Improve Your Immunity Level with Vitamin D and Prevent Breast Cancer

New Study Shows This Potent Vitamin Helps Prevent Breast Cancer

August 01 2012 |45,836 views

 

Story at-a-glance

• Researchers revealed new mechanisms by which vitamin D is effective against estrogen receptor positive breast cancer cells, including suppressing the expression of aromatase, the enzyme that catalyzes estrogen synthesis in breast cancer cells, and increasing expression of 15-PGDH, a tumor suppressor
• Past research also supports the effectiveness of vitamin D for breast cancer, with one study showing light-skinned women who had high amounts of long-term sun exposure had half the risk of developing advanced breast cancer (cancer that spreads beyond your breast) as women with lower amounts of regular sun exposure
• Scientists have found about 3,000 genes that are upregulated by vitamin D; the vitamin has an impact on not only cancer but also autoimmune diseases, heart disease, obesity, dementia, and more
• The ideal way to optimize your vitamin D level is through sun exposure or a safe tanning bed

 

By Dr. Mercola

If you want to slash your risk of cancer, it's essential that you spend adequate time in the sun or a safe tanning bed, or at the very least supplement with proper amounts of vitamin D3.

This is because maintaining optimal blood levels of this vitamin is one of the most powerful, and virtually free, methods to protect against cancer.

Research shows that higher solar UVB exposure, which is associated with higher vitamin D levels, decreases the risk of 15 different types of cancer, and weaker evidence also points to protection against an additional nine types of cancer.¹

One of these cancers is breast cancer, and new research specifically found vitamin D is particularly effective against estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer cells.

Vitamin D’s Striking Role Against ER+ Breast Cancer

Many breast cancers are fueled by estrogen, a hormone produced in fat tissue. Breast cancer is defined as ER+ if the cancer cells have estrogen receptors, which are proteins that estrogen binds to. ER+ breast cancer cells depend on estrogen to grow.

In the latest study, researchers reported that calcitriol (the hormonally active form of vitamin D) inhibits the growth of many cancerous cells including breast cancer cells by arresting the cancer cells’ replication cycles, promoting apoptosis, and inhibiting invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis.² They also revealed new mechanisms by which vitamin D is effective against estrogen receptive positive breast cancer cells. Among them:

• Suppressing COX-2 expression, which is linked to poor prognosis in breast cancer patients
• Increasing expression of 15-PGDH, a tumor suppressor
• Suppressing the expression of aromatase, the enzyme that catalyzes estrogen synthesis in breast cancer cells

Researchers concluded:

“Cell culture and in vivo data in mice strongly suggest that calcitriol and dietary vitamin D would play a beneficial role in the prevention and/or treatment of ER+BCa [estrogen receptor positive breast cancer] in women.”

Vitamin D Might Slash Breast Cancer Risk by 77 Percent

Carole Baggerly is the director and founder of an organization called GrassrootsHealth, which is primarily focused on creating awareness about the profound importance of vitamin D for optimal health. They're also developing and substantiating research to support the use of vitamin D as a prevention strategy against diseases like cancer.

Carole's interest in this field began with her own breast cancer diagnosis in 2005, followed by a diagnosis of osteoporosis, likely caused by a vitamin D deficiency. This diagnosis quickly led her to also research vitamin D deficiency in relation to cancer, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

"Dr. Cedric Garland of UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center had just published a paper saying that the risk of breast cancer could be cut by 50 percent if people had vitamin D serum levels – this is a blood level of how much vitamin D you've got – somewhere about 40 to 50 nanograms per milliliter. I just sat there and looked at that, and I started crying, [thinking] this can't be true… I'm a very skeptical scientist," she says.

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She made some calls to verify the veracity of the study, and discovered that the author, Dr. Garland, was not only well-respected, but had researched vitamin D and cancer for 30 years. She went on to uncover more and more researching showing that vitamin D has a very real impact on cancer rates, including the study described below, which found it may reduce cancer risk by up to 77 percent:

"[A] randomized trial… published in 2007 by Joan Lappe out of Creighton University… had a group of about 1,100 post-menopausal women who started out with no cancer (plus control group)… One group got [oral] vitamin D [and calcium] and the other got a placebo. At the end of four years, there was a 77 percent difference in cancer incidence between those that had the vitamin D and calcium versus the placebo.³ So something is working," she says.

Here is just a sampling of the studies to date showing vitamin D’s therapeutic actions against cancer:

• Some 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancers could be prevented each year if vitamin D levels among populations worldwide were increased, according to previous research by Dr. Garland and colleagues.⁴ And that's just counting the death toll for two types of cancer.
• A large-scale, randomized, placebo-controlled study on vitamin D and cancer showed that vitamin D can cut overall cancer risk by as much as 60 percent – and up to 77 percent when only the last 3 years of data were used.⁵ This was such groundbreaking news that the Canadian Cancer Society has actually begun endorsing the vitamin as a cancer-prevention therapy.
• Light-skinned women who had high amounts of long-term sun exposure had half the risk of developing advanced breast cancer (cancer that spreads beyond your breast) as women with lower amounts of regular sun exposure, according to a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology.⁶
• A study by Dr. William Grant, Ph.D., internationally recognized research scientist and vitamin D expert, found that about 30 percent of cancer deaths -- which amounts to 2 million worldwide and 200,000 in the United States -- could be prevented each year with higher levels of vitamin D.

