dubbed vitamin D. By then the idea of "vital amines," or vitamins, was a popular new scientific topic, and subsequent research into the functions of vitamin D in the body was very much shaped by D's image as one of those essential micronutrients that humans can obtain only from food.

The association with rickets also steered most vitamin D research for the next 50 years toward understanding the molecule's role in bone building and how it acts in the kidneys, intestines and the skeleton itself to help control the flow of calcium into and out of bones from the bloodstream. In the past quarter century, however, studies of vitamin D's function have broadened, revealing that the so-called sunshine vitamin does far more than build bones. Extensive evidence now shows that D has potent anticancer actions and also serves as an important regulator of immune system responses. Moreover, many of D's newly recognized benefits are maximized when it is present in the bloodstream at levels considerably higher than those found in many populations. These findings, together with epidemiological data linking low vitamin D levels to disease, support the possibility that widespread vitamin D deficiency is contributing to a number of serious illnesses.

A Versatile Switch

To make sense of new findings about vitamin D, it pays to first review what D actually is and how it is used in the human body. People can obtain the molecule known as vitamin D from limited food sources, such as fatty fish and fish oil, and, today, from dietary supplements. But we can also make it ourselves, through a chemical reaction that happens in the skin when it is exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) light. Strictly speaking, then, vitamin D is not a vitamin at all, because with moderate UVB exposure, we do not need to get it from food. In temperate regions of the world, however, UVB light is insufficient to induce adequate vitamin D synthesis in the skin for up to six months of the year, and then dietary sources of vitamin D become essential.

The term "vitamin D" generally refers collectively to the two very similar molecules that come from each of those sources. Vitamin D3, which is also known as cholecalciferol, is created by skin cells called keratinocytes from a breakdown product of cholesterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, in response to UVB light. Vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, is derived from a similar plant sterol, and the resulting molecule has slight structural differences that distinguish it from D3. Neither version has any biological activity in the body, however. First, either molecule must be modified by a series of related enzymes in a process called hydroxylation, which adds two thirds of a water molecule to generate 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D).
That conversion takes place primarily in the liver, but various cell types within the skin are also capable of performing the transformation locally. The 25D made by the liver is nonetheless the major form of vitamin D circulating in the bloodstream. When it is needed in the body, a final conversion to the biologically active form is required--25D is further hydroxylated and becomes 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D). The enzyme that performs this task, 1alpha-hydroxylase, was first discovered in the kidney, and renal processing is responsible for generating much of the body's circulating 1,25D supply.

Once again, however, scientists now realize that many other tissues, including cells of the immune system and the skin, can also make that enzyme and perform the 25D conversion themselves. Skin is therefore unique among organs in that it is capable of manufacturing biologically active 1,25D in the presence of UVB light from start to finish, although local production of 1,25D from circulating 25D in other tissues is a substantial source of vitamin D's biological activity in the body that was not appreciated until very recently. Once the breadth of D's activity is considered, though, it becomes easy to see why the ability to make its active form for local use might be important to certain types of cells.

The 1,25D molecule functions as a switch that can turn genes "on" or "off" in virtually every tissue in the human body. This form of D acts by attaching to a protein known as the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which serves as a so-called transcription factor inside a cell's nucleus. Once bound by 1,25D, the VDR protein seeks out a companion protein, the retinoid-x receptor (RXR), and the complex they form binds to a specific region of the cell's DNA adjacent to a target gene. Their attachment to the DNA induces cellular machinery to begin transcribing the nearby gene into a form that the cell will translate into a protein.

By causing a cell to make a particular protein, 1,25D alters cellular function, and this ability to trigger gene activity in different cells is the basis of vitamin D's widespread physiological effects. Because D is a substance manufactured in one tissue and circulates through the body influencing many other tissues, it is also technically a hormone. In fact, the VDR belongs to a family of proteins known as nuclear receptors that respond to powerful steroidal hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.

