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Vitamin A rich food items can reduce the chances of skin cancer: Study
A latest study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Dermatology, has revealed that a higher intake of Vitamin A can reduce the risk of skin cancer. Read on to know more.
A latest study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Dermatology has revealed that a higher intake of Vitamin A can reduce the risk of skin cancer. For the unversed, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin is the second-most-common type of skin cancer and the same is quite common among fair-skinned people. And as per the latest report, Vitamin A is quite essential for the healthy growth and maturation of skin cells and that's why one should include Vitamin A packed foodstuff.
The lead author of the study, Eunyoung Cho, an Associate Professor of Dermatology and Epidemiology at Brown University said, "Skin cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma, is hard to prevent, but this study suggests that eating a healthy diet rich in Vitamin A may be a way to reduce your risk, in addition to wearing sunscreen and reducing sun exposure."
Speaking of plant-based sources of Vitamin A, then the same are sweet potatoes, carrots, leafy green vegetables, apricots and cantaloupe. Animal-based sources include milk, some types of fish and liver. Researchers observed the diet and skin cancer results of participants in two large and long-term studies. After the research, they noticed that many had cases of squamous cell carcinoma and they also noticed that they all were white and had no prior history of cancer.
They also found that people in the category with the highest recommended daily Vitamin A intake were 17 percent less likely to get skin cancer than those in the category with the lowest Vitamin A intake. The team also concluded that the majority of Vitamin A was from participants' plant-based diets and not from supplements or animal-based foods. Cho also said that over intake of vitamin A is also to be avoided as the same can lead to side effects such as liver toxicity, risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture and even birth defects. But the researcher also added that Vitamin A derived from plant-based foods had fewer side effects.
The research team has found that eating other plant-based pigments similar to Vitamin A – such as lycopene (found in tomatoes and watermelon) is also linked to lower skin cancer risk.
