September 18, 2023 Puzzle Piece
Research Illustrates Vitamin D Reduces Cancer Deaths
Vitamin D is a Prohormone as Well as a Vitamin.
- Several
studies demonstrate vitamin D can have a significantly beneficial
impact on your cancer risk, both in terms of preventing cancer and in
the treatment of cancer
- A
secondary analysis of the VITAL study found patients with no prior
history of cancer who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D per day reduced their
risk for metastatic cancer and death by 17%
- The risk for metastatic cancer and death was reduced by as much as 38% among those who also maintained a healthy weight
- Another
meta-analysis found supplementation with vitamin D resulted in a 30%
reduction in adverse colorectal cancer outcomes. Vitamin D also improved
outcomes among patients already diagnosed with colorectal cancer
- Research
has also shown women who have a vitamin D level at or above 60 ng/mL
(150 nmol/L) have an 82% lower risk of breast cancer compared to those
with levels below 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L)
There's good results for those who have taken the proactive step to make
sure your vitamin D level is optimized. Several recent studies
demonstrate vitamin D can have a significantly beneficial impact on
cancer risk, both in terms of preventing cancer and in the treatment of
cancer.
Research Illustrates Vitamin D Reduces Cancer Mortality
In the first of these studies, which included 25,871 patients, vitamin D
supplementation was found to reduce the risk for metastatic cancer and
death by 17%. The risk was reduced by as much as 38% among those who
also maintained a healthy weight.
This was a really poorly done study as they only gave participants 2,000
IUs a day and never measured their blood levels. Had there been no
improvement, I would not have been surprised, but the fact is it still
reduced metastatic cancer and death by 17%, and they found significant
benefit among those who were not obese.
This is pretty extraordinary but not as good as epidemiological studies
that show a 50% to even 78% reduction in vitamin D-sufficient people, as
suggested in a study further below. That said, UPI reported the results
saying:
"The benefits of vitamin D3 in limiting metastases — or disease
spread to other organs — and severity was seen across all cancers, and
was particularly prominent among study participants who maintained a
healthy weight …
'The primary message [of our study] is that vitamin D may reduce the
chance of developing metastatic or fatal cancer among adults without a
diagnosis of cancer,’ study co-author Dr. Paulette Chandler told UPI."
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, is a secondary analysis of
the VITAL Study which, in part, sought to determine whether taking 2,000
IUs of vitamin D per day would reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease
or stroke in people who did not have a prior history of these diseases.
The VITAL study itself, which followed patients for an average of 5.3
years, found no statistical difference in overall cancer rates among
those who took vitamin D3, but there was a reduction in cancer-related
deaths, which is what prompted this secondary analysis.
Obesity May Inhibit Vitamin D's Benefits
The fact that patients with a healthy weight derived a much greater
benefit — a 38% reduced risk for metastatic cancer and death compared to
17% overall — suggests your body weight may play a significant role in
whether vitamin D supplementation will provide you with the anticancer
benefits you seek.
Obesity may confer resistance to vitamin D effects. ~ Dr. Paulette Chandler
According to study co-author Dr. Paulette Chandler, assistant professor
of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, "Our study
highlights that obesity may confer resistance to vitamin D effects."
There may be something to that. Research published in 2010 found that
dietary fructose inhibits intestinal calcium absorption, thereby
inducing vitamin D insufficiency in people with chronic kidney disease.
That said, vitamin D tends to be lower in obese people in general, for
the fact that it's a fat-soluble nutrient and when you're obese, the
vitamin D ends up being "volumetrically diluted." As explained in the
paper "Vitamin D in Obesity," published in 2017:
"Serum vitamin D is lower in obese people; it is important to
understand the mechanism of this effect and whether it indicates
clinically significant deficiency … Vitamin D is fat soluble, and
distributed into fat, muscle, liver, and serum.
All of these compartments are increased in volume in obesity, so the
lower vitamin D likely reflects a volumetric dilution effect and whole
body stores of vitamin D may be adequate … Obese people need higher
loading doses of vitamin D to achieve the same serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D
as normal weight."
While that particular paper stresses that lower vitamin D in obese
individuals might not mean that they're deficient, others disagree. For
example, one study found that for every 10% increase in body-mass index,
there's a 4.2% reduction in blood levels of vitamin D. According to the
authors of that particular study, obesity may in fact be a causal
factor in the development of vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D Also Improves Colorectal Cancer Outcomes
A scientific review published in the September 2020 issue of the British
Journal of Cancer noted that having low vitamin D is associated with
poor colorectal cancer survival.
