VITAMIN D AND BREAST CANCER - DEDICATED TO MYRA BAUMAN

Several years ago I lost a beautiful, kind, loving, and talented cousin to breast cancer. She had begun to have strange pains in her leg and consequently went for a check up. Several doctors had not been able to find anything. However, after about six months or so, she was finally diagnosed with breast cancer. At that particular time though, the cancer had spread throughout her body. She died at 35.

There is nothing inherently mysterious about disease, including cancer. There is always a cause. For breast cancer, much research indicates a link with a low level of VITAMIN D. According to a study of 166 women undergoing breast cancer treatment presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Breast Cancer Symposium in San Francisco, nearly 70 percent had low levels of Vitamin D in there blood. The presence of Vitamin D was even lower in women with late stage cancer and with non-Caucasian women.[1]

A 2008 study in which researchers measured 103 premenopausal women from the northeastern United States, who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer, revealed that 84 percent were deficient in Vitamin D. Along racial and/or ethnic lines, the breakdown was Caucasian women (78 percent), Black women (90 percent), Latino (91 percent).[2] Dr. Pamela Goodwin's study in the Spring of 2008 conducted in Toronto, Canada tested the blood of 512 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1989-1995. The researchers discovered that 76 percent of the women had insufficient or deficient levels of Vitamin D.

Current research has been done with CALCITRIOL (Vitamin D's most active form) and CALCIDIOL (Vitamin D's less active form) on breast cancer patients deficient in Vitamin D. Calcitriol inhibits breast cancer cells from growing and causes them to die like natural cells.[3] Studies have shown that the higher the level of calcidiol in the blood, the higher the levels of calcitriol exists in the tissues to fight breast cancer as calcidiol in the blood is converted to calcitriol in the tissues.[4] In 1997, researchers at the Manchester Royal Infirmary found that women with the highest levels of calcitriol in their blood showed the best prognosis while women with the lowest levels exhibited more of a propensity for fatal results.[5]

Since it is obvious that Vitamin D is essential as both a preventative measure and a treatment for breast cancer, the question now should be where can one best get the proper amounts of Vitamin D. The following is a list of foods that possess the highest concentration of Vitamin D according to Healthier Talk (www.healthiertalk.com):

Shiitake and Button Mushrooms (Dried Versions)
Mackerel (3 1/2 ounce yields 90% of the recommended daily amount)
Salmon (one serving provides 360 IU)*
Herring
Sardines (One small can represents about 70% of your daily needs)
Catfish
Tuna Fish (3 ounces provides 50% of your daily Vitamin D needs)
Cod Liver Oil (one tablespoon provides 1300 + IU)*
Eggs (one egg will provide 25 IU)*
Milk (one glass of fortified milk provides 100 IU)*

As you can see, these foods are great sources of Vitamin D. However, the number one source of all is still SUNLIGHT. Dr. Soram Khalsa, in his book The Vitamin D Revolution, asserts that the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin D (400 IU) has proven NOT to be a sufficient intake for women. He suggests that up to 10,000 IU a day is safe.[2] Many scientists now believe that our daily intake of Vitamin D should be at 1,000 IU. Full-body sunbathing will produce 10,000 to 20,000 IU.[6] If you are in Arizona, California, or Florida, you should be in good shape with the SOLAR POWER. Otherwise, get what you can get and select the proper foods. If you are in less solar states, are a vegan, or a vegetarian, Vitamin D supplements are necessary. A 1999 study concluded that by combining sun, supplements, and Vitamin D rich food, an estimation of 70,000 to 150,000 new cases of breast cancer and up to 37,000 deaths from breast cancer could be prevented.[2]

References

1. ^ "Women with Breast Cancer Have Low Vitamin D Levels"
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091009090431.htm). Science Daily.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091009090431.htm.
Retrieved 2010-1-26.
2. ^ Khalsa, Soram (2009). The Vitamin D Revolution
(http://www.vitamindrevolution.com). Hay House Publishers. pp. (excerpted
at weblink). ISBN 978-1-4019-2470-6. http://www.vitamindrevolution.com.
3. ^ Bortman P, Folgueira MA, Katayama ML, Snitcovsky IM, Brentani MM.
Anti-proliferative effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on breast cells: a mini
review."Vitamin D and Breast Cancer: Vitamin D Receptors and
Calcitriol." (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/cancerBreast.shtml). Braz J Med
Biol Res. 2002 Jan;35(1):1-9. http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/cancerBreast.shtml.
Retrieved 2010-1-26.
4. ^ "Vitamin D and Breast Cancer: Test for Calcidiol Levels, Not Calcitriol."
(http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/cancerBreast.shtml). Vitamin D Council.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/cancerBreast.shtml. Retrieved 2010-1-26.
5. ^ Mawer EB, Walls J, Howell A, Davies M, Ratcliffe WA, Bundred NJ.
Serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D may be related inversely to disease activity in
breast cancer patients with bone metastases. 1997 Jan;82(1):118-22: "Vitamin D
and Breast Cancer" (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/cancerBreast.shtml). J Clin
Endocrinol Metab.. http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/cancerBreast.shtml). Retrieved
2010-1-26.
6. ^ Johnston, Laurance. "Sunlight, Vitamin D & Health".
(http://www.healingtherapies.info/Sunlight&VitaminD.htm). Sunlight &
Vitamin D. http://www.healingtherapies.info/Sunlight&VitaminD.htm.
Retrieved 2010-1-27.

*www.healingtherapies.info/Sunlight&VitaminD.htm