Vitamin D Can Radically Improve MS and Other Autoimmune Diseases

The beauty of vitamin D is that it is far from an ordinary “vitamin.” In fact, it is a steroid hormone that influences virtually every cell in your body. Receptors that respond to vitamin D have been found in nearly every type of human cell, from your bones to your brain, and this helps explain why it is has such a powerful impact on so many diseases.

So far, scientists have found about 3,000 genes that are upregulated by vitamin D, which is remarkable when you consider the human body only has between 20-25,000 genes total. Vitamin D researchers keep finding health benefits from vitamin D in virtually every area they look, including:

Cancer	Hypertension	Heart disease
Autism	Obesity	Rheumatoid arthritis
Diabetes 1 and 2	Multiple Sclerosis	Crohn’s Disease
Cold & Flu	Inflammatory Bowel Disease	Tuberculosis
High Blood Pressure	MRSA Infections	Dementia
Birth Defects	Reduced C-section risk	Infertility
Melanoma (skin cancer)	Asthma	Depression
Osteoporosis	Alzheimer’s disease	Schizophrenia

Oftentimes the role of vitamin D is quite substantial. For instance, several past studies have shown that vitamin D can be beneficial for reducing flare-ups from autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). But now a new study showed just how big a difference D supplementation can make in people with MS. The target level of vitamin D was 40 ng/ml or higher, and researchers found that those persons with ng/ml levels higher than 48 ng/ml saw a 75 percent reduction in relapse rates.⁷

Researchers also found that it made a difference as to which type of vitamin D they supplemented with―this new research used D3, rather than D2.

Overall, correcting a vitamin D deficiency may cut your risk of dying by more than half, according to an analysis of more than 10,000 patients. People with low levels of vitamin D were found to be more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, and diseased heart muscle -- and were three times more likely to die from any cause compared to those with normal levels.⁸

Four Important Points to Know About Vitamin D

The four major points to remember about vitamin D are the following:

1. Your best source for this vitamin is exposure to the sun, without sunblock on your skin, and as near to solar noon as possible. During this UVB ray-intense time you will be able to produce vitamin D in plenty. Plus, when the sun goes down toward the horizon, the UVB is filtered out much more than the dangerous UVA. You should continue the exposure until your skin turns the lightest shade of pink. While this isn't always possible due to the change of the seasons and your geographic location (and your skin color), this is the ideal to aim for. A safe tanning bed is the next best option. Safe tanning beds have electronic ballasts rather than magnetic ballasts, which helps you avoid unnecessary exposure to health-harming EMF fields. They also have less of the dangerous UVA than sunlight, while unsafe ones have more UVA than sunlight. The last option is vitamin D supplementation, which can help fill the gaps during the winter months outside of the tropics, when healthy sun exposure is not an option.
2. When you do supplement with vitamin D, you'll only want to supplement with natural vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Do NOT use the synthetic and highly inferior vitamin D2, which is the one most doctors will typically give you in a prescription unless you ask specifically for D3. According to the most recent findings by Carole Baggerly, which involved research on nearly 10,000 people, shows the ideal adult dose appears to be 8,000 IU's a day to get most into the healthy range.

3. Get your vitamin D blood levels checked! The only way to determine the correct dose for you is to get your blood tested since there are so many variables that influence your vitamin D status. The above recommendation is only an estimate. I recommend using Lab Corp in the U.S.
4. The correct test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is the better marker of overall D status. This is the marker that is most strongly associated with overall health.

The OPTIMAL value of vitamin D that you're looking for is explained in the chart below. If you were in the sun nearly every day with large amounts of your skin exposed and not taking any oral vitamin D, your level would be around 100 ng/ml. This range applies for everyone: children, adolescents, adults and seniors. Unless you get a deep dark tan, which is a pretty good gauge that your vitamin D levels are where they need to be, it is wise to get your blood levels checked; that is the only way to know for certain you have reached therapeutic levels.

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Why You Need More of this Crucial Vitamin if You Are Heavy

Posted By Dr. Mercola | March 21 2012 | 49,894 views

Story at-a-glance

• If you weigh more than the average person your age your vitamin d requirements will need to be adjusted upward
• Vitamin D levels tend to be low in obese individuals as well as in those who are physically inactive, and one researcher even stated that vitamin D deficiency is the primary cause of common obesity and metabolic syndrome
• Several studies have also confirmed a link between vitamin D deficiency, abdominal obesity and visceral fat, as well as the possibility that increasing your vitamin D levels may improve weight loss
• Your best source for vitamin D is daily exposure to the sun, without sunblock on your skin, until your skin turns the lightest shade of pink. If that is not possible, a safe tanning bed or vitamin D3 supplementation can be used. Ideally, take the time to have your blood levels checked, as this is the most accurate way of determining how much vitamin D is optimal for you

By Dr. Mercola

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble, hormone-like vitamin, and many therefore believe that if you're obese you need more of it because body fat acts as a "sink" by collecting it.
However, muscle and fat may well act the same when it comes to storing vitamin D for future use.

New research using mathematical models has shown that a heavily muscled man and an obese man who weigh exactly the same would need the same amount of vitamin D.

The key to determining how much vitamin D is appropriate for an individual appears to be body weight rather than body fat. This was not previously widely appreciated by most experts.

