Weight loss, combined with vitamin D, reduces inflammation linked to cancer and chronic disease

For the first time, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that weight loss, in combination with vitamin D supplementation, has a greater effect on reducing chronic inflammation than weight loss alone. Chronic inflammation is known to contribute to the development and progression of several diseases, including some cancers.
Results of the randomized, controlled clinical trial — which involved more than 200 overweight, postmenopausal women who had insufficient levels of vitamin D at the beginning, were published on Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research
“We know from our previous studies that by losing weight, people can reduce their overall levels of inflammation, and there is some evidence suggesting that taking vitamin D supplements can have a similar effect if one has insufficient levels of the nutrient,” said Catherine Duggan, Ph.D., a principal staff scientist in the Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.