A healthy and balanced diet is one that not just gets the balance between the macros right, it also supplies the body with vitamins and minerals on a daily basis. A host of essential vitamins and other elements are required by the body in small amounts for the well-being of a number of its systems. Vitamin A is one of the nutrients required by the body in small amounts, but one that offers multiple health benefits for the skin, immune system as well as health of the eyes. A new study has now said that a diet rich in foods fortified with Vitamin A may help reduce risks of skin cancer. The study said that people whose diets are rich in Vitamin A have lower chances of skin cancer.
The study titled, "Association of Vitamin A intake with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma risk in the United States" was published in the Journal of American Medical Association Dermatology. The study was conducted by researchers at Brown University who looked at the link between diet and skin cancer in participants of two long-term observation studies. The researchers grouped the 123000 participants into five separate categories based on their levels of Vitamin A intake in daily diets. They found that those in the category of highest level of Vitamin A intake had a 17 per cent less chance of developing skin cancer, as compared to those in the category of lowest Vitamin A intake.
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Those is the former category reported eating Vitamin E-rich vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes every day. Those at least risk of skin cancer ate one medium-sized baked sweet potato or two large carrots. Additionally, it is worth noting that the researchers found that the majority of Vitamin A came from the diets of the participants. Moreover, fruits and vegetables were found to be the best sources of Vitamin A, instead of animal-based sources or dietary supplements. The researchers concluded by saying, "We found an inverse association between intake of vitamin A and carotenoids and risk of cutaneous SCC, supporting the protective role of vitamin A against SCC development. Our data further support the contention that supplemental and dietary vitamin A may be beneficial in preventing SCC."
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