To Your Health
February, 2023 (Vol. 17, Issue 02) |
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Vitamin D and Melanoma
By Editorial Staff
No one wants to be diagnosed with skin cancer, but melanoma is the worst possible word to hear. That's because of the various types of skin cancer, melanoma is the most dangerous because it's more likely to spread – quickly – to other areas of the body.
Limiting sun exposure, particularly during the middle of the day, and applying lotion whenever you're in the sun can reduce your risk...
but doing so also reduces the body's natural production of vitamin D dramatically. That's why if you're a sun enthusiast, vitamin D supplementation is important. Even better, it can also reduce your melanoma risk, suggests new research.
Researchers classified 498 patients at increased risk for skin cancer into low-, moderate- and high-risk groups; and also categorized them based on their use of oral vitamin D supplements (non-users, occasional users and regular users). Melanoma cases were significantly lower in regular users of vitamin D supplements vs. non-users, and skin cancer risk classification was also significantly lower. In fact, melanoma risk was more than half that of non-users. Occasional users of vitamin D supplements experienced lower risk reductions compared to regular users, but superior to non-users. Source: Melanoma Research.
Take-Home Points: 1) Vitamin D supplements can lower your melanoma risk. 2) If you don't apply lotion when you're out in the sun, your risk of skin cancer increases. But if you do apply lotion, you don't enjoy the benefit of natural vitamin D production from sunlight. 3) The benefits of vitamin D aren't limited to skin cancer prevention; increasing research suggests it has numerous health benefits including reducing inflammation, improving calcium absorption / helping build and maintain healthy bones, and more.
