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Correlation data on cancer from 107 countries, scientists from the University of California, San Diego found that higher blood levels of Vitamin D and living closer to the equator were associated with lower breast cancer incidence.

However, commenting independently on the research, scientists from Yale University stated the results were confusing and shouldn’t promote women to seek more sun exposure. This suggests that increasing vitamin D levels should be achieved from fortified foods and dietary supplements.

A growing body of evidence has linked vitamin D to reduce incidences of cancer, but increasing vitamin D levels via sunlight or supplements has been a source of ongoing debate.

In the US, where over 1.5 million people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year, experts are pushing supplements, claiming recommendations for sun exposure are “highly irresponsible.”

The link between vitamin D intake and protection from cancer dates from the 1940s when Frank Apperly demonstrate a link between latitude and deaths from cancer, and suggested that sunlight gave “a relative cancer immunity.”

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