Your Body Weight May Dictate How Much Vitamin D You Need

If you're overweight or obese, you're therefore likely going to need more vitamin D than a slimmer person -- and the same holds true for people with higher body weights due to muscle mass.

Your best source for this vitamin is daily exposure to the sun, without sunblock on your skin, until your skin turns the lightest shade of pink.

While this isn't always possible due to the change of the seasons and your geographic location (and your skin color), this is the ideal to aim for as it will optimize your vitamin D levels naturally.

To use the sun to maximize your vitamin D production and minimize your risk of skin damage, the middle of the day (roughly between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.) is the best and safest time. During this UVB-intense period you will need the shortest sun exposure time to produce the most vitamin D.

If sun exposure is not an option, using a safe tanning bed (one with electronic ballasts rather than magnetic ballasts, to avoid unnecessary exposure to EMF fields) is the next best option. Safe tanning beds have far less of the dangerous UVA than sunlight, while unsafe ones have more UVA than sunlight. If neither of these are feasible options, then you should take an oral vitamin D3 supplement – and this is where the dosage becomes of crucial importance.

What's the Correct Dose of Vitamin D?

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Based on research published by GrassrootsHealth from the D*Action study, the average adult needs to take 8,000 IU's of vitamin D per day in order to elevate his or her levels above 40 ng/ml -- the bare minimum requirement necessary for disease prevention.  

Ideally, you'll want your levels to be between 50-70 ng/ml. As Carole Baggerly, director and founder of GrassrootsHealth, noted:

"We just published our very first paper. We have about 10 people in this study now that are taking 50,000 IU a day and they're not reaching a potential toxicity level of 200 ng/ml. It should be noted, however, that this is not a recommended intake level. The study reported data on about over 3,500 people. … One very significant thing shown by this research was that even with taking the supplement, the curve for the increase in the vitamin D level is not linear. It is curvilinear and it flattens, which is why it's even hard to get toxic with a supplement."

This means that even if you do not regularly monitor your vitamin D levels, your risk of overdosing is going to be fairly slim -- even if you take as much as 8,000 IU's a day. (As an aside, there is evidence that the safety of vitamin D is dependent on vitamin K, and that vitamin D toxicity (although very rare with the D3 form) is actually aggravated by vitamin K2 deficiency. So if you take oral vitamin D, ideally you should take vitamin K2 as well or use organic fermented foods that are high in vitamin K2, as you need about 150 mcg per day.)

That said, 8,000 IU is only a ballpark estimate of what most people likely need -- it is simply impossible to make a general recommendation that will cover everyone's needs.  

For instance, the lighter your skin, the more vitamin D you will produce from sun exposure, and the closer you live to the equator, the more vitamin D the sun on your skin will produce. Similarly, the more you weigh, the more vitamin D you need.

So it is an inexact science trying to figure out how much vitamin D your body is able to produce naturally and balancing that with how much you need in supplement form. You really need to be your own vitamin D level sleuth, and I strongly suggest you do the necessary work, because this is truly one of the most powerful vitamins available for your health, and one that the majority of people currently are deficient in.

The only way to truly optimize your own vitamin D levels is to work with your doctor, take the 25 OH D blood test and then get sun exposure and/or supplement with a dose somewhere in the range of 5,000-40,000 IU, retesting your blood levels after a few months of supplementation.

For children below the age of 5 I recommend 35 IU per pound per day and for pregnant women I recommend anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 IU per day. But again, there really is no "right" amount unless you take the time to have your blood levels checked, as the amount it takes to keep your levels within the below optimal range is the one that is right for you.

Is There a Link Between Low Vitamin D Levels and Obesity?

There is a connection, yes. Vitamin D levels tend to be low in obese individuals as well as in those who are physically inactive,ⁱ and one researcher even went so far as to state that vitamin D deficiency is the cause of common obesity and metabolic syndrome:ⁱⁱ

"There is evidence for a central control mechanism which maintains body-weight to a set-point by the regulation of energy intake and energy expenditure through homeostatic pathways. It is suggested … that common obesity occurs when the set-point is raised and that accumulation of fat mass functions to increase body size. Larger body size confers a survival advantage in the cold ambient temperatures and food scarcity of the winter climate by reducing surface area to volume ratio and by providing an energy store in the form of fat mass.

In addition, it is suggested that the phenotypic metabolic and physiological changes observed as the metabolic syndrome, including hypertension and insulin resistance, could result from a winter metabolism which increases thermogenic capacity. Common obesity and the metabolic syndrome may therefore result from an anomalous adaptive winter response. The stimulus for the winter response is proposed to be a fall in vitamin D.

… It is here proposed that a fall in vitamin D in the form of circulating calcidiol is the stimulus for the winter response, which consists of an accumulation of fat mass (obesity) and the induction of a winter metabolism (the metabolic syndrome) … It may be possible to reverse the increasing prevalence of obesity by improving vitamin D status."

Several studies have also confirmed a link between vitamin D deficiency, abdominal obesity and visceral fat, while research even shows that increasing your vitamin D levels may improve weight loss if you're following a reduced-calorie diet.ⁱⁱⁱ Interestingly, new research also found that weight loss among overweight and obese women is associated with increased vitamin D levels,^iv so there appear to be strong links between vitamin D status and your weight, through various mechanisms working on multiple levels.

Why is Vitamin D So Important, Anyway?

