THE IMPORTANCE OF VITAMIN D AND BREAST CANCER

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How many of you take Vitamin D on a regular basis? For those of you who are new to The Middle Page, I am a 2 1/2 year Triple Negative Breast Cancer survivor. I had no idea how important Vitamin D was in preventing so many diseases, including breast cancer. I have a check up with my oncologist every four months, and one thing that is always checked is my Vitamin D level. Did you know that women with lower levels of this vitamin have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers believe that Vitamin D may play a role in stopping breast cancer cells from growing.

Many of us have developed low levels of Vitamin D, because we are not getting in the sun as much, and when we do, we lather on the sunscreen for protection. Also, the darker your skin is, the less you produce. The recommendation is to take it in the D3 form. Current recommendations are as follows: Those younger than 50 take 200 international units per day. Ages 50-70 should take 400 I.U. per day, and over 70 should take  600. Vitamin D can also be found in milk, some yogurts, some orange juice, and some soy milk (must  say “fortified with vitamin D”). Foods that contain vitamin D, are salmon, catfish, oysters, sardines, and mackerel (personally only eating salmon…the others, yuck!!!)

I have been thinking about sharing this with all of you for a while now and am not sure why I haven’t until now.   Right now I am talking with six women (five of which have breast cancer) about  their cancer and treatment. It seems that as soon as I advise one, another one gets diagnosed. I don’t know what is going on, but it seems like there is a lot of cancer right now. I thought you all should know about Vitamin D, if you didn’t already. A couple of other things I include with my daily vitamins, are Tumeric capsules (be sure to get it with black pepper) and a product called Broccomax. Supposedly, broccoli seeds and sprouts, have been associated with decreased incidence and tumor growth in animal cancer testing. According to research at the University of Michigan, Sulforaphane—a compound in broccoli, (which is what is in Broccomax), has been shown to reduce the number of breast cancer stem cells in mice. Taking a capsule every day, assures me that I am getting a recommended dose of broccoli!

Okay, so there are your health tips from me today! Take care of yourselves Ladies!!! You all are very important!

Have a fantastic day!!!