The connection between vitamin D deficiency and cancer was first made in 1980 when two doctors learned the incidence of colon cancer was nearly three times higher in New York than in New Mexico. The doctors determined that lack of sun exposure played a critical role (1). When the ultraviolet portion of sunlight hits your skin, this stimulates the body to produce vitamin D. This lack of sun exposure results in a lack of vitamin D in our body.
Consider the relationship between vitamin D and breast cancer. According to the Vitamin D Council, there is strong evidence vitamin D plays a beneficial role in lowering breast cancer risk. Whether vitamin D is obtained from sun exposure, food, or supplements, vitamin D must undergo chemical reactions to become calcitriol, which may provide the numerous benefits against cancer (2). Calcitriol encourages cells to either adapt to their organ or go through normal, programmed cell death (3).Read More