Lawn Chairs and Uterine Fibroids: The important connection.
What if women could reduce their chances of Uterine Fibroids simply by soaking up the sun? Get your lawn chairs ladies as Vitamin D is your way to reducing your risk.
Uterine fibroids happen to be the most common benign tumors in women of childbearing age. It is important to note that these non-cancerous growths are not associated with an increased risk in uterine/ovarian cancer and rarely develop into such. Uterine fibroids rarely require medical treatment but can be shrunk or removed by various therapies and surgical options.
The Leiomyomata (uterine fibroid) varies in size however is similar in appearance. Usually round and tan colored, these lesions can range from golf ball to grapefruit size appearing in the uterus in single or multiple form. The majority of time, if a fibroid is larger in size, it can be felt through the abdominal wall.
It is important to note that 3 out of 4 women have uterine fibroids sometime during their lives. Due to no obvious symptoms such as pelvic pain or excessive bleeding, most women are unaware they have them. A routine exam or ultrasound at your gynecologist may show uterine fibroids but it is not a cause for concern.
New research conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that having an adequate intake of Vitamin D can shrink the risk of developing these fibroids by a third. In addition, a study published in, “Epidemiology” notes that women who have sufficient amounts of Vitamin D are 32% less likely to develop uterine fibroids than those with lower levels. This study also noted that women who spend more than an hour outside in the sun per day decreased their risk by up to 40%.[1]
The human body makes Vitamin D when skin is exposed to the sun, however during the winter when the sun becomes a limited commodity, consuming foods and natural supplements rich in D is imperative to increasing Vitamin D intake.
“It would be wonderful if something as simple and inexpensive as getting some natural sunshine on their skin each day could help women reduce their chance of getting fibroids.” – Dr. Donna Baird, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)[2]
I think so too.