Studies have found that taking vitamin D reduces cancer mortality by 13 percent. In some countries, such as Finland, foods are fortified with vitamin D. Epidemiologists at the German Cancer Research Center have calculated that in this way more than 100,000 cancer deaths could be avoided in Europe.

Foods rich in vitamin D can increase vitamin D levels in the same way as vitamin D supplements. According to studies, fortified foods currently prevent around 11,000 cancer deaths in the European Union and there are believed to be 27,000 in 34 European countries.

Vitamin D is only added to food in a small number of countries, and according to experts it has great potential: “If the countries we looked at were fortified foods with sufficient amounts of vitamin D, about 130,000 or so Nine percent of all cancer deaths. According to our model calculations Europe is preventable. This corresponds to a gain of about 1.2 million years of life,” Prof. Dr. Dr. Hermann Brenner, who published the results with his team in the “European Journal of Epidemiology.”

He believes that this opportunity should be better exploited in future. Vitamin D levels can also be increased naturally: by spending time outside, for about twelve minutes, two to three times a week. The face, arms and part of the arms and legs should be exposed and without sun protection.

Source: DOI: 10.1007/s10654-022-00867-4