We've addressed ways to optimize your vitamin D levels … but you may be wondering why this is so important, especially if you're still under the impression that vitamin D is mostly a nutrient for your bones. Many people think that vitamin D is really a vitamin, but in reality, the active form of vitamin D is one of the most potent hormones in your body, and regulates more genes and bodily functions than any other hormone yet discovered.  

Vitamin D is produced as a pro-hormone in your skin after sunlight exposure, and is then converted to the potent hormone form.

Without adequate levels of this hormone, you could die, and indeed, many do die from vitamin D deficiency-related causes. Vitamin D could rightly be described as a "miracle nutrient" for your immune system, as it enables your body to produce well over 200 antimicrobial peptides, which are indispensable in fighting off a wide range of infections.  

Furthermore, when your organs convert the vitamin D in your bloodstream into calcitriol, which is the hormonal or activated version of vitamin D, they can then use it to repair cellular damage, including damage associated with cancer cells and tumors.

Theories linking vitamin D to certain cancers have been tested and confirmed in more than 200 epidemiological studies, and understanding of its physiological basis stems from more than 2,500 laboratory studies, according to epidemiologist Cedric Garland, DrPH, professor of family and preventive medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.  

Other research has linked vitamin D to a number of chronic and acute health conditions including heart disease, infertility, influenza, colds, respiratory tract infections, depression and more.

Vitamin D Study Participants Needed

D*Action is a worldwide public health campaign organized by GrassrootsHealth, aiming to solve the vitamin D deficiency epidemic through focus on testing, education, and grassroots word of mouth. And while one paper has already been published, the international GrassrootsHealth study is still ongoing and accepting participants.

When you join D*action, you agree to test your vitamin D levels twice a year during a five-year program, and share your health status to demonstrate the public health impact of this nutrient. There is a $60.00 fee + $5.00 shipping each 6 months for your sponsorship of the project, which includes a complete new test kit to be used at home, and electronic reports on your ongoing progress. You will get a follow up email every six months reminding you "it's time for your next test and health survey."

To join now, please follow this link to the sign up form.

References:

---

• ⁱ J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2010 Jul;121(1-2):462-6.
• ⁱⁱ Med Hypotheses. 2009 Mar;72(3):314-21.
• ⁱⁱⁱ Study presented at the Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting, June 10-13, 2009, Washington, DC
• ^iv Obesity (Silver Spring). 2012 Mar 8.

Source: Vitamin D Council February 27, 2012

Source: Obesity January 19, 2012

Related Links:

Why this Vitamin is Better than ANY Vaccine and Improves Your Immune System by 3-5 Times
How to Get Your Vitamin D Within to Healthy Ranges

This Vitamin Found to Rejuvenate Aging Eyes

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/21/vitamin-d-for-obese.aspx

The Best "Drug" for Slashing Your Risk of Cancer?

Posted By Dr. Mercola | December 19 2011 | 36,541 views

Story at-a-glance

• Cancer prevention strategies that need to become mainstream include: optimizing your vitamin D levels, normalizing your insulin levels, and exercise. Research shows you can likely cut your cancer-risk in half simply by optimizing your vitamin D levels with sun exposure. And if you are being treated for cancer it is likely that higher blood levels—probably around 70-100 ng/ml—would be beneficial
• Cancer rates are projected to rise by 45 percent in the UK over the next 20 years due to population growth and an aging population.
• Global cost of cancer is estimated at $286 billion annually in medical expenses and lost productivity. According to a new report from a panel of 37 experts, the rate of increase in expenditure on cancer within health-care systems is unsustainable.
• Ignoring the fact that cancer is likely a man-made disease caused primarily by toxic overload is at the heart of our rising cancer rates, yet most of the cancer research is directed towards expensive drugs that target late stages of the disease and greatly enrich the drug companies but simply do not prevent cancer.
• Overlooked contributing factors to cancer include: chemical exposures, pharmaceutical drugs, processed and artificial foods, EMF and dirty electricity, radiation exposure, obesity, stress, poor sleeping habits, and lack of sunshine exposure.

 

By Dr. Mercola

Research in the UK suggests that the number of new cancer cases could rise 45 percent by 2030.

Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, says that the National Health Service must act immediately to avoid being "overwhelmed".

The research looked at 23 different types of cancer, and found an expected cancer increase of 55 percent for men and 35 percent for women.

BBC News reports:

"The rate of breast cancer is projected to fall by 7 percent.
The authors attribute this to a recent reduction in the use of hormone replacement therapy, which is a risk factor for the disease.
However the rates of malignant melanoma and kidney cancer are forecast to rise sharply in men and women."

The primary reason for the rise in cancer cases is attributed to population growth in the UK and an increased ageing population.

Interestingly, while paying lip service to the necessity to create stronger initiatives for smoking, drinking, and obesity reduction.

England's Department of Health is planning to invest more than £750 million over the next four years to promote earlier cancer diagnosis and "better access to the latest treatments."

So in essence, they're going to throw millions of pounds into an already broken system—the Cut, Poison, Burn paradigm—that does nothing to actually prevent cancer...

No wonder cancer rates are projected to rise by 45 percent in the UK over the next 20 years!

New Study—Cost of Cancer Rapidly Becoming Unsustainable

Cancer now surpasses heart disease as the number one killer of Americans between the ages of 45 to 74. The odds are quite high that you or someone you know has cancer, is dying or has already died from it.

