Nutrition victory: Cancer doctors begin prescribing vitamin D as part of cancer therapy

Wednesday, December 02, 2009 by: E. Huff, staff writer
Tags: cancer, vitamin D, health news

(NaturalNews) Resounding evidence proving the effectiveness of vitamin D in slowing the onset of breast, colon, and other cancers is convincing a growing body of doctors and physicians to utilize the sunshine vitamin in their arsenal of cancer treatment weapons.

In the last several years, numerous epidemiological studies have illustrated the correlation between vitamin D deficiency and serious disease, including cancer. Researchers are now focusing attention on elevated levels of "therapeutic" vitamin D, far above the government's daily recommended amounts, for use in disease treatment and prevention.

Oncologist Tracey O'Connor from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo has stated that she is now having all her patients supplement with vitamin D. Since vitamin D carries no risk unless taken at enormously high amounts above and beyond what any normal person would ingest, it can only benefit those who are already healthy by preventing disease, as well as those who are sick.

Recent studies have also shown that the general public is grossly deficient in vitamin D. Those with debilitating diseases have been found to be the most deficient, indicating a clear correlation between deficiency and the onset of disease. O'Connor pointed out that among women with breast cancer, about 80 percent of them are vitamin D-deficient.

Current research is suggesting that healthy doses of vitamin D require a several-thousand IU daily intake rather than the two- to six-hundred IU dose that has typically been recommended. While these lower levels may prevent rickets, they do little or nothing to prevent the development of many common ailments that have become prevalent in modern society.

Natural sunlight is the best way to obtain vitamin D throughout the warm months of the year. The precursor to vitamin D, ultraviolet light from the sun is absorbed into the skin where it is converted into this life-giving vitamin. The body knows when it has received enough for the day and shuts off production at the proper time, eliminating the risk of generating too much.

Vitamin D3 is the next best option as it is a natural plant form of vitamin D that is readily absorbed by the body. Advocacy groups and physicians recommend anywhere from 1,000 to 50,000 IU a day of vitamin D3 depending upon a person's condition. Healthy individuals typically do well taking between 2,000 and 10,000 IU a day while someone with cancer might be prescribed as much as 50,000 IU a day as part of a cancer treatment plan.

Sources for this story include

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/d...