**Researchers from leading institutions in the US and Denmark have made a surprising discovery in a study involving gastrointestinal cancer.
Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US, and Aalborg University in Denmark found that a diet rich in vitamin D may lead to better immunity against certain types of cancer.**
The findings, published in the journal Science, were demonstrated by the authors through a direct experiment in mice and an analysis based on data from 1.5 million people in Denmark.
Foods rich in vitamin D may help boost cancer immunity. (AI graphic)
In the first experiment, they found that mice fed a diet rich in vitamin D appeared to have better immunity when implanted with gastrointestinal tumors.
They analyzed the guts of these mice and found that vitamin D had acted on an epithelial cell in the gut, which in turn led to an increase in a type of bacteria called Bacteroides fragilis.
This bacteria gave the mice better immunity against cancer, as the implanted tumors did not grow as much.
To confirm this, the researchers fed mice a normal diet and directly supplemented them with Bacteroides fragilis. They received similar cancer immunity benefits.
In addition, the authors conducted two analyses on data from 1.5 million people in Denmark and found two things:
- People with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood were less likely to develop gastrointestinal cancer.
- People with higher levels of Bacteroides fragilis in their gut microbiome were also less likely to develop gastrointestinal cancer.
These results align with several previous studies conducted by other groups of authors.
Although Bacteroides fragilis is also found in the human microbiome, the authors say more research is needed to understand whether vitamin D boosts cancer immunity in humans through this pathway, or if some other mechanism is involved.
Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that getting enough vitamin D may help reduce your risk of gastrointestinal cancer to some extent. Vitamin D is also an important nutrient for several other systems in the body, such as the bones and nervous system.
According to Healthline, vitamin D can be easily found in many delicious and nutritious foods.
Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines are at the top of the list. Of these, salmon is the richest source of vitamin D, containing 2.5-5 times more than the others. Wild salmon has a higher content than farmed salmon.
Mushrooms, egg yolks, cow's milk, beef liver, cod liver oil, shrimp, and nuts are also good sources of vitamin D. Some dark leafy greens, fortified fruits, butter, and bananas also contain modest amounts of vitamin D.
You can also supplement with vitamin D in pill form. It's best to talk to your doctor before choosing this option.
Summary (200 words):
- Vitamin D may boost immunity against certain types of cancer, including gastrointestinal cancer.
- A diet rich in vitamin D increased the number of a type of bacteria in the gut called Bacteroides fragilis, which gave mice better immunity against cancer.
- People with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood and Bacteroides fragilis in their gut microbiome were less likely to develop gastrointestinal cancer.
- Foods rich in vitamin D include oily fish, mushrooms, egg yolks, cow's milk, and nuts.
- More research is needed to understand how vitamin D boosts cancer immunity in humans.
- Getting enough vitamin D may help reduce your risk of gastrointestinal cancer to some extent.