Lower cancer risk by 67%—and extend your lifespan all the way down to the genetic level
This is the time of year when I’m particularly glad to be living in Florida. Sure, I miss my friends who remain up north, but I don’t miss the freezing temperatures…or the lack of sunlight.
You see, my fellow Floridians and I are among the relatively small proportion of people in the U.S. whose bodies are still able to make vitamin D during the winter.
Why? Because human skin photosynthesizes vitamin D from the sun’s ultraviolet B rays. But during fall and winter in northern latitudes, the angle of the sun in the sky is too low to allow UVB light to penetrate the atmosphere—let alone your skin.
And this unfortunate geographical disadvantage doesn’t only apply to people in the arctic. In fact, if you live north of Atlanta or Los Angeles, your body can’t create any vitamin D from November through March. That’s why if you don’t already take 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 supplements per day, I recommend you start immediately.
Especially considering some of the stunning health benefits new research suggests you may be missing out on if your levels aren’t up to snuff. More on that in just a moment. But first, let me clarify why I recommend such a “high” dose of this essential nutrient.
Don’t worry about overdosing…It’s more likely you’re underdosing
Contrary to what some so-called experts may claim, it’s exceedingly rare to overdose on vitamin D. That’s just not how our bodies work. In fact, they’re actually designed to hoard this crucial nutrient so we won’t run out.
So, especially in the winter, taking 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day will help you avoid a deficiency that could be disastrous for your health.
In fact, today I’m going to share with you five new studies on how D can reduce your chances of getting several chronic diseases…including groundbreaking research showing how vitamin D can lower women’s cancer risk by a stunning 67%.
And if that weren’t impressive enough, new research shows that vitamin D can actually help extend your lifespan all the way down to the genetic level.
More D equals less cancer
It’s not an exaggeration to say that almost every day, there’s a new study showing yet another benefit of vitamin D. We already know how D can help keep your heart and bones healthy. It can fight dementia, depression, and other cognitive issues. And it can boost your immune system—which helps you fend off everything from colds to cancer.
In fact, a new study shows how D can reduce your risk of every kind of cancer. And another one shows some impressive benefits against prostate cancer in particular. Let’s take a look.
Lower your cancer risk by 67%
This study caught my eye not only because of the astoundingly high cancer prevention percentage, but also because it was conducted by one of the pioneers of cancer and vitamin D research—Dr. Cedric Garland of the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Garland and his late brother, Dr. Frank Garland, first began studying the link between D and cancer way back in the 1980s, so I trust his findings.
His latest study looked at two previous trials involving about 2,300 women with an average age of 64.[1] Dr. Garland found that the women with the highest concentrations of vitamin D in their blood (40 ng/ml) had a 67% lower risk of cancer than those with the lowest concentrations (20 ng/ml).
Of course, it’s hardly a surprise that government bureaucrats (in this case, the Institute of Medicine) and mainstream medical minions still think 20 ng/ml is adequate for good health.
But researchers and doctors who actually follow the latest science and know what they’re talking about when it comes to human diet and nutrition (unlike most of the members of the Institute of Medicine) recommend vitamin D blood levels of at least 50 ng/ml for optimum health. And based on this study, Dr. Garland concluded that those levels should be at least 40 ng/ml to substantially reduce cancer incidence and overall mortality in the general population.
If you’re not sure what your vitamin D blood levels are, ask your doctor for a test.
Help prevent aggressive prostate cancer
Researchers also studied nearly 200 men who had a prostate cancer diagnosis between 2009-14, and then had their prostate removed.[2] They found that the men with vitamin D blood levels less than 30 ng/ml had a 2.6 times greater risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer than men with higher levels of D.
So, as President Reagan would say, “there you go again,” government bureaucrats. Your so-called “healthy” recommendation of vitamin D blood levels of 20 ng/ml has been shown to be woefully inadequate in yet another cancer study.
Of course, I’ve written about other studies that show the link between low vitamin D levels and prostate cancer. But I think what’s particularly interesting about this study is that it gives men and their doctors clinical guidance about active surveillance.
Meaning that if a man gets a prostate cancer diagnosis and his D levels are high, he may not develop the truly deadly form of the disease. So there may be no need to just routinely rip out the entire prostate in those cases—which can prevent a lot of distress, not to mention lifelong disability.
Your daily dose of D may help you live longer
Last year, the CDC released a surprising finding: Hispanics in America live an average of three years longer than whites, and six-and-a-half years longer than blacks.[3]
This has been called the “Hispanic paradox” because Hispanics have actually been shown to have shorter telomere length—which is a key factor in longevity.
Telomeres are the “tags” at the end of chromosomes that help keep the chromosomes stable—similar to the way plastic caps keep shoelaces from fraying. Plenty of research shows the longer your telomeres, the longer your lifespan.
The CDC also reported that Hispanics tend to have lower vitamin D blood levels and more type 2 diabetes than other races. So, taking all of that into account, researchers recently gathered 34 Hispanics with type 2 diabetes and low levels of vitamin D (defined as less than 30 ng/ml. Which, once again, is substantially higher than the levels the government says are perfectly fine for your health).[4]
The researchers wanted to see if vitamin D supplementation would increase telomere growth activity and lower Hispanic people’s risk of diabetes. So they gave the study participants 4,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily for six months.
At the end of the study, the researchers discovered that the participants had significantly increased telomere activity. And that may help prevent or delay progression of type 2 diabetes, as well as extend longevity.
So if we extrapolate this study to other ethnicities, it may very well be that supplementing with vitamin D may help everyone live longer…and lower the overall risk of diabetes. In fact, vitamin D supplementation appears to offer a simple way to eliminate health disparities among population groups.
More D, fewer migraines
If all of this scientific data is giving you a headache, don’t worry. Vitamin D can take care of that too.
In June, at the annual scientific meeting of the American Headache Society, researchers from the University of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center discussed their recent study on migraines.[5] They found that there’s a greater likelihood of migraines in males with low levels of vitamin D (which the researchers defined as below 40 ng/ml—ahem, mainstream medical minions).
The females with migraines tended to have lower levels of the nutrient CoQ10 rather than vitamin D. The researchers don’t understand why, and called for more investigation. Still, it’s an interesting beginning, and it certainly can’t hurt to make sure you get adequate levels of D if you’re prone to migraines.
If you’re not already taking 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 every day, there is no better time to start than this month, when the sun’s UVB rays in the atmosphere begin their winter nap. To get that amount conveniently, try taking a liquid vitamin D formula, with a dropper or a convenient spray that you can add to milk, juice, or any other beverage you choose.
Sources:
[1] “Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations ≥40 ng/ml Are Associated with >65% Lower Cancer Risk: Pooled Analysis of Randomized Trial and Prospective Cohort Study.” PLoS One. 2016 Apr 6;11(4):e0152441.
[2] “Associations Between Serum Vitamin D and Adverse Pathology in Men Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy.” J Clin Oncol. 2016 Apr 20;34(12):1345-9.
[3] http://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/2015/dpk-vs-hispanic-health.html?elq_cid=800344
[4] “Effect of Vitamin D3 Supplementation on Telomerase Activity in Hispanics with Type 2 Diabetes,” The FASEB Journal; 30 (1) Supplement 1156.1.
[5] http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/many-with-migraines-have-vitamin-deficiencies-says-study-300283120.html