At least 1,000 different genes are believed to be regulated by 1,25D, including several involved in the body's calcium processing that account for D's well-known role in bone formation. Over the past two decades, however, scientists have identified many other genes influenced by vitamin D activity in the body, including genes with critical roles in a variety of cellular defenses.

Fortification by D

Since the 1980s various lines of evidence have pointed to vitamin D's protective effect against cancer. Many epidemiological studies have shown a strong inverse relation between exposure to sunlight and the incidence of certain types of cancer. Studies in animals and cell cultures have supported that association and helped to pinpoint the mechanisms that may be involved.

In a mouse model of head and neck cancer, for example, a compound called EB1089, which is a synthetic analogue of 1,25D, reduced tumor growth by 80 percent. Similar results have been attained in animal models of breast and prostate cancer. Identifying the genes activated by this synthetic version of D has helped explain these responses. Uncontrolled proliferation, or growth, is a hallmark of tumor cells, and EB1089 was shown to suppress the cells' ability to multiply by altering the activity of a number of different genes. One gene ramped up by the compound--GADD45α--is well known for triggering growth arrest in normal cells whose DNA is damaged, thereby reducing their risk for becoming cancerous. In addition, EB1089 activates genes that direct tumor cells to become more differentiated, a mature state that limits a cell's ability to proliferate.

Another dozen genes involved in a cell's energy management and self-detoxification have also been linked to EB1089's antitumor actions. That experimental compound, which was chemically designed to have l,25D-like activity without causing toxic levels of calcium to build up in the bloodstream and body tissues, is one of several potential cancer therapies developed by pharmaceutical companies to harness vitamin D's powerful antitumor properties.

Indeed, our laboratory group at McGill University was also investigating D's cancer-related actions in 2004 when we inadvertently hit on a completely different form of physiological defense governed by 1,25D. Many of the genes regulated by vitamin D have been discovered in recent years by scientists scanning parts of the human genome, looking for vitamin D response elements (VDREs)--the distinctive sequences of DNA code that lie adjacent to genes, to which the VDR-RXR protein complex binds. In collaboration with Sylvie Mader of the University of Montreal, we used a computer algorithm designed to scan the entire genome, seeking out VDREs and mapping their positions relative to nearby genes.

Although these mapping studies did help us to better understand some of the anticancer actions of vitamin D, they also revealed VDREs lying close to two genes that encode antimicrobial peptides called cathelicidin and defensin beta 2. These small proteins act as natural antibiotics against a wide spectrum of bacteria, viruses and fungi. We pursued this lead with studies in cultured human cells and found that exposure to 1,25D caused a relatively modest increase in the cells' manufacture of the defensin beta 2 peptide. But in a number of different cell types--including immune system cells and keratinocytes--the rise in cathelicidin production was dramatic. We next demonstrated that immune cells treated with 1,25D, when exposed to pathogenic bacteria, released factors-- presumably cathelicidin--that killed off the bacteria.

Philip Liu and Robert Modlin of the University of California, Los Angeles, and their collaborators substantially advanced this line of investigation last year by showing that human immune cells respond to bacterial cell walls by manufacturing both VDR proteins and the enzyme that converts circulating 25D into the biologically active 1,25D. In the group's experiments, these events induced the immune cells to start producing cathelicidin and to demonstrate antimicrobial activity against a variety of bacteria, including one that is perhaps the most intriguing: Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Thus, for the first time, the group revealed a plausible basis for the mysterious efficacy of the tuberculosis sunshine cure: the sun-soaked convalescents' vitamin D boost could have provided their immune cells with the raw material needed to generate a natural antibiotic that fought off the TB bacteria.