While life cannot be measured in dollars and cents, the financial burden of cancer is truly staggering. Currently, 12 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer each year, costing $286 billion annually in medical costs and lost productivity. By 2030, that number could increase to 22 million people each year, with a similar rise in costs.

According to a new report from a panel of 37 experts, the cost of cancer is rapidly becoming unsustainable in many developed countries. The report was published in the journal Lancet Oncology in September, and was covered in Time Magazine that same month.

According to the authors of the report:

"The burden of cancer is growing rapidly… This is not simply due to an increase in absolute numbers or need for optimized treatments, rather it relates to the unsustainable rate of increase in expenditure on cancer within health-care systems.

What are the drivers and solutions to the so-called cancer-cost curve in developed countries? How are we going to afford to deliver high-quality and equitable care? In this Commission and the linked Comments, expert opinion from health-care professionals, policy makers, and cancer survivors has been gathered to address the barriers and solutions to delivering affordable cancer-care in high-income countries."

The report wisely questions the value of expensive new therapies that prolong patients' lives by mere months. Some cancer drugs, such as Avastin, for example, can cost upwards of $100,000 per year. At that price, even with insurance coverage, your co-payments can easily run as high as $20,000 a year. This despite the fact that studies show the drug prolongs life by just a few months at best, and more recent studies have suggested the drug might be less effective against cancer than the FDA believed when it was approved. It also has potentially lethal side effects that might speed up your ultimate demise.

When the Treatment is Worse than the Disease...

Perhaps more importantly, most conventional cancer treatments tend to add insult to injury by doing more harm than good -- a fact that has been largely swept under the rug by the medical industry.

Meanwhile, the real culprits—the underlying causes—are completely ignored, and that is, I believe, the root of the problem. The cancer industry has become a massive for-profit business that is doing everything in its power to maintain the status quo. It is, quite simply, not interested in truly reducing cancer rates; it's interested in treating cancer. From that perspective, the more cancer cases the better...

This sordid reality has been well-documented in films such as Cut, Poison, Burn, and Burzynski: The Movie. 

Burzynski: Cancer Is Serious Business from BurzynskiMovie on Vimeo.

Getting to the Root of the Problem

Ignoring the fact that cancer is for the most part a disease triggered primarily by exposure to industrial toxins, the now well-trod path of the Cut-Poison-Burn model is taking us ever further AWAY from the solution. The pharmaceutical researchers would like you to believe they're doing everything they can to come up with a solution. Yet most of the cancer research is directed towards expensive drugs that target late stages of the disease and greatly enrich the drug companies but simply do not prevent cancer.

Clearly they're not digging close enough to the root of the problem, because if they did, they'd touch on some of the lifestyle issues I'll review below.

If ever there was an area in which an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure it is cancer. I firmly believe that if you're able to work your way up to the advanced health plan, that you will virtually eliminate the risk of most cancers.

From my perspective, you ignore lifestyle factors at your own peril, as environmental- and lifestyle factors are increasingly being pinpointed as the primary culprits fueling our cancer epidemic. An exhaustive list of contributing factors would be exceedingly long, but some of the more obvious ones are listed below. For more information about each, follow the hyperlinks provided, and for specifics on consumer products implicated as contributors to cancer, take a look at the Cancer Prevention Coalition's "Dirty Dozen" list.

Pesticide- and other chemical exposures	Processed and artificial foods (plus the chemicals in the packaging)	Wireless technologies, dirty electricity, and medical diagnostic radiation exposure
Pharmaceutical drugs	Obesity, stress, and poor sleeping habits	Lack of sunshine exposure and use of sunscreens

In the last 30 years the global cancer burden has doubled, and as predicted in the featured study, we're looking at further dramatic increases—unless people begin to take cancer prevention seriously. I believe we can turn this trend around, but to do so the medical community must stop overlooking the methods that can actually have a very real and significant impact.

Three cancer advancements in particular merit special mention, and I will summarize them below. These advancements have not yet been accepted by conventional medicine, and they must be.

Vitamin D Plays a Crucial Role in Cancer Development

There's overwhelming evidence indicating that vitamin D deficiency plays a crucial role in cancer development. Research has identified a number of vitamin D's protective mechanisms against cancer, including:

• Regulating genetic expression
• Increasing the self-destruction of mutated cells (which, if allowed to replicate, could lead to cancer)
• Reducing the spread and reproduction of cancer cells
• Causing cells to become differentiated (cancer cells often lack differentiation)
• Reducing the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, which is a step in the transition of dormant tumors turning cancerous

Researchers within this field have estimated that about 30 percent of cancer deaths could be prevented annually simply by optimizing the vitamin D levels in the general population. On a personal level, you can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by optimizing your vitamin D levels with sun exposure. And if you are being treated for cancer it is likely that higher blood levels—probably around 70-100 ng/ml—would be beneficial.

If the notion that sun exposure actually prevents cancer is still new to you, I highly recommend you watch my one-hour vitamin D lecture to clear up any confusion. It's important to understand that the risk of skin cancer from the sun comes only from excessive exposure. Meanwhile, countless people around the world have an increased risk of cancer because their vitamin D levels are too low due to utter lack of sun exposure.

