Sunday Dec 8, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Women should expose themselves to plenty of UV rays or taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy as this sunshine vitamin is known to potentially provide your baby with a range of health benefits such as reduced risk of autism.

A new study in Cancer Epidemiology and Biomarkers Prevention now suggests that prenatal vitamin D, that is, taking the vitamin during pregnnacy, can also reduce the risk of some common childhood cancers including lymphoblastic leukemia, hepatoblastoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The study did not directly associated vitamin D supplementation with reduced risk of childhood cancers.  Instead it linked exposure of pregnant women during pregnancy to UV rays or solar UV radiation to reduced risk of cancers in children aged 0 to 5 years.

C. Lombardi from University of California in Los Angeles, CA  and colleagues compared solar UV radiation exposure for pregnant women who had children diagnosed with cancer with UV radiation for pregnant women whose children were free of cancer.  The UV exposure was estimated based on the birth certificate data including date and address among others and data from the National Solar Radiation Database.  Greater exposure to UV rays means high vitamin D in the blood.  The researchers wanted to see how UV radiation was linked to the risk of childhood cancers.

The study shows that women with UV radiation exposure of 5111 Watt-hours/m2 or higher during pregnnacy were at 11%, 31%, and 29% reduced risk of having children to be diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia, hepatoblastoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, respectively, compared with those with lower exposure.

These associations were also adjusted for mother's age, mother's race, and child's year of birth. 

However, with high exposure to UV radiation, women had a 29% increased risk of having children diagnosed with intracranial/intaspinal embryspinal embryonal tumors.

This study shows protective associations of UV radiation during pregnancy with some childhood cancers.

It is not feasible for women during pregnnacy to get sufficient exposure to the Sun in winter.  Taking vitamin D supplements is a safe and viable option for women who are pregnant during the winter months.

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to over 100 health conditions including cancer, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, depression, and autism.

Vitamin D is not commonly found in foods.   Sun exposure is the major source of vitamin D.  But taking vitamin D supplements such as D Drops is a good and convenient way to maintain a healthy level of this vitamin.  Authority recommends that 5000 IU of vitamin D per day should be used by adults to prevent diseases.

Vitamin D has been proved to be able to boost innate immunity.  It is critically important for elderly people to maintain a high level of this vitamin to prevent infections such as pneumonia, influenza, and colds. (David Liu, PHD)