Specialist in cancer treatment discloses single dietary supplement potentially lowering risk of intestinal cancer
Sunshine's Secret Weapon Against Bowel Cancer?
Vitamin D might hold the key to combating bowel cancer, according to Professor Justin Stebbing, a biomedical sciences expert at Anglia Ruskin University. In a world where young adults are facing a concerning increase in bowel cancer cases, scientists are scrambling to find solutions.
Professor Stebbing points to evidence suggesting that maintaining enough vitamin D levels, ideally 30 ng/mL or higher, can offer a low-risk, cost-effective way to potentially reduce your risk of bowel cancer.
Popularly known as the 'sunshine vitamin,' we can obtain vitamin D from sunlight, oily fish, red meat, egg yolks, and supplements. The cost of supplements ranges around 2p per pill at high-street pharmacies.
While science acknowledges the importance of vitamin D in maintaining healthy bones, teeth, nerves, muscles, and the immune system, its role in cancer prevention remains less clear.
Lab tests have shown that vitamin D plays a crucial part in combating inflammation, supporting the immune system, and regulating cell growth, including in the bowel. This supports the idea that high vitamin D levels should help lower cancer risk.
Some studies suggest that people with recommended vitamin D levels are significantly less likely to develop bowel cancer. However, when applied to real-world patients, the benefits appear less clear.
One major study involving 25,000 patients found that taking vitamin D supplements had no significant effect on bowel cancer risk. Yet, another study found that giving vitamin D to patients who already had the disease helped extend their lifespan.
This presents a complex picture for vitamin D and cancer risk. It may be that only some patients benefit from reducing their cancer risk with vitamin D, or the benefits could be dosage-dependent. There is also scientific debate on whether a lack of vitamin D triggers the disease or if the earliest stages of cancer cause levels to drop.
Professor Stebbing concludes that, while the evidence isn't yet strong enough to recommend vitamin D as a cancer prevention strategy, considering its low cost, low risk, and beneficial effects on overall health, it is prudent to ensure you are getting enough.
Charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) emphasizes that while research is ongoing, there is no strong evidence that having a vitamin D deficiency increases your risk of cancer. Additionally, CRUK observes a 52 percent increase in bowel cancer among young adults since the early 1990s, but stresses that rates in this age group are still low.
Although the reasons behind the rise are unknown, some scientists have suggested increasing pollution or the consumption of ultra-processed food might be contributing factors. The NHS recommends all adults and children over four consider taking a vitamin D supplement during autumn and winter, as many as two in five adults may be vitamin D deficient during the winter months when there are fewer daylight hours.
- Professor Stebbing suggests that maintaining adequate vitamin D levels could potentially lower the risk of bowel cancer.
- Obtained from sunlight, oily fish, red meat, egg yolks, and supplements, vitamin D, popularly known as the 'sunshine vitamin', may play a crucial role in combating bowel cancer.
- Science acknowledges the importance of vitamin D in maintaining a healthy immune system, cell growth regulation, and overall health, but its exact role in cancer prevention remains unclear.
- While lab tests show that vitamin D can combat inflammation, support the immune system, and regulate cell growth, the benefits in real-world patients are less distinct.
- One study involving 25,000 patients found that taking vitamin D supplements had no significant effect on bowel cancer risk, but another study suggests they might extend lifespan for patients who already have the disease.
- The evidence on using vitamin D as a cancer prevention strategy is not yet strong enough to make firm recommendations, but Professor Stebbing suggests considering its low cost, low risk, and beneficial effects on health.
- Charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) highlights that while research is ongoing, there is no strong evidence that a vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of cancer, and rates of bowel cancer in young adults are still relatively low.
