Top 10 Facts About Vitamin D and Cancer:  

1.  Many studies have found solar ultraviolet-B (UVB) vitamin D associated with reduced risk of breast, colon, and rectal cancer.
2.  A randomized controlled trial with 1100 IU/day vitamin D3 plus 1450 mg/day calcium found a 77% reduction in all-cancer incidence.
3.  Geographical studies have found reduced risk in mortality rates for 15-20 types of cancer in regions of higher solar UVB doses.
4.  Observational studies found risk of breast, colon, and rectal cancer falls as vitamin D blood levels rise to over 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L).
5.  Mechanisms have been proposed to explain how vitamin D acts to reduce the risk of cancer from starting, growing, and spreading.
6.  Those who develop non-melanoma skin cancer may have produced enough vitamin D to reduce their risk of internal cancers.
7.  Those with higher vitamin D blood levels at time of cancer diagnosis had nearly twice the survival rate of those with the lowest levels.
8.  African Americans have an increased risk of cancer in part due to lower vitamin D blood levels because of darker skin.
9.  Higher UVB exposure early in life has been associated with reduced risk of breast and prostate cancer.
10.  Those diagnosed with breast, colon, and prostate cancer in summer in Norway had higher survival rates than those diagnosed in winter.

Source:   http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/cancer/

How cutting out certain food Additives could curb ADHD (and cancer too).

Cases of allergies, asthma, ADHD & Autism are surging among  U.S. children.  A U.S. Government survey claims that 1 in 10 U.S. children now have ADHD.  This is a dramatic increase from several years earlier.  ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) makes it difficult for children to control impulsive behavior and pay attention.  Approximately 2/3 of the children diagnosed with ADHD are on some form of prescription medication.

Scientists are exploring whether these conditions are related to exposure to toxic chemicals that are common in most of the processed food that fills our supermarkets, homes & school cafeterias.

We all know that Junk food is bad, but when money and time are tight, fast, readily available processed food is often the cheapest way to put calories into your kid’s belly.  These fast foods are often riddled with unhealthy ingredients that experts think may contribute to, and worsen, ADHD.  The most common are:

• Sodium Benzoate, a preservative (e.g., found in soda)
• Blue #1 and #2 food coloring
• Green #3
• Orange B
• Red #3 and #40
• Yellow #5 & #6

If your child has ADHD-like symptoms, first be sure your child has been given an age appropriate assessment to rule out that his or her “acting out” is actually normal.  Then implement the following strategies as they often work exceptionally well in treating this condition.

• Eliminate most grains and sugars from your child’s diet.  Even organic and whole grain can cause problems.  Give him/her a “grain holiday” and see if behavior improves.
• Replace soft drinks (whether diet or regular), fruit juices, and pasteurized milk with pure, clean non fluoridated water.  While you may believe fruit juices are a healthy alternative to soda, they really aren’t and need to be avoided.
• Avoid all processed foods, especially those containing artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
• Minimize the use of nearly all processed fats, especially trans- fat as they disrupt nerve cell intercommunication.
• Clear your house of dangerous pesticides. Pesticides are not chemicals to preserve life. To the contrary they are created and used to end it by killing bugs and weeds.  Pesticide exposure has been linked to ADHD.
• Avoid commercial grade washing detergents and cleaning products and replace them with naturally derived cleaning products with no added dyes, perfumes, softeners.
• Increase omega 3 fats by taking a high quality animal based omega-3 oil.  Krill oil is the best for this as it is more easily absorbed.

*information obtained from ewg.com, mercola.com, feingold.org & gapsdiet.com

Making sure you’re getting enough sunlight exposure to have healthy Vitamin D levels is a crucial factor in treating depression or keeping it at bay. One previous study found that people with the lowest levels of Vitamin D were 11 times more prone to being depressed than those who had normal levels. Vitamin D deficiency is actually more the norm than the exception, and has previously been implicated in both psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Vitamin D receptors have been identified throughout the human body, and that includes in your brain. Researchers have located metabolic pathways for Vitamin D in the hippocampus and cerebellum of the brain, areas that are involved in planning, processing of information, and the formation of new memories.

Sufficient Vitamin D is also imperative for proper functioning of your immune system to combat inflammation, and other research has discovered that depressed people tend to have higher levels of inflammation in their brains.

Vitamin D is paramount to optimal thyroid function, and depression is a well-known symptom of low thyroid function. Be sure to ask your doctor to check your “25-OH vitamin D” level (NOT “1,25-OH vitamin D” level). Although normal range is 30 to 100, studies have shown that people with levels in the 70-80 range have the lowest incidence of flus/colds, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and diabetes. Levels should be monitored periodically since vitamin D is one of the few vitamins that can reach toxic levels, and of course, you want to make sure you are never deficient in vitamin D.