Why We Need to Re-Embrace Sun Exposure

I strongly recommend optimizing your vitamin D levels with appropriate amounts of sun exposure because when your skin is exposed to the sun, in addition to creating vitamin D3 it also synthesizes high amounts of vitamin D sulfate and cholesterol sulfate—both of which are very important for heart- and cardiovascular health. In fact, research by Dr. Stephanie Seneff suggests that heart disease may be a symptom of cholesterol sulfate deficiency, and healthy cholesterol and sulfur levels are both highly dependent on your vitamin D levels...

Vitamin D sulfate is a water soluble form of sulfur that can travel freely in your blood stream, making it readily available, while oral vitamin D3 is unsulfated, and therefore needs LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) as a vehicle of transport. Dr. Seneff's suspicion is that the simple oral non-sulfated form of vitamin D may not provide as much of the same heart-healthy benefits as the vitamin D created in your skin from sun exposure, because it cannot be converted to vitamin D sulfate, and therefore will not improve your sulfur status.

Furthermore, sulfur deficiency also promotes obesity and related health problems like diabetes, so all in all, the importance of getting regular sun exposure simply cannot be overstated.

If you can't get enough sun exposure during certain parts of the year, I advise using a safe tanning bed to allow your body to produce vitamin D naturally. Safe tanning beds have electronic ballasts and produce less UVA than sunshine.

A third option is taking a high-quality vitamin D supplement. According to the most recent findings by Carole Baggerly, founder of GrassrootsHealth, her research of nearly 10,000 people shows the ideal adult dose appears to be 8,000 IU's a day to get most into the healthy range. Just remember to get your vitamin D levels tested regularly if you take an oral supplement.




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World's First Breast Cancer Prevention Study Underway!

While virtually all cancer organizations ignore cancer prevention, focusing primarily on early detection instead, Grassroots Health is now in the process of initiating the world's first breast cancer prevention project and study, to investigate and evaluate vitamin D as a preventive strategy for breast cancer.

If you would like to sign up as a participant in this groundbreaking study, or make a donation to support this project, you can do so here. This project is only for women who are:

1. 60 years of age and older
2. have no current cancer
3. are not currently being treated for cancer

Your Insulin Levels have a Direct Bearing on Your Cancer Risk

The second cancer prevention strategy that everyone needs to be aware of is the importance of normalizing your insulin levels. Aside from optimizing your vitamin D levels, normalizing your insulin levels is one of the most powerful physical actions you can take to lower your risk of cancer. Unfortunately, very few oncologists appreciate or apply this knowledge today. The Cancer Centers of America is one of the few exceptions, where strict dietary measures are included in their cancer treatment program.

High levels of insulin can cause major damage to your body. The most recognized of these is diabetes, but cancer is another common side effect. The good news is that controlling your insulin levels is relatively straightforward:

1. First and foremost, limit your intake of processed foods, grains and sugars/fructose as much as possible, and
2. Exercise regularly especially Peak Fitness exercises

Exercise is Slowly Becoming More Recognized for its Cancer Prevention Potential

While exercise might not be at the top of most people's lists of cancer prevention or treatment strategies, there is actually compelling evidence suggesting that exercise can indeed slash your cancer risk and improve recovery.

For example, physically active adults experience about half the incidence of colon cancer as their sedentary counterparts, and women who exercise regularly can reduce their breast cancer risk by 20 to 30 percent compared to those who are inactive. Furthermore, Harvard Medical School researchers found that breast cancer patients who exercise moderately -- 3-5 hours a week -- reduce their odds of dying by about half as compared to sedentary women. In fact, any amount of weekly exercise increased a patient's odds of surviving breast cancer.

One of the primary ways exercise lowers your cancer risk is by reducing elevated insulin levels, which creates a low sugar environment that discourages the growth and spread of cancer cells. Additionally, exercise improves the circulation of immune cells in your blood, which is your first line of defense against all disease, including cancer.
The trick though is understanding how to use exercise as a precise tool. It can be helpful to view exercise like a drug that needs to be carefully prescribed to achieve its maximum benefit.

You'll want to include a large variety of techniques in your exercise routine, such as:

• High-intensity, burst-type exercise, such as Peak 8. (Peak 8 are exercises performed three times a week, in which you raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold for 20 to 30 seconds, and then you recover for 90 seconds)
• Strength training
• Aerobics
• Core-building activities
• Stretching

Other Cancer-Prevention Strategies

Please understand that you can do a lot, right now, to significantly decrease your cancer risk. Even the conservative American Cancer Society states that one-third of cancer deaths are linked to poor diet, physical inactivity, and carrying excess weight. So making the following healthy lifestyle changes can go a very long way toward ending the failure-streak and becoming one less statistic in this war against cancer:

1. Focus on fresh, whole organic foods, forgoing as many processed foods as possible. Aim to consume at least one-third of your food raw. Only 25 percent of people eat enough vegetables, so by all means eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Cruciferous vegetables in particular have been identified as having potent anti-cancer properties.
2. When eating meat, make sure it's grass-fed. Avoid CAFO beef and ALL processed meats, which have been clearly linked to increased cancer risk.
3. Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats.
4. Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. My particular favorite tool for this purpose, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique.
5. Maintain an ideal body weight. For my top 10 guidelines for normalizing your weight, please see this previous article.
6. Get enough high-quality sleep.
7. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, conventional personal care products, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.
8. Reduce your use of cell phones and other wireless technologies, and implement as many safety strategies as possible if/when you cannot avoid their use.
9. Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them.

