The cancer industry has done an excellent job of convincing millions of people that they need routine screenings for breast and prostate cancer. But not only does research prove these screenings don’t save lives, the science shows their lives were never at risk in the first place!
In fact, a small, but growing number of experts admit most growths detected today through routine “cancer” screenings of the breast and prostate (as well as skin and thyroid) aren’t cancerous at all because they don’t invade or metastasize. Nor do they ever cause serious harm or death.
So, as you can see, it’s very important to distinguish harmless growths from the real cancers — the kind that will kill you. And a brand-new study conducted at Northwestern University just found that a man’s vitamin D levels can accurately predict the presence of the truly aggressive, deadly form of prostate cancer.
In this new study, researchers followed almost 200 men who had their prostate removed due to a prostate cancer diagnosis between 2009 and 2014. After the researchers controlled for confounding factors, they found men with blood serum vitamin D levels less than 30 ng/mL had a 2.6 times greater risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer compared to their counterparts.
Scientific studies like this one that predict what will happen ahead of time are always stronger — and more useful — than studies that attempt to explain what happened after the fact. (I think that’s one reason economics is called the “dismal science.” Economists can’t accurately or consistently predict what will happen in the economy over the year…or even what will happen tomorrow in the stock market. But they are always ready with handy explanations about what happened yesterday or last year.)
This new Northwestern study on vitamin D and prostate cancer is important in three ways…
First, it gives men something they can do RIGHT NOW to protect their future health.
Second, it strengthens the evidence for the importance of vitamin D in preventing real prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men.
Third, it gives men and their doctors clinical guidance about active surveillance. For example, if a man receives a prostate cancer diagnosis, but his vitamin D levels are quite high, they can monitor the prostate, instead of just ripping it out and causing lifelong disability and distress! On the other hand, if the man receives a cancer diagnosis and his D levels are quite low, he has a much higher risk of developing the truly deadly form of prostate cancer.
Of course, previous studies linked prostate cancer to low vitamin D levels. But those earlier studies measured vitamin D levels long before the men received a prostate cancer diagnosis. So the link was weaker. The new study looked at vitamin D in men a few months before their doctors identified the tumors as real, aggressive prostate cancer. So the link is stronger.
Mainstream testing fails to protect men time and again
Tragically, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) wasted decades of time and money searching for illusory, high-tech “biomarkers” in the blood that can detect the risk or presence of cancer — such as the abysmally failed “prostate specific antigen” (PSA) test. The PSA test is such a poor test for prostate cancer, anyone who knows the science no longer recommends it.
Meanwhile, a real “biomarker” — vitamin D — has been hiding in plain sight all along. Plus, doctors and patients should regularly monitor vitamin D for at least a dozen other good health reasons.
The lead investigator of the study, Dr. Adam Murphy, stated, “Vitamin D deficiency may predict aggressive prostate cancer as a biomarker. Men with dark skin, low vitamin D intake, or low sun exposure should be tested for vitamin D deficiency…”
As I have reported before, many experts express concern about the health disparities among different population groups. This study could help end some of the disparities, at least when it comes to prostate cancer. Researchers think vitamin D may help explain why they observe higher prostate cancer rates in African-American men. Darker skin absorbs less sunlight, which means lower vitamin D production in the skin. In fact, prior research shows African-American men who live in locations with low sunlight (north of Atlanta in the east, or north of Southern California in the west) are 1.5 times more likely to have a vitamin D deficiency than white men living in the same locations.
Of course, we also know most of the entire population doesn’t take in the amount of vitamin D generally associated with optimal health. I recommend 10,000 IU daily of vitamin D. To get that amount conveniently, try liquid vitamin D together with astaxanthin. You can add it to juice or milk to take with other supplements.
Source:
- “Associations Between Serum Vitamin D and Adverse Pathology in Men Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy,” Journal of Clinical Oncology (www.jco.ascopubs.org) 2/22/2016