As gaps in our understanding of vitamin D physiology are filled in, researchers have come to appreciate that a number of D's protective actions in the body might have evolved from functions originating at the molecule's source, in the skin. The growth-arresting influence of 1,25D on cancer cells makes sense in this light because excess UVB exposure is known to damage the DNA of skin cells, which can lead them to become cancerous. Some have also speculated that the antimicrobial response regulated by vitamin D is an adaptation that might have evolved to compensate for D's role in suppressing certain other immune system reactions-- specifically, those that lead to excessive inflammation. As many of us know too well from experience, excessive UVB exposure causes sunburned skin, which at the tissue level results in fluid buildup and inflammation. Although a limited amount of inflammation is a beneficial mechanism for wound healing and helps the immune system fight off infection, too much inflammation causes its own havoc.

Perhaps not surprisingly, then, an impressive body of work now shows that 1,25D also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent that functions by influencing immune cell interactions. For example, different subtypes of immune cells communicate by secreting factors called cytokines to initiate a particular type of immune response. Vitamin D has been shown to repress exaggerated inflammatory responses by inhibiting that cytokine cross talk.

Direct evidence of vitamin D's natural role in preventing inflammation came first from animal experiments in the early 1990s, which showed that mice treated with 1,25D were protected from the inflammation normally associated with wounds and the chemical irritant dinitrobenzene, whereas vitamin D-deficient mice were hypersensitive to those same insults. This immune-suppressing function of vitamin D immediately suggested a range of new therapeutic possibilities for using vitamin D or its analogues in the control of autoimmune diseases thought to be caused by overactive cytokine responses, such as autoimmune diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS) and inflammatory bowel disease.

Since that time, scientists have realized that many cell types, including immune cells, are capable of using circulating 1,25D and of converting circulating 25D to the active form of the vitamin, confirming that the anti-inflammatory actions of 1,25D are not restricted to skin cells nor simply to the context of sunburn.

Epidemic Deficiency?

Recognition that 1,25D has a broad range of biological activities far beyond its role in calcium homeostasis has thrown into sharp relief a large body of epidemiological evidence that low vitamin D levels correlate strongly with certain types of disease, among them cancers, autoimmune conditions and even infectious diseases, such as influenza, as well as with seasonal variations in illness rates. In addition, many of the noted physiological responses to vitamin D seen both in the laboratory and in clinical studies are optimized only when circulating concentrations of 25D are higher than is typical in many populations. Members of the vitamin D research community are therefore coming to a widespread consensus that substantial numbers of people in temperate regions of the world have levels of vitamin D that are well below optimal concentrations for health, particularly during winter months.

UVB light penetrates the atmosphere more directly in the tropics than in more temperate regions of the planet, which receive substantial amounts of it only during the summer. Because most people obtain vitamin D mainly through UVB exposure, circulating 25D levels in populations generally diminish with increasing latitude, although variations at a given latitude do arise because of differing ethnicities and diets, as well as variations in local climate and elevation. Consistent with vitamin D's observed gene-regulatory activities, a clear association is seen between increasing latitude and increased risk of several illnesses, most conspicuously autoimmune diseases such as MS.

A chronic progressive illness, MS is caused by immune cell assaults on the protective myelin sheath that surrounds nerve fibers of the central nervous system. Its incidence is significantly higher in areas farthest from the equator in North America, Europe and Australia, and convincing evidence suggests that this pattern results from decreased UVB exposure. Disease progression and symptom flare-ups in MS sufferers also display well-established seasonal variations, with the highest disease activity in the spring (when circulating 25D levels would be lowest following the winter) and the least disease activity in the fall, after the summertime boost of D3. For example, scientists at the University of Southern California found an inverse relation among 79 pairs of identical twins between increased sun exposure during childhood and a lifetime risk of developing MS. The twins who spent more time outdoors as children had as much as 57 percent lower risk of developing the condition.

Similar patterns of risk for illness have been documented for autoimmune diabetes and for Crohn's disease, an inflammatory autoimmune intestinal condition, as well as for certain types of malignancy. Population rates of cancers of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary and rectum increase twofold from south to north in the U.S., for instance.

