Vitamin D

[Guest guest]

Next time your doctor knocks you back and tells you they

don't test vitamin D - give him the following information and DEMAND that it be

tested - along with Vitamin A.

The British

Medical Journal has published a remarkable paper confirming that

low vitamin D levels obtained in the past are a risk factor for developing

colon cancer in the future.

But the study contained an even more significant finding -- as Dr. Cannell's

site has reported

before, vitamin A, even in relatively low amounts, can thwart vitamin D's

association with reduced rates of colon cancer.

This is the largest study to date showing vitamin A blocks vitamin D's effect.

Hidden on page eight of the paper was one sentence and a small table, showing

that the benefits of vitamin D are almost entirely negated in those with the

highest vitamin A (retinol) intake.

And the retinol intake did not have to be that high -- only about 3,000 IU/day.

Young autistic children often take 3,500 IU of retinol a day in their powdered

multivitamins, which doesn't count any additional vitamin A given in high

single doses.

The finding explains some of the anomalies in other papers on vitamin D and

cancer -- similar studies sometimes have widely different results. This may be

because the effect of vitamin A was not taken into account. In some countries,

cod liver oil, which contains vitamin A, is commonly used as a vitamin D

supplement, and in others it is used more rarely, causing differences in the

results.

Sources:

The

Natural Advocate February 28, 2010

Vitamin D Council

British

Medical Journal, BMJ 2010;340:b5500