Contents:
- Medical Video: The Healing Power of Sunlight
- Benefits of vitamin D to reduce the risk of cancer
- The best source of vitamin D
Medical Video: The Healing Power of Sunlight
Benefits of vitamin D in addition to bone health and calcium absorption, in fact it also offers strong cancer protection. Of the 800 published scientific research reports on the relationship between vitamin D and cancer, experts have proven that this vitamin helps reduce the risk of death in breast, colon, lung and prostate cancer, leukemia, lymphoma and all other combinations of cancers.
Benefits of vitamin D to reduce the risk of cancer
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers found that one of the benefits of vitamin D is to reduce the risk of getting cancer. Research conducted over four years involved more than two thousand women who had menopause. The age range of participants is 55 years and above.
As a result, women who are given vitamin D3 and calcium supplements regularly have a 30% lower risk of getting cancer. The difference in the incidence of cancer between groups is not real enough when viewed from the statistical data only. However, in further analysis, vitamin D levels in the blood, specifically 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 (OH) D), were significantly lower in women who had cancer than those who were healthy.
In addition, other studies also found that the incidence and death rates of certain cancers were lower in areas that received a lot of sunlight. Because, exposure to ultraviolet light from sunlight can trigger the production of vitamin D in the body.
Additional research has confirmed that vitamin D can inhibit the growth of cancer cells in several ways. Vitamin D alters genes that control inflammation, cell death and cell proliferation, and disrupts the growth hormone IGF-1 and other hormones that trigger tumor growth.
Not only that, vitamin D is also known to be able to repair DNA damage, enhance the immune system, and inhibit angiogenesis, which is a substance that plays an important role in the growth and spread of cancer cells.
The best source of vitamin D
Vitamin D can be found in various things. But, 80% of vitamin D needed by the body comes from sunlight. The reason is, tYour jelly will produce vitamin D automatically when exposed to sunlight by converting cholesterol to the skin into calcitriol (vitamin D3). This vitamin is another form of vitamin D that will be directly channeled to the liver and kidneys to produce the vitamin needed by the body.
However, because of the risk of skin cancer, until now there has been no official recommendation on how much or how long you should be exposed to sunlight.
The World Health Organization or WHO recommends that everyone bask in direct sunlight for at least 5 to 15 minutes in their arms, hands and face. Bask at least two to three times a week without using sunscreen. In Indonesia, the recommended sunbathing time is from 10am to 2pm.
Besides sunlight, you can also get vitamin D intake from the food you consume everyday. Some foods that are known to contain high vitamin D are cod liver oil, salmon, tuna, sardines, egg yolks, beef liver, milk, button mushrooms, and so on.
