Vitamin D and cancer: new research

A growing body of research suggests that &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/12309_milk.html ' target=_blank>vitamin D, which the skin makes from sunshine, might help prevent and possibly treat many kinds of cancer.

Some scientists believe that people should spend a little more time in the sun -- without sunscreen -- so that their skin can absorb this helpful vitamin. Obviously, that's a controversial notion, given all the warnings about the risk of &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2000/12/29/1765.html ' target=_blank>skin cancer, tells the Newsday.

The vitamin is D, nicknamed the "sunshine vitamin" because the skin makes it from ultraviolet rays. Sunscreen blocks its production, but dermatologists and health agencies have long preached that such lotions are needed to prevent skin cancer.

Now some scientists are questioning that advice.

The reason is that vitamin D increasingly seems important for preventing and even treating many types of cancer. In the last three months alone, four separate studies found it helped protect against lymphoma and cancers of the prostate, lung and, ironically, the skin. The strongest evidence is for colon cancer.