Slash Your Prostate Cancer Risk -- With Sunlight!

Men with prostate cancer are as much as seven times less likely to die if they have high levels of the “sunshine vitamin” -- vitamin D -- according to a new study.The research looked at 160 patients with prostate cancer who were classified as having either low, medium, or high blood levels of vitamin D. Over the course of the multi-year study, 52 of the patients died of prostate cancer. Low vitamin D levels were found to significantly affect chances of survival.The study’s authors theorized that since vitamin D has a similar structure to androgen, it might amplify the therapeutic effects of lowering androgen levels and improve the survival chances of men with prostate cancer.

Sources:
British Journal of Cancer 2009; 100: 450-454

Catch Some Rays

We’ve been bombarded with advice to stay out of the sun—and for good reason, because the sun’s rays have been linked to a greater risk of skin cancer. But spending a small amount of time in direct sunlight, without sunscreen, could help ward off serious illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and even some cancers. Reason: each of these conditions can be triggered by a vitamin D deficiency. Sunlight is our primary source of the vitamin, says Michael Holick, M.D., Ph.D., of the Boston University Medical Center. “But when you wear sunscreen, it reduces the production of vitamin D in the skin.” What’s more, the vitamin D that comes in many pills doesn’t contain the health-protecting D3 type of the nutrient that comes from sunshine.
By sunning your unprotected face, arms, and hands for a few minutes, you can produce as much vitamin D as is in ten glasses of milk. (The darker your skin, the longer it takes, though. For fair skin, spend 5 to 10 minutes in the sun, two or three times a week. If your skin is dark, spend 15 to 30 minutes.) Just be sure to keep the session short. More is clearly not better. After your sunbath, be sure to apply sunscreen, and reapply it every two hours for as long as you’re outdoors.