Nutrients that prevent Cancer
Vitamin D
Fat-soluble vitamin
 Sources

 Foods
○ Naturally found in very few foods
○ Added to many foods on the market
 Supplements
 Sunlight
Vitamin D

Daily Recommended Intake
 Current minimum intake recommendations
○ Birth-50 years = 200 IU
○ 51-70 years = 400 IU
○ 71+ years = 600 IU
 Currently being debated
Food Sources of Vitamin D
3 oz smoked salmon = 583 IU
3 oz light tuna, canned in oil = 229 IU
1 large, whole egg = 29 IU
Foods Fortified with Vitamin D
8 oz skim milk = 115 IU
8 oz orange juice = 100 IU
1 cup Cheerios = 40 IU
½ cup yogurt = 40 IU
Calcium
Essential mineral
 Daily Recommended Intakes

 9-18 years = 1300 mg
 19-50 years = 1000 mg
 51 years and older =1200 mg
Calcium

Sources in the diet
 Milk
 Yogurt
 Cheese
 Dark green vegetables

Fortified sources
 Cereals
 Bread
 Orange Juice
Calcium content of foods
8 oz milk = 300 mg
8 oz low-fat yogurt= 230 mg
½ cup cooked Spinach = 120 mg
1 cup Cheerios = 100 mg
Dietary Supplements

Calcium
 Carbonate or
citrate
 Dose dependent
absorption
 Two doses per
day

Vitamin D


D2 or D3
D3 is best
A single serving = 1 cup
1 serving has 100 calories
10% Daily Value of calcium
1000mg * 0.10 = 100mg
10% Daily Value of vitamin D
400IU * 0.10 = 40 IU
http://www.fda.gov
Vitamin D Functions

Many uses in the body
 Promotes absorption of calcium from the small
intestine
 Maintain blood levels of calcium and phosphate
for bone formation, mineralization, growth, and
repair
 Improves muscle strength and immune function
 Reduces inflammation
Vitamin D Deficiency

At risk populations
 Breastfed infants
 Older adults
 People with limited sun exposure
 Darker skin pigments
 Certain religious groups
Vitamin D Related Diseases
 Rickets
 Osteomalacia
 Osteoporosis
Calcium Functions

Major component of bones and teeth

A small amount of calcium circulates in the
blood
 Essential for clotting of the blood
 Aids in the normal functioning of the nerves,
muscles, and heart
Calcium Deficiency

At risk populations
 Children and youth
 Post-menopausal women
 Elderly
 People with poor diets, lacking in dairy foods
Vitamin D and Cancer

Roles in prevention of
 Colon cancer
 Breast cancer
Vitamin D and Cancer

How it prevents
 Promotes cellular differentiation
 Decreases cancer cell growth
 Stimulates cell deaths
Vitamin D Cancer Research

Mostly observational studies, only show
correlation
 Food frequency questionnaires
 Interviews
 Diet records
Vitamin D & Colon Cancer
Research

Third National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey
 Epidemiologic study
 16,818 participants
 Examined blood levels of vitamin D
 Results
○ Blood levels 80nmol/L or higher reduced risk
by 72%
Vitamin D Cancer Research

American Cancer Society’s Cancer
Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort
 Studied 120,000 men and women
 Analyzed diet, medical history, and lifestyle
 Results
○ Men with intakes of 520 IU or higher from both
diet and supplementation slightly lowered risk
○ No effect in women
Vitamin D & Breast Cancer
Research

Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition
Cohort
 Participants
○ 68,567 postmenopausal women
 Completed questionnaire on dietary intake,
family history, and supplement use
 Results
○ Women who consumed higher amounts of
vitamin D and calcium from dairy products
reduced their risk of breast cancer
True or False.
Vitamin D is not necessary
for Calcium to be absorbed
in the body.
True or False.
Vitamin D is not necessary
for Calcium to be absorbed
by the body.
Calcium and Cancer

Roles in prevention of:
 Colon cancer
 Breast cancer
○ Premenopausal women
Calcium and Cancer

How it prevents cancer
 Exact mechanism is unclear
 Biochemical level
○ Calcium binds to bile acids and fatty acids in
the gastrointestinal tract to form insoluble
complexes
○ Reduces the ability of the acids to damage
cells in the lining of the colon and act directly
in reducing cell proliferation in the lining of the
colon
Calcium and Colon Cancer
Research

Nurses’ Health Study and Health
Professionals Follow-up study
 Analyzed 135,000 men and women
 Results
○ People who consumed 700mg or more per
day reduced risk by 35-45%
○ Effect was only recognized in distal area of
colon
Calcium & Colon Cancer
Research

National Institutes of Health-American
Association of Retired Persons Diet and
Health Study
 Results
○ High intakes of total calcium, dietary calcium,
and calcium supplements lowered the risk of
colon cancer
 20% among men
 30% among women
Calcium & Colon Cancer
Research

Study in Iowa
 34,000 women participated
 Two groups
○ Intakes of 1280mg or more per day
○ Intakes of 800mg or less per day
 Calcium intake from both diet and
supplements
 Results
○ 41% reduction in colon cancer risk associated
with higher intake
Calcium and Breast Cancer
Prevention

Nurses’ Health Study
 3,000 women
 Calcium intakes 800 mg or more per day
○ Particularly from dairy products
 Low-fat or non-fat milk
 Yogurt
 Cheese
 Compared to intakes of 200 mg or less from
dairy
 Results
○ Reduced risk in premenopausal women but NOT
postmenopausal.
Calcium and Breast Cancer
Prevention

Women’s Health Study
 30,000 women
 Two groups:
○ Intakes1366mg or more per day
○ Intakes less than 617mg per day
 Results
○ Reduced risk in increased intake of calcium
○ Only in premenopausal women
What have we learned?
Vitamin D and calcium both plays roles
in preventing cancer
 The recommended intakes

 Calcium = 1000mg
 Vitamin D = 400 IU

Many ways to increase intake
 Change diet
 Include supplements