To assess whether vitamin D supplementation might improve survival in
these patients, they reviewed the findings of seven trials, three of
which included patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer from the outset
and four population trials that reported survival in incident cases.
Overall, the meta-analysis found supplementation resulted in a 30%
reduction in adverse colorectal cancer outcomes. Vitamin D also improved
outcomes among patients already diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
According to the authors:
"Meta-analysis demonstrates a clinically meaningful benefit of
vitamin D supplementation on [colorectal cancer] survival outcomes.
Further well-designed, adequately powered RCTs are needed to …
[determine] optimal dosing."
Low Vitamin D Linked to Increased Cancer Incidence
Another review and meta-analysis, this one published in November 2019 in
Bioscience Reports, looked at vitamin D supplementation on cancer
incidence and mortality in general. Ten randomized controlled trials
with a pool of 81,362 participants were included in the analysis.
While the incidence rate of cancer was very similar between the vitamin D
intervention group and the placebo control group (9.16% versus 9.29%),
the risk reduction in mortality was deemed "significant." As reported by
the authors:
"The mortality rate of cancer was 2.11% (821 cases) and 2.43% (942
cases) in vitamin D intervention group and placebo group, respectively,
resulting in a significant reduction in risk (RR = 0.87).
There was no observable heterogeneity or publication bias … Our
findings support a beneficial effect of vitamin D supplement on lowering
cancer mortality, especially in subpopulations with no history of
cancer, extra use of vitamin D, or calcium supplement."
Vitamin D Protects Against Breast Cancer
Several studies have highlighted the benefit of vitamin D for breast
cancer. For example, an analysis by GrassrootsHealth published June 2018
in PLOS ONE showed women with a vitamin D level at or above 60 ng/mL
(150 nmol/L) had an 82% lower risk of breast cancer compared to those
with levels below 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L).
An earlier study, which looked at women in the U.K., found having a
vitamin D level above 60 ng/mL resulted in an 83% lower breast cancer
risk, which is nearly identical to GrassrootsHealth's 2018 analysis.
One of the more recent meta-analyses looking at breast cancer was
published December 28, 2019, in the journal Aging. Here, they reviewed
70 observational studies, finding that for each 2 ng/mL (5 nmol/L)
increase in vitamin D level there was a corresponding 6% decrease in
breast cancer incidence.
Overall, this translates into a 71% reduced risk when you increase your
vitamin D level from 20 ng/mL to 60 ng/mL. The following graph, created
by GrassrootsHealth, illustrates the dose response between vitamin D
levels and breast cancer risk found in this study.
GrassrootsHealth's 2018 analysis in PLOS ONE also analyzed this dose
relationship. To do that, they looked at the percentage of breast
cancer-free participants in various vitamin D groups, from deficient
(below 20 ng/mL) to optimal (at or above 60 ng/mL), over time (four
years).
As you might expect, the higher the blood level of vitamin D, the lower
the incidence of breast cancer. At four years, the percentage of women
who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the 60 ng/mL group was 78%
lower than among those with blood levels below 20 ng/mL.
How to Optimize Your Vitamin D Level
If you live in the northern hemisphere, which is currently heading
toward winter, now is the time to check your vitamin D level and start
taking action to raise it if you're below 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L). As you
can see from the studies above, a vitamin D level of 60 ng/mL (150
nmol/L) or higher is recommended if you want to protect against cancer.
To optimize vitamin D absorption and utilization, be sure to take your vitamin D with vitamin A, K1, K2 and magnesium.
Lastly,
remember to retest in three to four months to make sure you’ve reached
your target level. If you have, then you know you’re taking the correct
dosage. If you’re still low (or have reached a level above 80 ng/mL),
you’ll need to adjust your dosage accordingly and retest again in
another three to four months.
Don't miss OHS and Dr. John Brimhall's 2024 HomeComing - January 18-21
Yours in Health and Wellness,
John W Brimhall, DC, BA, BS, FIAMA, DIBAK, Formulator, Patent Holder
Doug Grant BS, ACSM, Formulator, Patent Holder
Marc Harris, MD, ND, PhD, Formulator
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