Secret Cancer-Fighting Duo REVEALED
By
Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Posted May 22, 2024
You’ve no doubt heard a LOT about gut health lately.
Heck, I talk about gut bacteria myself, probably at least once a week here in Living Well Daily.
There’s a good reason for that. What we’ve learned about human health and the microbiome in the last decade or so is nothing short of stunning.
We now know gut microbiota are linked to immune, mental, heart, and brain health. Plus, when gut bacteria are balanced and healthy, your risk for a laundry list of diseases—including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity—plummets.
Now, new research reveals our microbiome may have ANOTHER hidden superpower.
Those trillions of bacteria hanging out in your gut can team up with a common vitamin to fight CANCER.
Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute in the UK and the National Cancer Institute in the US decided to study vitamin D in mice.
They put the critters on a vitamin-D-packed diet or genetically modified them to absorb more vitamin D.
And you’ll never guess what happened…
The mice munching on the D-heavy diet were suddenly significantly better at battling the cancer cells the scientists implanted in them. Their immune systems essentially kicked into beast mode, fighting back against the tumors!
When the researchers dug deeper, they uncovered why. It was all thanks to a gut bacterium called Bacteroides fragilis (B. fragilis).
The extra vitamin D triggered a baby boom of this particular gut bug in the mice’s intestines. The B. fragilis, in turn, gave the mice’s immune systems a major boost in their ability to battle cancer.
The researchers were so intrigued with the results that they tried giving mice on a normal diet a supplement of the bacteria alone. Those mice’s ability to fight back against cancer also soared.
But when the B. fragilis-supplemented mice were fed a D-deficient diet, they didn’t fare better against the cancer, confirming that the COMBINATION of nutrients is necessary to significantly boost cancer immunity.
Of course, these were mice and not humans. So, more research IS needed to be sure the duo works the same for us.
But we’ve got B. fragilis in our guts, too. And plenty of research already confirms vitamin D’s critical role in the fight against cancer. For example:
- Folks with higher vitamin D levels are significantly less likely to develop cancer in the first place.
- Plus, cancer patients with decent D levels respond better to immunotherapy treatments.
There’s no need to wait on additional research to boost your microbiome health and reap its many benefits. Cutting processed foods and added sugars from your diet and eating more fiber-rich and fermented foods supports overall gut health and naturally promotes the growth of healthy gut bugs, including B. fragilis.
And now we know raising D levels can ALSO send B. fragilis levels soaring. To boost vitamin D, get a daily dose of sunlight. And, of course, D supplements are widely available.
P.S. “Eat the Rainbow” trick drives down cancer risk.
Source:
Evangelos Giampazolias, et al., Vitamin D regulates microbiome-dependent cancer immunity. Science, 2024; 384 (6694): 428 [DOI: 10.1126 /science. adh7954]
Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.
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