In addition to the many studies correlating sun exposure with disease incidence, recent investigations have made similar connections between disease risk and direct measurements of circulating 25D concentrations in blood serum. An enormous survey by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health looked at the stored serum samples of some seven million U.S. Army and Navy personnel as well as their health records to see which individuals had developed MS between 1992 and 2004. The researchers found a significantly lower risk of later developing the disease in the group with high serum 25D levels at the time the sample was taken. Soldiers with serum 25D concentrations above 40 nanograms per milliliter had a 62 percent lower risk than the soldiers whose concentrations were 25 ng/ml or below.

Measuring circulating levels of 25D is the usual method of gauging vitamin D availability in the body. Generally agreed on health standards, based largely on bone-forming needs, hold circulating 25D levels of 30 to 45 ng/ml to be minimally sufficient. Serum vitamin D concentrations below between 21 and 29 ng/ml are considered insufficient and often accompanied by decreased bone density. Some symptoms of rickets may appear when concentrations fall below 20 ng/ml, and the risk of colon cancer rises.

Such low concentrations are unfortunately all too common, especially in winter. In February and March of 2005, for example, a survey of 420 healthy females across northern Europe--in Denmark (Copenhagen: 55° latitude), Finland (Helsinki: 60°), Ireland (Cork: 52°) and Poland (Warsaw: 52°)--found that 92 percent of adolescent girls in these countries had 25D levels less than 20 ng/ml and that 37 percent of the girls were severely deficient, with 25D levels of less than 10 ng/ml. Among the older women tested, 37 percent were found to be vitamin D deficient and 17 percent were severely deficient.

Beyond latitude, several factors can contribute to vitamin D deficiency, and primary among these is race. White skin synthesizes vitamin D six times faster than dark skin because higher levels of melanin in darker skin block UV penetration [see "Skin Deep," by Nina G. Jablonski and George Chaplin; SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, October 2002]. As a result, African-Americans generally have levels of 25D that are approximately half those of whites in the U.S. In fact, data gathered for the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that 42 percent of African-American women tested were seriously 25D deficient, with serum concentrations of less than 15 ng/ml.
Increased public awareness that excessive exposure to sunlight causes skin damage is undoubtedly contributing to vitamin D deficiency as well. When properly applied, topical sunscreens reduce vitamin D produced in the skin by more than 98 percent. Enough vitamin D for good health can be synthesized in skin with sun exposure that might produce at most a slight pinkness, however. For most fair- and medium-skinned people in North America, this takes five to 15 minutes of sunlight between 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. during the summertime.

Vitamin D supplements could address the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in temperate zones, but how much people should take is still a subject of debate. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a minimum daily intake (RDI) of 200 international units (IU) for children, which many researchers have argued is suboptimal, even for rickets prevention. The RDI for adults in North America and Europe currently ranges between 200 IU and 600 IU, depending on age. After reviewing multiple studies comparing vitamin D intake and the serum concentrations of 25D produced, Harvard School of Public Health researchers and others concluded last year that the current RDIs are inadequate. They suggested that no less than half of U.S. adults needed to consume at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily to raise their serum 25D concentrations to the minimum healthy level of 30 ng/ml. No rule of thumb exists for calculating the serum 25D levels generated by supplements, because individual responses can vary and may depend in part on the extent of deficiency. A study of pregnant women showed, for example, that daily doses of 6,400 IU raised serum 25D levels dramatically until they reached about 40 ng/ml and then leveled off. Vitamin D2 has also been found to be less effective than D3 at raising and sustaining serum 25D concentrations over time.

Toxic vitamin D overdose through supplementation is certainly possible, although it is generally seen when doses of 40,000 IU or more of D have been taken daily for an extended period. Sunshine-induced vitamin D toxicity has never been observed, however. To put this in perspective, an adult woman with white skin exposed to summer sun while wearing a bikini generates about 10,000 IU of vitamin D in 15 to 20 minutes. Longer exposures do not generate higher amounts of vitamin D, because UVB light also degrades the vitamin, preventing too much of it from building up in the skin.

