Vitamin D can reduce gut inflammation and IBS, colitis and colorectal cancer risk
It has long been thought that vitamin D can reduce gut inflammation and the risk of colorectal cancer.
A new study led by Dr. Lillian Maggio-Price in the Department of Comparative Medicine at the University of Washington showed that vitamin D was linked to lowering the risk of colitis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colon cancer.
The study, “Increased Dietary Vitamin D Suppresses MAPK Signaling, Colitis, and Colon Cancer” appears in the journal Cancer Research.
The lead author Dr. Stacy Meeker from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed that by increasing vitamin D levels in the diet one could limit inflammation, tumour formation, and colitis-associated colon cancer
For the study, the team used genetically engineered mice fed various levels of vitamin D. Researchers found that the mice with the highest vitamin D consumption had reduced colitis, fewer immune cell problems in the gut, decreased pro-inflammatory signaling pathway activity, and lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. There was also a fourfold decrease in invasive colon cancer risk.
