I read an article recently that, while intriguing, seemed incomplete to me. It referenced how two groups of women were studied and it was found that when tested, the women’s DNA who had reported taking multivitamin supplements and calcium supplements demonstrated a much better capability to repair it’s damage. This translates into not only a lower risk of many other cancers, but also a much lower risk of breast cancer.
The article I read quoted a 40% lower chances, but I’m not sure how they arrived at that number, so I would treat that with caution. I also questioned that they did not mention the all important vitamin D. Instead, they mentioned calcium. I’m wondering what role calcium may play in a lower risk of breast cancer. But hey, I’m not the researchers, so I’m going to wait for further word on this one.
I know that vitamin D plays a crucial role in preventing cell damage, but I had never heard this about calcium. I also know that the two are related and have an interdependent relationship because vitamin D helps your body to properly absorb calcium – hence all the vitamin D enriched milk you see on the shelves at your supermarket.
The group of women who did not report taking a multivitamin (again, not too comfortable with that generalization – what brands, and what potencies were used by these women, that’s an important question, and what types of vitamins were included in the supplement) showed a much lesser ability to repair damaged DNA, which means they had a higher risk of developing breast cancer.
More to come on this. It’s intriguing, yes, but also very incomplete information. The thing that makes me uncomfortable is that we don’t know specifically what types of vitamins they were taking – as you all know, multivitamins can vary widely in their potency and quality, and in what vitamins they actually supply. I also want to know more about the calcium link to this study, since calcium is mostly known for helping to maintain strong bones.
There have even been studies that show calcium supplementation can be hazardous. Seems like there’s so much conflicting info out there on what you should really be doing for your health that it would be nice to get some real, final, definite answers!