Accumulating evidence suggests that the subtle and longer-term effects of even slight vitamin D deficiency may be multifold and manifested later in life, in the form of increased frequency of bone fractures and enhanced susceptibility to infection and autoimmune diseases, as well as elevated frequencies of certain cancers. The re search strongly implies that at the very least the general public would benefit substantially from greater awareness of the broad physiological benefits of vitamin D, a sound medical consensus on sensible sun exposure and a clear indication of optimal recommended daily intakes of vitamin D from dietary sources.

KEY CONCEPTS

• Vitamin D, long associated only with its role in bone formation, is actually active throughout the human body, powerfully influencing immune system responses and cell defenses.

• It can be obtained from food or manufactured by human skin exposed to sunlight. Measures of vitamin D levels show, however, that many people have too little of it circulating in their blood to protect health.

• Clear associations between low vitamin D levels and cancers, autoimmunity, infectious diseases and other conditions suggest that current daily intake recommendations for this critical nutrient need revision.

--The Editors

SOURCES OF VITAMIN D

Vitamins D3 and D2 occur naturally in some foods, and both versions of the vitamin are added to certain "fortified" products. Foods provide relatively small doses of D compared with amounts made by the skin in response to UVB light. (IU = international units.)

Cod-liver oil (1 tbsp): 1,360 IU D3

Cooked tuna, sardines, mackerel or salmon (3-3.5 oz): 200-360 IU D3

Shiitake mushrooms (fresh, 3.5 oz): 100 IU D2 (dried, 3.5 oz): 1,600 IU D2

Egg yolk: 20 IU D3 or D2

Fortified dairy products, orange juice or cereals (one serving): 60-100 IU D3 or D2

Full-body exposure to UVB (15 to 20 minutes at midday in summer, fair skin): 10,000 IU D3

TISSUES AFFECTED BY VITAMIN D

The VDR receptor protein (above) is found in many body tissues as well as circulating immune cells, indicating a role for active vitamin D in regulating gene activity in those locations. The list below includes some of the tissues and cells where 1.25D action has been established.

Bone
Brain
Breast
Fat
Intestine
Immune cells
Kidneys
Liver
Nerves
Pancreas
Parathyroid gland
Prostate
Skin keratinocytes

D MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Growing evidence suggests that chronically low levels of vitamin D raise a person's risk for certain major illnesses. Examples of findings based on a population's blood serum D levels or UV exposure include:

• 30% to 50% higher risk for breast, prostate and colon cancers at serum 25D levels below 20 ng/ml

• Five times higher risk of ovarian cancer among women living at high latitudes (for example, Norway and Iceland) than women living at equatorial regions

• 77% lower risk for all cancers among Nebraska women age 55 and older taking 1,100 IU of D3 daily over a three-year period compared with a placebo group

• 62% lower risk for multiple sclerosis at serum 25D levels above 40 ng/ml than at 25 ng/ml or less

• 80% lower lifetime risk for autoimmune (type 1) diabetes in Finnish children given 2,000 IU of D3 daily during first year of life

Source: Scientific American; Nov2007, Vol. 297 Issue 5, p62-72, 8p

Re: Vitamin D - again!
10-24-07 11:04 AM - Post#365097    

• Trance Said:

Hooray for nekkid sunbathing!

"When [defeat] comes, I won't even notice. I'll be too busy looking good."

Re: Vitamin D - again!
10-24-07 11:20 AM - Post#365105    

• Yeti Said:

Depends on who's nekkid...

P.S.: These days the Sun will fry ya quickly... so I remembered to pick-up some Vit D in a bottle.