Source: BBC News October 27, 2011

Source: The British Journal of Cancer 27 October 2011 [Epub ahead of print]

Source: Time Magazine September 26, 2011

Source: The Lancet September 26, 2011

Related Links:

The Great Cancer Hoax: The Brilliant Cure the FDA Tried Their Best to Shut Down...

The Root Cause of Cancer Almost Universally Ignored by Doctors...

Slash Your Breast Cancer Risk: Remove the Real Cause

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/19/why-are-cancer-cases-rising-by-nearly-50-in-the-next-20-years.aspx

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The Vitamin to Cut your Flu Risk

The Vitamin Which Can Cut Your Flu Risk Nearly in Half

Posted By Dr. Mercola | December 14 2011 | 18,561views | Disponible en Español

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Story at-a-glance

• Children taking 1,200 IU’s of vitamin D3 per day were shown to be 42 percent less likely to contract influenza, compared to children taking a placebo
• Five Cochrane Database Reviews issued between 2006 and 2010—which are the ‘gold standard’ in terms of medical research reviews—have decimated the popular claim that flu vaccinations are the best and most effective flu prevention strategy available
• The important factor when it comes to vitamin D is your serum level, which should ideally be between 50-70 ng/ml year-round. Sun exposure is the preferred method for optimizing vitamin D levels, as your skin also synthesizes vitamin D3 sulfate, which appears to play an important role in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and heart health
• Vitamin D supplement dosages have recently been revised based on the latest research data. Most adults need about 8,000 IU's of vitamin D a day to achieve serum levels above 40 ng/ml, which is still just below the minimum recommended serum level of 50 ng/ml. Children need about 35 IU’s per pound of body weight

By Dr. Mercola

According to the findings from a 2010 study that didn't get any widespread attention, vitamin D is a highly effective way to avoid influenza.
In fact, children taking low doses of Vitamin D3 were shown to be 42 percent less likely to come down with the flu.
The randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study included 430 children aged 6-15, who were followed between December 2008 and March 2009.
Half were given 1,200 IU's of vitamin D3 daily, while the other half received a placebo.
Influenza strains were determined through lab testing of nose and throat swabs.
Eighteen of the children taking vitamin D contracted influenza Type A, compared to 31 children in the placebo group.
Type B influenza rates were unaffected by vitamin D use, however, the illness resulting from Type B influenza strains is typically milder than Type A.
Considering the fact that influenza was reduced by 42 percent at a dose of just 1,200 IU's a day, it's possible that even better results might be obtained with higher dosages—depending on just how deficient you are to begin with, of course, because it's not really the dosage that matters; it's the amount of vitamin D in your blood.

It's Not the Dosage that Matters—It's the Serum Level

Some 40 leading vitamin D experts from around the world currently agree that the most important factor when it comes to vitamin D is your serum level. So you really should be taking whatever dosage required to obtain a therapeutic level of vitamin D in your blood.

However, while there is no specific dosage level at which "magic" happens, based on the most recent research by GrassrootsHealth—an organization that has greatly contributed to the current knowledge on vitamin D through their D* Action Study—it appears as though most adults need about 8,000 IU's of vitamin D a day in order to get their serum levels above 40 ng/ml. This is significantly higher than previously recommended!
For children, many experts agree they need about 35 IU's of vitamin D per pound of body weight.

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At the time GrassrootsHealth performed the studies that resulted in this increased dosage recommendation, the optimal serum level was believed to be between 40 to 60 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). Since then, the optimal vitamin D level has been raised to 50-70 ng/ml, and when treating cancer or heart disease, as high as 70-100 ng/ml, as illustrated in the chart below.

What this means is that even if you do not regularly monitor your vitamin D levels (which you should), your risk of overdosing is going to be fairly slim, even if you take as much as 8,000 IU's a day. However, the only way to determine your optimal dose is to get your blood tested regularly, and adjust your dosage to maintain that goldilocks' zone.
For an in-depth explanation of everything you need to know before you get tested, please see Test Values and Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency.

The Ideal Way to Optimize Your Vitamin D Levels

While a lot of the focus on vitamin D ends up being about vitamin D supplementation, the IDEAL way to optimize your vitamin D levels is not by taking a pill, but rather allowing your body to do what it was designed to do—create vitamin D from sun exposure.
In a recent interview, Dr. Stephanie Seneff really brought the importance of getting your vitamin D from sun exposure to the fore. While I've consistently recommended getting your vitamin D from regular sun exposure whenever possible, her input really convinced me of the wisdom of this natural strategy. She explained that when your skin is exposed to sunshine, it synthesizes not only vitamin D3, but also vitamin D3 sulfate. Your sulfur levels are intricately tied to your cholesterol levels, and plays an important role in the prevention of heart disease.
So essentially, getting regular sun exposure has much greater health ramifications than "just" raising your vitamin D levels and preventing infections. Sun exposure also appears to play a role in heart- and cardiovascular health, and much more!
The sulfated vitamin D formed in your skin in response to sun exposure is water soluble, unlike an oral vitamin D3 supplements, which is unsulfated. The water soluble form can travel freely in your blood stream, whereas the unsulfated form needs LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) as a vehicle of transport. Dr. Seneff's suspicion is that the oral non-sulfated form of vitamin D may therefore not provide all of the same benefits as the sulfated form, because it cannot be converted to vitamin D sulfate...
If you cannot get your vitamin D requirements from sun exposure, I recommend using a safe tanning bed (one with electronic ballasts rather than magnetic ballasts, to avoid unnecessary exposure to EMF fields). Safe tanning beds also have less of the dangerous UVA than sunlight, while unsafe ones have more UVA than sunlight.
If neither of these are feasible options, then you should take an oral vitamin D3 supplement. It will definitely be better than no vitamin D at all.

