Private MD News

Vitamin D is important to women's health, experts say

Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

In addition to the myriad other health benefits vitamin D may have, recent research suggests that taking supplements of the sunshine vitamin may also reduce the risk of breast cancer in women.

The study by Laura Anderson, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that women who reported taking vitamin D supplements were at a 24 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer. Anderson said in her report that breast cells have receptors for the vitamin, which may explain why it is beneficial.

The vitamin is already recommended for women because it is involved in the absorption of calcium, which can help women fight off osteoporosis, but Anderson told Reuters that, as findings like this continue to mount, U.S. government health agencies should consider updating their daily intake recommendations.

"It looks promising for vitamin D," she told the news source.

Other studies have also shown the vitamin to help reduce the risk of other diseases in women like colon cancer and ovarian cancer.