Smart Living: Pros and cons of Vitamin D
By: Ivanhoe Broadcast News
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It's hailed by many people and medical professionals as the wonder vitamin. Vitamin D can boost your immune system, ward off osteoporosis and help lower your blood pressure.
Not enough vitamin D can make us sick, but can we get too much of a good thing?
The latest study released by Mercy Medical Center, in Baltimore, shows despite high hopes, vitamin D does not protect against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or cancers of the esophagus, stomach, kidney, ovary or pancreas.
Not only that, vitamin D may actually cause a higher risk for one particular cancer.
"In pancreatic cancer, in high levels, there's an increase risk," Mercy Medical Center Oncologist Kathy Helzlsouer, MD said.
One major problem occurs in people who are vitamin D deficient and, as a result, start taking prescription-strength vitamin D and don't stop when their levels reach normal.
On the other hand, the study did show vitamin D may have a positive effect on colon cancer.
The current recommended daily intake of vitamin D ranges from 200 international units to 600 units, depending on age.
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