Vitamin D and Breast Cancer
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A recent study on women who were diagnosed with breast cancer found that those with low Vitamin D levels were more likely to suffer a recurrence of breast cancer or die from the disease. Though the study does not offer conclusive evidence of a causal link, doctors are recommending that newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients have their Vitamin D levels checked.
Other results from the study demonstrated that women who weighed more, had more aggressive tumors, and had lower insulin levels also had lower vitamin D levels. It has been demonstrated that breast cancer cells have Vitamin D receptors that can interact with Vitamin D, but the relationship has not been thoroughly examined.
Doctors also caution that there are optimal levels for Vitamin D. Increasing Vitamin D intake to abnormally high levels is not believed to have any benefits and actually could be bad for health. In a study of men with prostate cancer, those who took vitamin D died before those who were taking a placebo. In the breast cancer study, women with Vitamin D deficiencies had a 75% greater chance of dying than the women with optimal Vitamin D levels. However, there was no statistical difference between women with deficient levels and ‘healthy’ levels. This could indicate that there is a threshold above which Vitamin D is no longer an asset to health. Optimal levels of Vitamin D should be maintained.
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optimal Vit D levels
The big question for me is what is the optimal level of Vitamin D or any vitamin for that matter. Traditionally, the RDA reflects only the bear minimum one needs of a particular vitamin to avoid a particular disease. That is NOT the same as optimal health.
The current RDA for Vit D - 400 IU is most probably an inadequate dose for good health. Some say peole should take ten times that amount for optimal health and, in fact, many people do take that larger amount for extended periods with no ill effects.