Vitamin D for Cancer Prevention
If you are interested to find out more about using vitamin D for cancer prevention, you may find this article useful. Vitamin D is an important vitamin, which is actually a pro-hormone, although most of us call it ‘vitamin’. A pro-hormone can be defined as a substance that is a precursor to some hormones and has a bit of hormonal activity itself.
Vitamin D is available in two forms: vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. The second one is what most of us call ‘vitamin D’. It is normally found in animal-derived foods. Eggs, animal meat, fish liver oil, tuna and dairy products contain certain amounts of vitamin D. However, the quantities found in these foods are certainly insufficient.
This vitamin is synthesized in your body during the sun exposure. Ultraviolet light enables the conversion of vitamin D to its active form. To keep your vitamin D levels, you need to spend time in the sun. Twenty minutes in the sun without using any sunscreen, at least 3 times a week, is considered enough to get vitamin D.
Vitamin D Deficiency
What is vitamin D deficiency?
● Vitamin D deficiency can be defined as a condition when the body lacks vitamin D. In some cases, this condition can become quite severe and lead to other health problems. Some of the most common symptoms of severe deficiency include:
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Bone fractures
- Depression
- Increased blood pressure
- High cholesterol levels
- Rickets
Vitamin D and Cancer Prevention
● According to what experts say, vitamin D can prevent various problems. Let us learn more about the connection between vitamin D and cancer.
Can Vitamin D prevent cancer?
● We cannot really say that vitamin D can actually prevent cancer, because cancer can result from various factors. However, we can say that vitamin D can reduce the risk of cancer development.
● According to numerous researches, people who live in cold areas with not much sun are at higher risk of getting cancer. In addition, people who have dark skin are also at risk of developing certain types of cancer. Dark-skinned people have to spend more time in the sun, because more time is needed for vitamin D to be synthesized in darker skin.
● Based on these discoveries, we can say that there is a connection between vitamin D deficiency and certain types of cancer. However, this is still unclear. We still cannot say how effective vitamin D is in preventing certain types of cancer.
● Vitamin D levels must be checked regularly, in order to prevent deficiency. Normal levels of vitamin D will reduce the risk of cancer to some extent, but other health problems will be prevented as well. We know that vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets in children, bone fragility, depression, high cholesterol and hypertension. Some researches have shown that there is a connection between obesity and vitamin D deficiency. Talk to your doctor about vitamin D supplements. If you are a vegetarian, you will need to use vitamin supplements, not only to get vitamin D, but also to get other important vitamins.