Vitamin D Versus Flu Vaccine

Although the featured study did not make any comparison with vaccination, the 'gold standard' of scientific analysis, the so-called Cochrane Database Review, has issued no less than five reports between 2006 and 2010, all of which decimate the claim that flu vaccinations are the most effective prevention method available.
For example, just last year, Cochrane published the following bombshell conclusion, which was completely ignored by mainstream media:

"Influenza vaccines have a modest effect in reducing influenza symptoms and working days lost. There is no evidence that they affect complications, such as pneumonia, or transmission.
WARNING: This review includes 15 out of 36 trials funded by industry (four had no funding declaration). An earlier systematic review of 274 influenza vaccine studies published up to 2007 found industry funded studies were published in more prestigious journals and cited more than other studies independently from methodological quality and size. Studies funded from public sources were significantly less likely to report conclusions favorable to the vaccines…." [Emphasis mine.]

So, despite the fact that 15 of the 36 studies included were biased by industry interests, they still couldn't come up with evidence supporting the conventional claim that flu vaccines are the best and most effective prevention available against the flu.
The Cochrane Database Review has also issued two reports each on the effectiveness of flu vaccines on infants and the elderly, and all four reviews had negative findings!
For children:

1. A large-scale, systematic review of 51 studies, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2006, found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than a placebo in children under two. The studies involved 260,000 children, age 6 to 23 months.
2. Two years, later, in 2008, another Cochrane review again concluded that "little evidence is available" that the flu vaccine is effective for children under the age of two. Even more disturbingly, the authors stated that: "It was surprising to find only one study of inactivated vaccine in children under two years, given current recommendations to vaccinate healthy children from six months old in the USA and Canada. If immunization in children is to be recommended as a public health policy, large-scale studies assessing important outcomes and directly comparing vaccine types are urgently required."

And for the elderly:

1. The available evidence with regards to protecting the elderly is equally abysmal. The authors concluded that: "The available evidence is of poor quality and provides no guidance regarding the safety, efficacy or effectiveness of influenza vaccines for people aged 65 years or older."
2. Cochrane also reviewed whether or not vaccinating health care workers can help protect the elderly patients with whom they work. In conclusion, the authors state that: "[T]here is no evidence that vaccinating health care workers prevents influenza in elderly residents in long-term care facilities.

Is Influenza a Symptom of Vitamin D Deficiency?

Getting back to vitamin D, Dr. John Cannell, founder of the Vitamin D Council, was one of the first to introduce the idea that vitamin D deficiency may actually be an underlying cause of influenza, which would help explain its apparent benefits as a flu-fighter. His hypothesis was published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection in 2006, which was followed up with another study published in the Virology Journal in 2008.
Dr. Cannell's hypothesis received further support and confirmation when, in the following year, the largest and most nationally representative study of its kind to date discovered that people with the lowest blood vitamin D levels reported having significantly more recent colds or cases of the flu.
In conclusion, lead author Dr. Adit Ginde stated:

"The findings of our study support an important role for vitamin D in prevention of common respiratory infections, such as colds and the flu. Individuals with common lung diseases, such as asthma or emphysema, may be particularly susceptible to respiratory infections from vitamin D deficiency."

The evidence supporting Dr. Cannell's hypothesis of influenza as a symptom of vitamin D deficiency is so compelling that I, for one, believe optimizing your vitamin D levels is one of the absolute best flu-prevention strategies available to date. But that's not to say it's the only factor. Your overall immune function cannot be ignored, and when it comes to maintaining optimal immune function, your diet becomes sacrosanct.

Dietary Strategies to Kick a Cold or Flu

Hopefully, you've already taken some of my dietary advice to heart and started reducing sugars/fructose and grains from your diet, which (in combination with appropriate sun exposure) will automatically help you maintain more robust immune function year-round. However, if you've been a bit lax on this point, the first thing you want to do when you feel yourself coming down with a cold or flu is to immediately cut ALL sugars/fructose, grains, artificial sweeteners, and processed foods from your diet.
Sugar is particularly damaging to your immune system -- which needs to be ramped up, not suppressed, in order to combat an emerging infection. This includes fructose from fruit juice, and all types of grains (as they break down as sugar in your body).
Ideally, you'll want to address nutrition, sleep, exercise and stress at the very first signs of 'getting a bug.' This is when immune-enhancing strategies will be most effective.
For details on specific immune-boosting foods and supplements that can help boost your immune function to help you kick your cold or flu faster, please see my article The First Thing to do When a Cold or Flu Strikes.

Source: Gaia Health November 25, 2011

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition May 2010;91(5):1255-60

Related Links:

Latest Vitamin D News

Can Vitamin D Cure the Common Cold?

Despite Anti-Vitamin D Bias, CDC Stumbles on Deficiency Link to H1N1 Deaths

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/14/study-shows-vitamin-d-cuts-flu-by-nearly-50.aspx?e_cid=20111214_DNL_art_1

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