Lack of Sunshine Causes One Million Deaths a Year

Lack of Sunshine Causes One Million Deaths a Year...

Lack of Sunshine Causes One Million Deaths a Year

www.mercola.com

If vitamin D3 levels among populations worldwide were increased, 600,000 cases
of breast and colorectal cancers could be prevented each year, according to
researchers from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San
Diego (UCSD).

This includes nearly 150,000 cases of cancer that could be
prevented in the United States alone.

The researchers estimate that
250,000 cases of colorectal cancer and 350,000 cases of breast cancer could be
prevented worldwide by increasing intake of vitamin D3, particularly in
countries north of the equator.

The study examines the dose-response
relationship between vitamin D and cancer, and is the first to use satellite
measurements of sun and cloud cover in countries where blood serum levels of
vitamin D3 were also taken.

Serum vitamin D levels during the winter from
15 countries were combined, then applied to 177 countries to estimate the
average serum level of a vitamin D metabolite among the population.

An
inverse association between serum vitamin D and the risk of colorectal and
breast cancers was found.

Protective effects began when 25-hydroxyvitamin
D levels (the main indicator of vitamin D status) ranged from 24 to 32 nanograms
per milliliter (ng/ml). In the United States, late winter 25-hydroxyvitamin D
levels ranged from 15 to 18 ng/ml.

Previous research has suggested that
raising levels to 55 ng/ml was actually optimal to prevent cancer, the
researchers said.

To increase your vitamin D3 levels, the researchers
recommended a combination of dietary methods, supplements and sunlight exposure
of about 10 to 15 minutes a day, with at least 40 percent of your skin
exposed.

Dr. Mercola’s Comments

The
dangers of sun exposure have been greatly exaggerated, and the benefits highly
underestimated.  Sun exposure is not the major reason people develop skin
cancer. I know many of you might be surprised by this, but this is simply not
the truth, and buying into this lie will most assuredly deprive you of the vital
benefits the sun can provide.

And one of the major benefits is lowering
your risk of getting cancer — the number one cause of death. As this
groundbreaking study found, 600,000 cases of
cancer could be prevented every year
just by increasing your levels
of vitamin D, and without question, the best way to obtain your vitamin D is by
UVB sunlight falling on unexposed skin in doses that do not cause
sunburn.

Even beyond cancer, the researchers pointed out that increasing
levels of vitamin D3 could prevent diseases
that claim nearly 1 million lives
throughout the world each
year!

That is absolutely extraordinary, and NO ONE is making a penny from
this recommendation, which is one of the primary reasons why this is not being
more widely promoted.

The Endless Benefits of The Sunshine
Vitamin

Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, is different
from other vitamins in that it influences your entire body — receptors that
respond to the vitamin have been found in almost every type of human cell, from
your brain to your bones.

Optimizing your vitamin D levels could help you
to prevent as many as 16 different types of cancer including pancreatic, lung,
breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancers.

Further, optimal vitamin D
levels are also known to positively influence the following
conditions:

  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Multiple sclerosis and
    osteoporosis

How to Get
Enough Vitamin D (and What Level is Optimal)

Optimal
vitamin D levels lie in a very small range. To be certain your levels are where
they should be, have your doctor test your blood and supplement (or, preferably,
get moderate sun exposure) as needed in order to maintain that level.

The
correct test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called
25-hydroxyvitamin D.

The OPTIMAL value that you’re looking for is 45-52
ng/ml (115-128 nmol/l).

Bear in mind that even though 25-hydroxyvitamin
D lab values of 20-56 ng/ml (50-140 nmol/l) are considered “normal,” your
vitamin D level should NEVER be below 32 ng/ml, and any levels below 20 ng/ml
are considered serious deficiency states and will increase your risk of breast
and prostate cancers and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and
rheumatoid arthritis.

Now, how should you get your vitamin D levels into
that optimum range? Ideally, from sun exposure. This is always the preferable
method.

However, I realize that sometimes it just isn’t possible to get
out into the sun as much as you’d like (particularly if you’re in the middle of
a Chicago winter, which is the dilemma much of my staff at The Optimal Wellness
Center faces!).

If you decide to supplement your diet with vitamin D,
there are two crucial things to know:

  • It IS possible to overdose on oral vitamin
    D supplements (there’s very little risk of overdosing on vitamin D from the sun,
    however), so you need to have your blood levels of vitamin D measured
    regularly.
  • Only vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), the type
    of vitamin D found naturally in foods like eggs, organ meats, animal fat, cod
    liver oil, and fish, is appropriate for supplementation. Do NOT use the highly
    inferior vitamin D2.
Join Thousands of People & Receive - Advanced Health & Wellness Monthly Newsletter
x
Join Our Wellness Newsletter!