Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. This is reported in a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open by scientists from the Brigham and Wymens Clinical Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Experts have discovered a new property of the vitamin thanks to an experiment in which they observed 25 thousand healthy patients for five years, including men over 50 and women over 55.
The scientists divided the study participants into four groups: the first was prescribed to take a dietary supplement with vitamin D and omega-3, the second was given vitamin D in combination with a placebo, the third was limited to taking omega-3, and the fourth was given a placebo. At the same time, patients had to cut their intake of vitamin D and fatty acids to 800 units per day. Doctors monitored their condition and carried out medical examinations every year.
Experience has shown that supplementation has no effect on cancer risk, however, mortality rates in the later stages were lower among those who used vitamin D. At the same time, the type of cancer did not affect the result in any way. Experts noted that the effectiveness of vitamin intake depends on the body mass index. So, in volunteers with normal weight, the recorded indicator reached 38 percent, while in obese patients, it tended to zero. The overall decrease in mortality was 17 percent.
Earlier, the Russian nutritionist Marina Makisha named the vitamins that are most important for the body in winter. She advised including in the diet more protein foods, such as meat, fish, eggs and milk, since a lack of them can lead to a decrease in immunity.
