Talking in circles
The arguments about vitamin D have become so convoluted that I’m not even sure the so-called “experts” know what they’re saying anymore. The latest headline-grabber was a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that disputed claims that this essential nutrient can reduce the risk of dying from cancer.
According to this particular study, researchers found no link between blood levels of vitamin D and cancer mortality among 16,818 participants. But the same study also showed that people with the highest levels of vitamin D had a 72 percent lower risk of dying from colorectal cancer.
And just to make matters more confusing, the article I read about this study went on to say that “while the existence of a connection between vitamin D and cancer mortality remains in question, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to several health problems including cancer.”
In fact, a study published in September in the Archives of Internal Medicine analyzed results from 18 other studies on this nutrient, involving more than 57,000 people, and found that those suffering from vitamin D deficiency have significantly higher risk of death from three of today’s top killers: heart disease, diabetes, and — you guessed it — cancer.
All this talking in circles is enough to leave anyone dizzy.
I understand that they don’t want to give the impression that taking extra vitamin D every day is a “get out of jail free” card when it comes to cancer. But this situation seems less like a case of avoiding false promises than it does of avoiding common sense. After all, isn’t it just logical that if vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of cancer, making sure you’re getting enough (which, for most of us, does involve taking supplements) will DECREASE your risk?
Then again, who ever said mainstream medical research made sense?
For more straightforward information on the benefits of vitamin D, refer to archives section of the Nutrition & Healing website and search for articles containing the phrase “vitamin D.” Subscribers can access the archive for free by visiting www.wrightnewsletter.com and logging on with the username and password listed on page 8 of your most recent newsletter. (And if you’re not already a subscriber, the website also offers details on how to become one).
Sources:
“Vitamin D doesn’t reduce cancer risk, study,” NutraIngredients (www.nutraingredients- usa.com), 10/31/07
“Prospective study of serum vitamin D and cancer mortality in the United States,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2007; 99(21): 1,594-1,602
“Vitamin D supplementation and total mortality: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials,” Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(16):1730-1737
