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Vitamin D – the sunshine factor?

It is the time of the year to relax and get some sun and sand as summer approaches! In Australia, exposure to sunlight is our prime source of vitamin D. When sunlight falls on our skin, a cascade of complex chemical reactions take place on our skin to form vitamin D3 and D2. These vitamins are then transported to the liver and kidney respectively to produce the active form of vitamin D.
Despite our plentiful sunshine, evidence suggests that large numbers of Australians are vitamin D insufficient. In 2007, van der Mei et al., showed in their study amongst Australian women that 40.5% in southeast Queesland, 37.4% in the Geelong region and 67.3% in Tasmania are vitamin D insufficient. This was a shocking revelation! It is estimated that 1 in 5 people in the general community are vitamin D deficient which is much worse than a state of insufficiency! This is because deficiency states lead to rickets (characterised by bow legs and knock knee) in children and osteoporosis and osteomalacia in adults. All these conditions lead to increased risk of bone fracture. Thus the big fallacy that Australians receive adequate vitamin D from casual exposure to sunlight has been dispelled.
In 2007, a study by Creighton University published that a significant supply of vitamin D can reduce the risk of certain cancers by more than 75%. Now, this should make us sit up and take note. Getting sufficient vitamin D can actually save our lives!
The current vitamin D recommendations for Australians are as follow:

Stir-fried Choy Sum and Garlic with Cashews

In the following video set, I show you how to prepare a quick, tasty and healthy vegetarian meal - choy sum and garlic stir-fry with cashews.  You can prepare this meal in a couple of minutes.  It is rich in anti-oxidants and fibre.  Most people do not eat enough nuts, this is one way you can include more nuts in your diet.  It is delicious.  One 10 year nurses study showed a 40% reduction in cardiovascular disease amongst nurses who eat 450g of nuts a week.  So, tuck in! Hope you like it.  Your feedback is welcome – is this useful, do you need more/less information?

Stir-fried Choy Sum and Garlic with Cashews Ingredients

About cancer…

Did you know that all of us have cancer cells in our bodies but not all of us will develop cancer?  In fact, cancer cells lie dormant in everyone as our bodies are making defective cells all the time.  We now know our remarkable immune system is equipped with a number of mechanisms that can detect and keep these cells in check.  That way only 1 in 4 of us will die of cancer in the West while the rest of us will die of other causes as our defense mechanisms will hold out. 

So what can we do to protect ourselves and reduce our chances of ever developing the illness?  If we already have developed cancer, what can we do to increase our chances of recovery from it?  Along with conventional treatments like surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, a host of other factors like environmental toxins, nutrition, emotions and physical activity come to play together in providing a more well-rounded approach to defeating the disease.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While there is some great research coming out of prestigious journals such as Lancet, Science or Nature that explore the mind-body or nutritional approaches to fighting cancer, this research is often not considered key to fighting cancer.  Generally, not until they have been the subject of large scale human studies, are these avenues noted and explored.  Meanwhile, these major breakthroughs may enable us to protect ourselves long before they become the new drug or protocol for the mainstream treatments of tomorrow.

 

It is an established fact that chronic inflammatory states are directly linked to cancer development.  This is true for the following cancers:

Type of cancer	Inflammation
Cervical cancer	Human papillomavirus type 16 and 18
Colon cancer	Diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome
Stomach cancer	Hellicobacter pylori
Bronchial cancer	Silica, cigarette smoke
Liver cancer	Hepatitis B and C
Mesothelioma	asbestos
Kaposi’s sarcoma	Human herpesvirus type 8
Bladder cancer	Schistosomiasis
Ovarian cancer	Pelvic inflammatory diseases

 

The above table demonstrates that it appears cancer cells need to produce inflammation to sustain their growth. The key enzyme for the inflammatory process is COX-2 produced by cancer cells.  Along side this enzyme, other highly inflammatory substances like cytokines, prostaglandins and leukotrienes, commonly seen in natural wound healing process, are also produced providing the fertile ground for cancer cell reproduction.  Here we see an entire lesion repair mechanism being exploited to reproduce and spread cancer cells leading to the formation of metastases or secondary tumours.

Scietific interest is just warming up to this concept as I write.  This is one of the reasons why taking control of inflammation could be key in cancer prevention and treatment.

References

1. M. Hedelin, ‘Association of frequent consumption of fatty fish with prostate cancer risk is modified by COX-2 polymorphism’ International Journal of Cancer, 120(2), 2006: 398 – 405. 
2. F. Balkwill, A.Mantovani, ‘Inflammation and cancer: back to Virchow?’ Lancet, 357(9255), 2001: 539-45.
3. R. M. Peek, Jr., S. Mohla, R. N. DuBois, ‘Inflammation in the genesis and perpetuation of cancer: summary and recommendations from a national cancer institute-sponsored meeting’ Cancer Research, 65(19), 2005: 8583-6.
4. J. Marx, ‘Cancer research: Inflammation and cancer: the link grows stronger’ Science, 306(306), 2004:5698-966.
5. A. M. Al Murri, J. M. S. bartlett, P.A. canney, J. C. Doughty, C. Wilson, D.C. McMillan, ‘Evaluation of an inflammation-based prognostic score (GPS) in patients with metastatic breast cancer’ British Journal of Cancer, 94(2), 2006:227-30.M. Karin, F. R. greten, ‘NF-kappa B:linking inflammation and immunity to cancer development and progression’ Nature Reviews Immunology, 5(10), 2005:749-59.

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