We've known for a long time that colon cancer and breast cancer are more common among people in northern climates—places where it's too cold for part of the year to get much sun. Is there a Vitamin D connection?
Yes, when it comes to colon cancer—and maybe also breast and prostate cancer. According to recent studies, people who get a lot of Vitamin D from their food and supplements are much less likely to get colon cancer. To get the protection, you only need to get 200 IU from your diet—the amount in just two cups of milk. Do you get the same protection if you just stay outside in the sun longer? Probably, but it's really hard to say exactly how much Vitamin D you make from sunshine.
To be sure you're getting enough, take supplements. Vitamin D not only helps prevent cancer, it can help treat it. The powerful anticancer drug tamoxifen, which is widely used to treat cancer of the ovaries, uterus, and breast, seems to work even better when it's combined with small doses of Vitamin D. It's also possible that Vitamin D can help treat leukemia and lymphoma, but there's not enough research yet to be sure.
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