Vitamin D slows the development of cancer?

Congress: Vitamin D protects against cancer

04/03/2014

Vitamin D slows the development of cancer and the formation of metastases. But many people have vitamin D deficiency, especially in winter. In contrast, moderate but regular sunbathing helps.

People can produce the need for vitamin D themselves - with the help of the sun. By UV irradiation precursors are formed under the skin and then converted into the actual vitamin D in the liver and kidneys. The problem in our latitudes: In Germany, the solar radiation in the winter months is not sufficient enough „Sun vitamin ". „And we are not enough in the sun, "says the Preventive Medicine Professor Dr. med. Jörg Spitz.

The result: Many people have a vitamin D deficit. Thus, the national consumption study concludes that 82 percent of men and 91 percent of women by far do not reach the recommended daily intake of vitamin D. According to a study by the Heidelberg University Hospital, three out of four women between the ages of 14 and 86 had a vitamin D deficiency during the winter months, ie a serum concentration of less than 20 ng / ml. The ideal value among experts is 30 ng to 50 ng vitamin D per ml of blood.

Protective shield against cancer
„People with high levels of vitamin D in their blood are less likely to develop bowel cancer up to 40 percent, "says Professor Spitz, citing a large study involving more than half a million people from ten Western European countries (Jenab et al / British Medical Journal 2010). The more vitamin D was in the blood, the lower the risk of developing colon cancer.

Vitamin D has anti-inflammatory and immune-stabilizing effects. It promotes the ability of the immune cells to recognize enemies and to initiate defense mechanisms. Spitz on. In addition, tumor cells can be directly influenced by vitamin D, because it prevents the uncontrollable growth of immature cells. Meanwhile, studies in cancer patients show that good vitamin D supply can also protect against relapses and metastases. This has been proven above all for breast and colon cancer patients.

Measure vitamin D levels
The Society for Biological Cancer Defense (GfBK) recommends cancer patients to check the vitamin D level in the blood and to provide an ideal value of 30 to 50 ng / ml of blood. „Cancer patients should be supplemented with 2000 I.U. vitamin D supplements, at least in winter. Take it daily, "says Dr. med. György Irmey, Medical Director of GfBK.

Refuel moderately and regularly with sun
We can provide enough vitamin D in the body ourselves. „In the summertime, five to ten minutes of sunbathing with uncovered arms and legs are sufficient for lunch, "says Professor Dr. med. Spitz, who recommends protecting the face with a hat because the face is the seat of 70 percent of all white skin cancers.

Important is sunbathing without sunscreen. For even a sun protection factor over 15 prevents the vitamin D synthesis completely. The best time of day is noon. Then the UV radiation is least absorbed by the atmosphere. If the sun is lower than 45 ° in the sky, virtually no UV radiation reaches the earth, in the summer it is before 10 o'clock and after 16 o'clock the case.

Many people fear the risk of skin cancer when they are in the sun unprotected. For prevention physicians Spitz is the unprepared sunbathing at longer intervals the problem. „A regular, short stay in the sun does not affect or even lower the risk of melanoma. "

Professor med. Jörg Spitz will be speaking on vitamin D at the Patient-Physician Forum of the Society for Biological Cancer Defense in Berlin on 10 May 2014: „Prevention and health care using the example of vitamin D. "Further information: www.biokrebs.de/kongress. (Pm)