An increase of vitamin D intake could be just what women need to help keep away breast cancer, according to research presented in Brighton, East Sussex.

Previously, it was believed the active form of vitamin D was made only in the kidney. However, scientists at the University of Birmingham and St. George’s Hospital, London have discovered that breast tissue also contains the enzyme that activates the vitamin.

They also found enzyme levels increased in breast tumors. The scientists take this to mean that vitamin D might play a role the body’s own immunity against cancer, and that increasing vitamin D intake could help the battle.

Dr. Martin Hewison, research leader, acknowledges that exposure to sunlight is the most efficient way of generating vitamin D in the body.

Previous unrelated research has shown that the production of vitamin D is the best way to help the body fight off maladies such as heart disease, diabetes, depression and multiple sclerosis.

According to an unrelated study published in Arthritis and Rheumatism and reported by Reuters, women who maintain high levels of vitamin D may be helping to ward off rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The research team, led by Dr. Kenneth G. Saag from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, pored over data from an 11-year study of nearly 30,000 women ages 55 to 69. All of the women began RA-free in 1986 but 152 developed confirmed cases.

Although high dietary and supplemental intake led to 28 percent and 34 percent reductions, respectively, in the risk of RA, only the supplemental intake was statistically significant.

“The results from this study suggest a possible role for vitamin D in reducing the risk of an immunologic disorder,” the study authors write. However, they say further studies are needed to verify the findings.