World Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Know how vitamin D plays significant role in preventing breast cancer

Women with vitamin D deficiency are more prone to breast cancer as well as other types of cancers.

As October is considered as the world breast cancer awareness month, thus here we will discuss how vitamin D plays a significant role in preventing breast cancer. We all know that vitamin D is very essential for bone health. But now it turns out, that vitamin D consumption is also very beneficial for breast cancer patients. Women with vitamin D deficiency are more prone to breast cancer as well as other types of cancers.

According to a study, women with high vitamin D levels in their blood were at 45 per cent lesser risk of suffering from breast cancer in contrast to women with low levels of the vitamin in their blood. However, another research was also conducted on 1666 women breast cancer patients. The study found that women who had higher levels of vitamin D during diagnosis had better rates of recovery compared to those with lower rates of the vitamin.

To find out whether you lack vitamin D, just check your skin tone and your body mass index (BMI). If you have dark skin colour, then it has more melanin pigment which doesn't let your skin absorb much UV radiation of the sun. And if your BMI is high, then be sure that you have vitamin D deficiency.

How to increase the intake of vitamin D?

Sunlight is a natural source of vitamin D. By exposing yourself to the sun for 15 minutes thrice a week you can get vitamin D in abundance. However, be careful as too much exposure to sunlight can trigger the risk of getting skin cancer.

Consume vitamin D supplements as they are easily available in the market. However, vitamin D supplements are usually considered to be safe but you should anyways consult your doctor before you start consuming it. Apart from sunlight, you should vitamin D rich foods into your diet. Some of the vitamin-rich foods include cod liver oil, salmon, sardines, catfish, oysters, mackerel, etc.