Vitamin D looks to be one of the most misunderstood of the Vitamin Clan; one minute we’re deciding that it just might be useless, and then another study begins to laud it as the best vitamin since whatever vitamins are in sliced bread. Here’s why:
A recent study by the Anticancer Research now reports that it has found that patients with high levels of vitamin D in their blood were twice as likely to survive breast cancer than those with deficient levels.
Although vitamin D is not found in many foods, fatty fishes and sunlight provide it naturally, and many breakfast foods are fortified with the vitamin. Most folks who want the vitamin in their system take it in vitamin supplement form. According to Anticancer Research, what makes vitamin D so valuable in fighting breast cancer is that the vitamin D metabolites boost a protein that apprehends cell division, which prevents tumor growth.
The main issue with breast cancer is that the tumors often spread to the rest of the body after affecting the breast. Hopefully, this research can help prevent the spreading of the cancer.
In other great finds regarding vitamin D and women, Relax News tells us about the journal Menopause recently publishing a study that the vitamin can improve the cholesterol rate and blood levels of postmenopausal women. Within the study, it was found that women with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood also had good cholesterol levels. While studies are not conclusive on all of the benefits of a healthy cholesterol rate, it is pretty obvious that having a healthy cholesterol rate is important– and that is oftentimes a harder task for postmenopausal women.
So– don’t throw away that bottle of vitamins just yet…vitamin D just might be great after all.
Image via Wiki Commons