2009 Motto: Thinking Positive, Being Positive "Start out easy & don't compete against anyone but yourself." -- Steve Reeves "...work up to the number of repetitions that you feel necessary to do the trick. Don't hold yourself down to any hidebound number of repetitions." -- George F. Jowett "Weight training is successful when you perservere." -- Mike Dayton

Edited by Marooned Mike on 10-24-07 11:22 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

10-31-07 08:27 AM - Post#367831    

I heard mention of a "Vitamin D: No magic bullet" study on the radio this morning. Here's the only link I could find.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/CancerPreventi onAndTreatment/story?id=3 795158&page=1

There's a decrease in the risk of death from colorectal cancer but not the prevention of it. Similarly for breast cancer, but no other cancer benefits.

They're good enough to say that more research is needed and that this does not mean that vitamin D is not important. You don't often see that in a trial summary.

"Mens sana in corpore sano" ---- "Simply being amid the iron and at work is a triumph. You hear the metal, feel its coolness, leverage its gravity and fight the fight. You finish with a smile somewhere on your face and joy someplace in your heart and an ache of fulfillment all over."

10-31-07 11:11 AM - Post#367925    

Given that many people spend a lot of time indoors and have very minimal skin exposure to the sun, vitamin D supplementation wouldn't be a bad idea, especially in winter months.

As for sun exposure and burning, I've found that since changing my diet in the last few years, emphasizing more healthy fats like olive oil and avocados, my skin tans much easier and maintains a healthier-looking pigment, whereas in the past, when I was eating crap, I would burn easier.

"When [defeat] comes, I won't even notice. I'll be too busy looking good."

Vitamin D - again!
10-31-07 02:07 PM - Post#368029    

From that article:

• Quote:

This is a little hard to follow but this is an example of where statistics may be obscuring what's going on.

To show a statistically significant effect in something that effects a small portion of the population, you need large test populations. The more subtle the effect, the larger the test population needs to be. With colorectal cancer, it appears (from the quote above) the effect is really dramatic and the test population in the study was sufficient, statistically, to draw the conclusion.

Again, from the quote above, the data "suggested" a protective effect for breast cancer. This could mean two things: the encouraging numbers were a fluke; or the protective effect is subtle, and larger numbers would show this to be the case.

So the study data suggests that vitamin D has a protective effect against breast cancer, it's just not strong enough evidence to draw a conclusion.

Now you could pool data from a number of similar studies and see if things are any clearer with a larger population. But that would be a meta-analysis, which some dismiss (wrongly) as meaningless.

The most important test a lifter has to pass is the test of time. -Jon Cole

Edited by ccrow on 10-31-07 02:09 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

10-31-07 02:09 PM - Post#368032    

A good article from the Weston A. Price Foundation:

http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/clarif ications.html

The most important test a lifter has to pass is the test of time. -Jon Cole

10-31-07 04:18 PM - Post#368098    

The most recent issue of Scientific American reviews the most current research. It is a fascinating article and the lead reseachers give a lot of data to support the notion we get too little Vit D.

"The Earth has music for those who listen." Reginald Holmes "Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." Mark Twain "It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair

11-09-07 11:07 AM - Post#371725    

Another Vitamin D news release from Europe:

http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/printNewsBis.asp?id=81242

And the actual American Journal of Clinical Nutrition research article:

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/86/5 /1420

Vitamin D - again!
11-09-07 04:27 PM - Post#371858    

Sun gives Vitamin D...
Sun gives skin cancer?

Read this today in Daily Telegraph:
"Drinking coffee can cut the risk of skin cancer by more than a third, scientists say.

A good healthy dose: scientists believe caffeine could stop skin cancers spreading

Researchers found that people who drank more than six cups of caffeinated coffee a day reduced their chances of developing the most common form of skin cancer by 35 per cent, while those who drank two or three cups were 12 per cent less likely to have the disease."

This research from Dr Abel and his team, of Wayne State University, Detroit.

Now so long as coffee doesn't destroy Vitamin D ...



Edited by paul d w on 11-09-07 04:28 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.