In case you missed last month’s issue, we talked about Vitamin D 
deficiency and its relationship with pregnancy complications and 
hormonal imbalances. We’ll continue this month talking about Vitamin D and its relationship to cancer, heart disease and cognitive function.

Cancer

The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, combined with the discovery of increased risks of certain types of cancer in those who are deficient, suggest that vitamin D deficiency may account for several thousand premature deaths from colon, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer annually.⁵
A study designed in Norway involving over 115,000 diagnosed cases of breast, colon, and prostate cancers concluded that a high level of vitamin D3 at the time of diagnosis, and thus, during cancer treatment, may improve prognosis of the three cancer types.6 Another interesting part of the study suggested that diagnoses during summer and fall, the seasons with the highest level of vitamin D3, revealed the lowest risk of ca...

“Vitamin D deficiency and its consequences are extremely subtle, but have enormous implications for human health and disease. It is for this reason that vitamin D deficiency continues to go unrecognized by a majority of health care professionals.” —Dr. Michael Holick, University of Boston

Vitamin D is a hormone that needs sunlight in order for the body to produce it. There are many factors that can affect the body’s ability to make and absorb vitamin D. Such variables include where you live, the different seasons, time spent outside, skin pigmentation, age, and absorption capacity.

Vitamin D’s benefits have been widely studied. However, most Americans are deficient in vitamin D and daily multivitamins don’t provide enough. Compelling research has demonstrated that vitamin D blood levels in the range of 50 to 80 ng/mL are associated with reduced mortality and a lower risk of common diseases.¹

For the next 2 issues, we’ll take a look at some of the research with vitamin D and how it b...