Since the 1990s, medical science has observed that women with osteoporosis have a reduced risk of breast cancer. This is because of the effect of estrogens on bone and breast tissue. Breast cancer is a horrible disease, yet more women die of osteoporosis than breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and cervical cancer combined!
Inflammatory estrogens from our environment as well as those produced by our body stimulate bones to become denser. But many women can't take estrogens because they trigger inflammation in the tissues of the breast and reproductive system that may lead to cancer. Fortunately, Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of osteoporosis as well as the risk of breast and reproductive cancer.
Functions of Vitamin D
Vitamin D is both a vitamin and a hormone. It acts as a vitamin when it binds with calcium for proper absorption. (Humans cannot use calcium without adequate amounts of Vitamin D.) It acts as a hormone when it participates in creating and regulating estrogen and other hormones.
Your body creates Vitamin D in response to sunlight on your skin. It participates with Essential Fatty Acids (such as Omega-3) and cholesterol in regulating estrogen for denser bones and lower cancer risk. Vitamin D also supports healthy weight loss, improves the function of your immune system and improves blood sugar regulation. Vitamin D is a messenger hormone that directs cells and organs – as well as muscle and bone – in daily activity.
Signs of deficiency
With your thumb, press on your sternum (breastbone). Is it tender or painful? Now, press on the tibia (shin bone) of both your legs. Is it sore or tender? If the answer is "yes" to both of these tests then you have a 93% chance of being Vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D may be the most prevalent vitamin deficiency in our culture.
The test above is one way of checking for low levels of Vitamin D. If you are deficient in Vitamin D, the bone matrix in these areas will revert to gelatin near the surface of the bone. Tenderness and bone pain will result.
Eventually, Vitamin D deficiency may lead to estrogen imbalance. Deficiency in Vitamin D has been strongly linked to cancer (especially breast cancer and prostate cancer) and osteoporosis.
What to do?
If your bones are tender or if you have a low blood level of Vitamin D, the solution may be as simple as increasing your sun exposure (see the Weekly Wellness Report, "Summer Sun: The Benefits and the Risks"
- Spend 20 minutes per day in the sun with 40% of your skin surface exposed. Morning and evening sunshine is best. Never allow yourself to sunburn.
- When supplementing with Vitamin D, always choose D-3. It is also good to remember that this is a "fat-soluble" vitamin. That means your body can store the nutrient for many days.
- It is good to get a blood test for appropriate blood levels of Vitamin D twice a year and a DEXA scan of your bones at least every two years to help you structure a supplement program.
Eventually, health comes down to healthy habits practiced every day. Every day we should nourish our body and nurture our spirit for sustained health.
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Take Control of Your Health
- Spend time in the sun daily
- 20 minutes in the morning or evening sun (10 minutes both in the morning and evening also works)
- Expose 40% of your skin surface to sunshine
- Never allow yourself to sunburn!
- Eat foods high in Vitamin D (cold-water fish such as wild salmon, mackerel and sardines are good food sources of Vitamin D)
- Take Vitamin D supplements
- Make sure to select D-3 as found in:
- Take Vitamin D supplements with food – especially foods high in Vitamin D
Learn More!
- Eat a Diet Rich in Vitamin D
- Test Your Risk for Osteoporosis and Breast Cancer
- Click here to access online osteoporosis and breast cancer risk assessment tools.
- Once on the page, scroll down to "Health Risk Assessors" and click on osteoporosis or breast cancer.
- Answer a series of questions and the calculator will display your risk. Remember, this is just a tool; consult your healthcare provider to determine a diagnosis.
Tags: Bones Vitamins HormonesSince The 1990s Medical Science Has Observed That
