Saturday, March 13, 2010

Vitamin D as Cancer Preventative - Possible

http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=635217
" Scientists found that those with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood had as much as a 40 percent lower risk for developing colorectal cancer than those with the lowest levels."


There are a number of significant health issues linked to vitamin D levels; multiple sclerosis, winter time illnesses like colds and flu, and now, cancer.


This is also a good illustration of the correlation/causality error, which the article nicely avoids.  That is to say, even though in this observational study, a significant correlation between vitamin D and lower cancer rates was discerned, that in no way proves the relationship was a cause.  How could that be proved?  By intervention studies, in which one group sustains higher vitamin D levels and the other does not, but all are variables are closely controlled.


One thing we can bet on - your paleolithic ancestors running around in the sun, lightly clad, sustained much higher vitamin D levels than you do.  There's no reason to believe that our relatively low levels of vitamin D are not a concern.

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