What you need to know about supplements and cancer

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Recent studies found that several nutrient supplements play important roles in fighting and preventing cancer.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is commonly known for its crucial role in bone health, but researchers point out it also regulates the immune system, and its anti-cancer effects are mediated mainly by immune cells, such as monocytes and T cells.

In a recent study published in Seminars in Cancer Biology, researchers found that a good vitamin D status is beneficial both in cancer prevention and in the prognosis of several cancers.

The anti-cancer effects of vitamin D are especially pronounced in the prevention and treatment of colon cancer and blood cancers. In addition, high vitamin D responsiveness can be linked to smaller cancer risks.

In another study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers found higher vitamin D levels in the blood are strongly linked to lower colon cancer risk.

They found that compared to people with vitamin D levels considered sufficient for bone health, those with deficient levels of vitamin D had a 31% higher risk of colon cancer during a five-year follow-up.

Similarly, vitamin D levels above bone health sufficiency were linked to a 22% lower risk.

In a third study from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, researchers found that breast cancer patients who have adequate levels of vitamin D at the time of their diagnosis have better long-term outcomes.

The team found that women with sufficient levels of vitamin D had 27% lower odds of dying of any cause during the 10 years of follow-up, and 22% lower odds for death from breast cancer specifically.

The study suggests the significance of sufficient vitamin D levels towards improving long-term survival for breast cancer patients.

We recommend this vitamin D supplementThe recommended form of vitamin D is vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol. This is the natural form of vitamin D that your body can make from sunlight.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a nutrient your body needs to form blood vessels, cartilage, muscle and collagen in bones. Vitamin C is also vital to your body’s healing process.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps protect your cells against the effects of free radicals.

In a recent study published in Nature Communications, researchers found that a fasting-mimicking diet could be more effective at treating some types of cancer when combined with vitamin C.

They found that the combination delayed tumor development in colon cancer. Their findings suggest that a low-toxicity treatment of fasting-mimicking diet plus vitamin C has the potential to replace more toxic treatments.

This study takes two treatments that are studied extensively as interventions to delay aging — a fasting-mimicking diet and vitamin C — and combined them as a powerful treatment for cancer.

The researchers say that while fasting remains a challenging option for cancer patients, a safer, more feasible option is a low-calorie, plant-based diet that causes cells to respond as if the body were fasting.

We recommend this vitamin C supplement. For adults, the recommended daily amount for vitamin C is 65 to 90 milligrams (mg) a day, and the upper limit is 2,000 mg a day.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is known to be essential for the healthy growth and maturation of skin cells. It is a nutrient important to vision, growth, cell division, reproduction and immunity. Vitamin A also has antioxidant properties.

In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Dermatology, researchers found people whose diets included high levels of vitamin A had a 17% reduction in risk for common skin cancer.

In the study, about 123,000 participants had a high risk of developing skin cancer, and they completed the dietary reports multiple times.

The team found that people with the highest daily vitamin A intake were less likely to get skin cancer than people with the lowest total vitamin A intake.

Although skin cancer is hard to prevent, the findings suggest that eating a healthy diet rich in vitamin A may be a way to reduce the risk, in addition to wearing sunscreen and reducing sun exposure.

We recommend this vitamin A supplement. The recommended daily amount of vitamin A is 900 micrograms (mcg) for adult men and 700 mcg for adult women.

Mannose sugar

D-mannose is a simple sugar found in many fruits. It is related to glucose. It also occurs naturally in some cells in the human body.

It is used to treat a rare disease called carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type 1b. Some studies suggest D-mannose may play a useful role as a “prebiotic.”

In a recent study from the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, researchers found that mannose sugar, a nutritional supplement, could slow tumor growth and enhance the effects of chemotherapy with multiple types of cancer.

They found that mannose can interfere with glucose to reduce how much sugar cancer cells can use. Tumors need a lot of glucose to grow, so limiting the amount they can use should slow cancer progression.

The team showed that adding the supplement strongly slowed tumor growth and did not cause any strong side effects. Mannose also could boost the effects of chemotherapy, slowing tumor growth, reducing the size of tumors and even increasing lifespan.

We recommend this D-Mannose supplementD-mannose appears to be generally well-tolerated in people. But you should be cautious about using D-mannose if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

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