Many people think a cancer diagnosis is a death sentence. But it doesn’t have to be.
In fact, according to a new German analysis, giving one simple nutrient to cancer patients could save 30,000 lives each year in that country alone. And in the U.S., a far bigger country, it could save roughly 80,000 lives annually!
I’ll tell you all about that exciting new study in just a moment. But first, let’s back up to discuss something that upped my interest about this vitamin 15 years ago…
Key nutrient linked to significant disease prevention
In June 2006, I presented the keynote speech at the annual continuing medical education (CME) course at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore. I vividly recall listening to Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University discuss the importance of vitamin D—also known as the “sunshine vitamin”—in a speech that followed my own.
He explained how vitamin D acts as a hormone in the body, affecting all aspects of human health. He also warned about the international epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. And he encouraged supplementation as a safe, effective way to increase blood levels of D.
Of course, since then, the science on this critical vitamin has only grown more impressive. And we now know that supplementing with it helps protect against just about every chronic disease on the planet. Not to mention it reduces the risk of contracting (and lessens the severity of) coronavirus infections.
Unfortunately, the mainstream’s misguided hysteria about the coronavirus caused great delays in all other areas of medicine…for more than a year. It even caused a major backslide in the fight against cancer, which brings me back to the new study I just mentioned…
Vitamin D supplementation could save tens of thousands of lives yearly
For this new study, German researchers investigated how vitamin D supplementation might affect survival rates in cancer patients. They reviewed three previously published, high-quality meta-analyses. And it turns out, there was a 13 percent reduction in cancer deaths among those who supplemented with vitamin D.
Plus, when they extrapolated those results to the whole population of Germany, the researchers concluded that it would prevent approximately 30,000 cancer deaths each year—if every man and woman older than 50 years took just 25 mcg (1,000 IU) daily of vitamin D.
Now, as I often report, that amount is far lower than the optimal daily dose for overall health. And it’s just one-tenth of my recommended daily dosage—especially for people living in a northern European country with limited sunlight, like Germany.
Yet, even at that minuscule dose, just consider how many lives it would save!
The researchers also concluded that widespread vitamin D supplementation could cut annual healthcare costs in Germany by $300 million.
In the U.S., those figures would translate to roughly 80,000 cancer deaths prevented and about $1.5 billion in savings each year.
Of course, while that modest, 25 mcg (1,000 IU) dose led to tremendous reductions in cancer deaths, it didn’t appear to significantly affect the incidence of cancers. Here’s why…
Dose always matters when it comes to vitamin D
This study suggests that a low-to-moderate vitamin D dosage could reduce the aggressiveness of a cancer—preventing it from invading and metastasizing into other tissues of the body and ultimately causing death.
And that finding is consistent with earlier studies showing that modest vitamin D intake increases survival times and improves the quality of life in people with cancer.
Of course, many other studies show that taking vitamin D also prevents getting cancer in the first place. But only IF you take enough! (Meaning the modest dose used in this new study probably won’t prevent the onset of cancer.)
Our understanding about the importance of dosing goes back more than 30 years to the research of Dr. Cedric Garland, who noted much larger reductions in cancer risk among people with much higher vitamin D blood levels.
In fact, the famed VITAL Study (the largest vitamin D study to date) involves more than 27,000 participants taking a daily dose of 50 mcg (2,000 IU) of vitamin D. The initial, five-year results from that study showed that cancer deaths were 17 percent lower with people taking that moderately higher dose.
Plus, when the researchers examined a subset of data from the third through fifth years of supplementation, they found an even greater reduction of 25 percent.
Those results also make sense. Because since the human body stores D in its tissues, it takes a while for the full benefits to go into effect.
Furthermore, when looking just at participants with normal body weight—and a body mass index (BMI) less than 25—in the VITAL study, the risk of cancer deaths were reduced by an impressive 40 percent. So, clearly, excess body weight seems to thwart vitamin D’s natural benefits. This means if you’re obese or overweight, you should absolutely supplement with higher, optimal daily doses.
What’s it all mean for you?
At the end of the day, it’s clear that older adults should supplement daily with optimal doses of vitamin D. So, I encourage you to act toward bettering your health—starting today.
You can get started with these three simple steps:
1.) Ask your doctor to check your vitamin D levels twice a year. Once toward the end of winter and again toward the end of summer. Just ask for a simple blood test called the 25(OH)D (25-hydroxy vitamin D) test. Optimal blood levels are between 50 and 75 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).
2.) Supplement daily with 250 mcg (10,000 IU) of vitamin D3. You can now find this dose in a convenient, highly absorbable liquid form—together with the potent marine carotenoid astaxanthin for added benefits. (For more information, simply type “astaxanthin” into the top-right search bar of my website, www.DrMicozzi.com.)
3.) Spend 15 minutes a day in the sun without sunscreen. You can even slowly add more time each day. But when you know you’re going to be outside for longer periods of time, wear some protective clothing, a hat, and sunglasses to help protect your skin, rather than reaching for toxic sunscreens.
And yes, even in the middle of summer, when you’re spending more time in the sun each day, it’s still important to supplement with D daily. I tell you why in the June 2021 issue of my monthly Insiders’ Cures newsletter (“Everything you need to know about proper—and safe—vitamin D supplementation”). Not yet a subscriber? Click here now!
Of course, there are dozens of safe, natural alternatives for fighting, detecting, AND treating cancer….in addition to supplementing with vitamin D. And I’ve outlined them all in my groundbreaking, online learning tool, my Authentic Anti-Cancer Protocol.
This all-inclusive protocol is the sum total of more than 40 years of personal research, study, and experience in natural cancer treatment. And every solution you’ll hear about has been studied and researched by countless, cutting-edge medical institutions. To learn more, or to enroll today, click here now!
Sources:
“Vitamin D supplementation to the older adult population in Germany has the cost-saving potential of preventing almost 30 000 cancer deaths per year.” Molecular Oncology, 2/4/21. doi.org/10.1002/1878-0261.12924
“Effect of Vitamin D3 Supplements on Development of Advanced Cancer: A Secondary Analysis of the VITAL Randomized Clinical Trial.” JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Nov 2;3(11):e2025850. doi.org/ 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.25850.
“Vitamin D for All Over 50s to Prevent Cancer Deaths?” Medscape, 3/17/21. (medscape.com/viewarticle/947603#vp_1)