多吃維生素D或能使人們患腸癌的風險降低三分之一大綱

The wonders of vitamin D keep being revealed, and here's a new one - Higher levels of it cut colorectal cancer risk by a third, particularly in women. The research this conclusion is based on is pretty robust, a large ?international study led by Harvard University.

維生素D的神奇作用正不斷向世人展示，目前又發現了其新的功效--多吃維生素D可使人們患結腸直腸癌的風險降低三分之一，尤其是對於女性而言。哈佛大學開展的一項大型國際研究爲這一研究結論提供了強有力的依據。

About a fifth of Britons are vitamin D deficient and bowel, or colorectal cancer rates are rising globally. Are these two findings related? Vitamin D is hard to find in high concentrations in natural foods, but it can be found in fatty fish such as salmon, cheese, fortified milk and eggs. The vitamin has been found to strengthen resistance to stomach tumours, and it was most protective in women.

大約五分之一的英國人缺乏維生素D，腸癌或結腸直腸癌的全球發病率正不斷飆升。這兩個發現是否存在相關性？天然食物的維生素D含量不高，但富含脂肪的魚（如三文魚）、奶酪、營養強化奶和雞蛋中卻含有高濃度的維生素D。維生素D已被發現能增強人們對胃腫瘤的抵抗力，尤其能保護女性。

Another new finding from the research is that the scientists believe the ideal amount of vitamin D we should be aiming for is higher than current guidelines stipulate. Though often touted as cancer-protective, the authors of the study claim they have the clearest evidence yet that there's a concrete link between vitamin D levels and its protective effect against ?developing bowel cancer.

研究還有另一個新發現：科學家認爲維生素D的理想攝入量應高於目前指南所規定的攝入量。儘管維生素D經常被鼓吹能預防癌症，但該研究的作者稱，他們有最明晰的證據表明維生素D水平與其保護人們不患腸癌的作用之間存在實際聯繫。

To find it, researchers conducted an analysis of more than 5,700 colorectal cancer cases and 7,100 controls from the United States, Europe and Asia. Compared to participants with circulating vitamin D levels considered sufficient for bone health, those with a vitamin D deficiency had a 31% higher risk of colorectal cancer during follow-up five years later.

爲了找出這種關係，研究員對來自美國、歐洲和亞洲的5700個結腸直腸癌案例和7100個對比案例進行了分析。與攝入的維生素D含量被認爲足以保持骨骼健康的患者相比，缺乏維生素D的患者在之後5年的隨訪期間患結腸直腸癌的風險要高出31%。

Strong bone health, which is promoted by vitamin D levels, was also associated with a 22% lower risk. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women in the UK, with about 41,804 cases a year. It's projected that 53,646 cases of bowel cancer (29,356 in males, 24,290 in females) will be diagnosed in the UK by 2035. Each year around 16,000 people die of bowel cancer.

維生素D會促進骨骼健康，而骨骼健康與患結腸直腸癌的風險降低22%相關。結腸直腸癌是英國第三大常見癌症，也是英國人因癌症去世的第三大原因，每年大約有41804起案例。據預測，到2035年，將有53646人被診斷爲腸癌（男性29356人，女性24290人）。每年有16000人會死於腸癌。