With October being breast cancer awareness month, we are seeing mammogram reminders on sign boards and advertised on buses.  I wish we also had sign boards and advertisements for breast health awareness.  Wouldn’t it be nice for all women to make this a 24/7/365 event, not just a once a year mammogram.  So I thought I’d post some breast health tidbits.

My favorite, as it is also important in colon health, is to have your circulating Vitamin D levels checked.  The laboratory test is called a 25-Hydroxy vitamin D level.  Labs are currently saying the lower level of normal is 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml), however, this is very deficient.  Vitamin D researchers are now saying our levels should be above 50ng/ml, but if you have a family history of cancer or have had cancer 70-90ng/ml, and if you currently have cancer a level between 80-90ng/ml is indicated.  I was delighted when my holistic family physician said she was aware of the research and would support me between 70-90 ng/ml.

According to Dr. Cedric Garland, a doctor of public health and leading Vitamin D researcher, professor of family and preventative medicine at University of California, San Diego, “The first event in cancer is loss of communication among cells due to, among other things, low Vitamin D and calcium levels.  This loss may play a key role in cancer by disrupting the communication between cells that is essential to healthy cell turnover, allowing more aggressive cancer cells to take over.”

They are seeing substantial cuts in the risk of breast, colon, prostate, and ovarian cancers with higher levels.  Vitamin D researchers are suggesting that 30 percent of cancer deaths could be prevented by optimizing our Vitamin D levels.  Since Vitamin D effects the expression of over 2,000 genes, it seems like a simple thing to add into our daily wellness regimen.