Researchers from Northwestern University, led by Dr. Halcyon Skinner, found that participants who consumed 400 mg of vitamin D daily experienced a 43 percent reduction in risk of pancreatic cancer, compared to the 22 percent reduction among those consuming 150 mg per day. The researchers did not note additional benefits of taking more than 400 mg per day.
"Because there is no effective screening for pancreatic cancer, identifying controllable risk factors for the disease is essential for developing strategies that can prevent cancer," Skinner says.
Vitamin D is essential for bone health, since it aids the body in absorbing calcium from foods. Dietary sources of vitamin D include fish oils and fortified dairy products. However, the body also creates vitamin D when the skin is exposed to natural sunlight.
Dr. Skinner says vitamin D has already shown strong potential as both prevention and treatment for prostate cancer, and that sunlight seems to play a pivotal role in vitamin D production. Skinner notes that areas with greater sunlight seem to experience lower incidence and mortality rates for several types of cancer, including breast and colon cancers.
"This led us to investigate a role for vitamin D in pancreatic cancer risk," Skinner says. "Few studies have examined this association and we did observe a reduced risk for pancreatic cancer with higher intake of vitamin D."
"Vitamin D continues to prove itself as miracle medicine," explained Mike Adams, a holistic nutritionist and author of The Seven Laws of Nutrition. "This single nutrient prevents cancer, osteoporosis and depression. It's free of charge and doesn't require a prescription. People can even make it on their own through exposure to natural sunlight. No wonder conventional medicine keeps trying to scare people away from sunlight. If everyone had more vitamin D, sales of prescription drugs would plummet!"
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