Important Message for Women

I was watching the news on Saturday night when an important message was broadcast. It seems that researchers at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital have done a study on Vitamin D and breast cancer. The results of the study were released last Thursday by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers found that women who had low blood levels of Vitamin D when diagnosed with breast cancer did not have a good prognosis and were at greater risk for a more serious form of cancer.

Dr. Pamela Goodwin, a clinician scientist at Mount Sinai stated, Women who had low levels of Vitamin D tended to have more aggressive tumors than women who had high levels of Vitamin D. The women who had dificient levels had almost doubled risk of metastasis and dying.

Dr. Goodwin recommends that women who have breast cancer take a Vitamin D supplement that is recommended for optimum bone health - between 600 and 800 IU (International Units) daily.

Dr. Goodwin also specified that women of color have lower levels of Vitamin D in their blood because the pigment in their skin doesn't allow them to absorb as much sunlight. She suggests having your doctor order a simple blood test to determine the level of Vitamin D in your blood. Ideally your Vitamin D blood levels should be between 80 and 120 nanomoles per liter of blood.

A number of studies have been conducted and they suggest Vitamin D may possibly help prevent breast and colorectal cancer, according to Dr. Stephen Chia, an oncologist who practices at British Columbia's Cancer Agency. However, Dr. Chia advises that more research is necessary.

There are few foods that contain Vitamin D. One is egg yolks and in Canada, cereals are fortified with Vitamin D. The best natural source of Vitamin D is sunlight. However, those of us that live in a four season climate do not get enough exposure to sunlight. Therefore we need to take a Vitamin D supplement.

In 2007, the Canadian Cancer Society recommended a daily dose of 1,000 IU of Vitamin D to keep the body in optimum health. Vitamin D can also fight depression from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) which causes fatigue and depression.

Ladies, please see your doctor and have him/her order a blood test to see if your Vitamin D levels are what they should be. If not, be sure to take a Vitamin D supplement daily.

Please pass this information on to all the women in your life. We need to continue the fight against breast cancer. ~Blessings, Mary~