The risk of colon cancer can be slashed by 50 percent by taking a daily supplement of vitamin D, researchers at a California cancer institute said. Scientists at the Moores Cancer Center of the University of California at San Diego said their studies showed that taking 1,000 international units, or 25 micrograms, of vitamin D every day would sharply reduce the chance of a person getting colon cancer, which is diagnosed in about 145,000 Americans each year.According to UCSD professor and cancer epidemiologist Edward Gorham, the preventative link between vitamin D and colon cancer has been known for over two decades.But scientists did not know the specific amount of the vitamin needed to have a clear impact.Their study “establishes the target level of vitamin D that could reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer by half,” Gorham said.
